THE FEAR OF CLASS SUICIDE: OBSTACLE TO RESTRUCTURING NIGERIA SINCE 1960

Abstract

The 1914 amalgamation brought the North and the South of what became Nigeria into an uneasy and unholy wedlock. Since then, there have been calls for the restructuring of the entity Nigeria. However, despite the incessant clamour for the restructuring of Nigeria, the political elites have continued to pay lip service to the course. While the colonial government severally tinkered with the country’s constitutions, it cautiously avoided any political or economic arrangement that ran foul to the ideals of 1914. Post-colonial leaders have also toed the line of resistance to restructuring despite the increase in the calls for it and the popular belief that it is a viable option towards sustaining the unity of Nigeria. While some leaders diplomatically avoid it, others made sincere move to get it done by calling for national conference, but never implemented the resolutions of such conferences. There are still others who played political game with it by using it for political campaign, but eventually turned around to refuse it out rightly. Under the guise of maintaining the unity of the country, others have justified the status quo and deliberately blocked every move to get the country restructured. The restructuring of Nigeria form the ongoing, appear not to be in sight. The needed political will to take the bull by the horn is obviously currently lacking. Admittedly, there are several constraints to the restructuring of Nigeria. However, this paper argues that the major obstacle to restructuring is the fear of class suicide by the elites. It posits that elites are squarely afraid of the outcome of a restructured polity. The fear of losing enormous power to the states, the middle class and unknown forces, largely explains why the elites and those favoured by the status quo have remained opposed to restructuring. What is playing out is a form of class struggle for supremacy. The study is therefore located within the theoretical framework of Karl Marx’s Class Struggle. The paper concludes that for restructuring to take place in Nigeria there must either be a compromise that will guarantee a place for the elites or a radical dethronement of that class.