THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION, NATIONAL- ETHNIC MINORITY GROUPS AND THE CREATION OF STATES: THE POST–COLONIAL NIGERIAN EXPERIENCE
Abstract
Critics will retort that there are well over 400 ethno-linguistic groups in Nigeria and each of them cannot have their own state! This is acknowledged and is not an altogether unfounded claim. It, however, underestimates inter-communal and inter-ethnic relations which in Nigeria is generally cordial. Several states in the country are strictly speaking not entirely homogenous ethnically but are composed of several minority groups living together in harmony. Furthermore, there are criteria which ethnic groups agitating for states within Nigeria must meet. Political negotiations, rallies, campaigns and the like all play a part in the realization of the legitimate aspirations of ethnic minorities within a constitutional democracy. Undoubtedly, the operation of Federal Republican Constitution and the creation of states continues to attract constructive criticism. Thus, it has been argued against Nigeria’s Presidential Federalism that this type of republican constitutionalism continues to sustain and perpetuate the status of the predominant tribes more powerfully than would have occurred in a unitary system.
Abstrak: Para kritikus akan membantah bahwa ada lebih dari 400 kelompok etnolinguistik di Nigeria, dan masing-masing kelompok tidak dapat memiliki negara sendiri! Klaim ini diakui dan bukan tidak berdasar sama sekali. Namun, klaim ini meremehkan hubungan antar komunal dan antar etnis yang umumnya terjadi di Nigeria. Beberapa negara bagian di Nigeria tidak sepenuhnya homogen secara etnis, melainkan terdiri dari beberapa kelompok minoritas yang hidup bersama secara harmonis. Selain itu, ada kriteria yang harus dipenuhi oleh kelompok etnis yang mengacaukan negara bagian di Nigeria. Negosiasi politik, aksi unjuk rasa, kampanye, dan sejenisnya berperan merealisasikan aspirasi yang sah dari etnis minoritas dalam demokrasi konstitusional. Tidak dapat dipungkiri bahwa operasi Konstitusi Republik Federal dan pembentukan negara bagian terus mengundang kritik yang konstruktif. Dengan demikian, bertentangan dengan Federalisme Presidensial Nigeria, jenis konstitusionalisme republikan ini akan lebih mempertahankan dan melestarikan status suku-suku dominan daripada sistem kesatuan.
Kata kunci: Konstitusi Federal, Kelompok Etnis Minoritas, Paska kolonial
Those authors publishing in PETITA have agreed with following terms of conditions:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.