The state and nation-building in Nigeria: Challenges in the Democratic Era, 1999-2024
Author(s): Philip Terzungwe Vande
Abstract: The process of state and nation-building in Nigeria is complex and ongoing. Though the Nigerian State evolved as the product of British imperialism, all efforts to create a nation out of the disparate people forcefully brought together by the colonialists have remained elusive. This study relied on documentary evidence to examine the challenges confronting and frustrating the process of nation-building in Nigeria. The theories of cultural primordialism and instrumentalism were adopted as the framework of analysis. It was established that the trajectory of nation-building has been on, Nigeria has remained fractionalized and polarized. The study further found that historical legacies, leadership failure, endemic corruption, citizenship crisis, poverty and inequality, secularity of the Nigerian state, ethnic and religious polarity, among others are some of the greatest challenges to nation-building in Nigeria. To turn the tide, the study recommends the need for good governance and personal examples from leaders, continuous re-orientation of the citizenry and institution-building in Nigeria.
Philip Terzungwe Vande. The state and nation-building in Nigeria: Challenges in the Democratic Era, 1999-2024. Int J Political Sci Governance 2025;7(7):89-95. DOI: 10.33545/26646021.2025.v7.i7b.591
