IDENTITY AND IDENTITY POLITICS IN NIGERIA: A REFLECTION ON THE INDICATORS. (Croatian)

IDENTITET I POLITIKE IDENTITETA U NIGERIJI: OSVRT NA INDIKATORE. (Bosnian)

Nigeria is a nation with plural ethnic, religious, lingual and cultural identities that are constantly exploited by the political class to promote their selfish interest. Although not a determinant for conflict, diversity in Nigeria has unjustifiably sparked identity-based conflicts which necessitates separatism, insurgency and ethnic restiveness - among others, which threatens to drive the country to a perpetual state of fragility. This paper thence sought to assess Nigeria's tortuous experience with identity and identity politics with particular reference to ethnic, religious and lingual challenges. The paper furthers the discussion on identity politics in Nigeria to proffer practicable solutions. It argues that identity consciousness has overtaken national consciousness and engendered a relationship characterized by domination, superiority and hegemony by the various groups. It reveals that the currency of politics is an ethnic-hegemony-rivalry sentiment that threatens national integration. The paper reviews available literature on the subject matter from peer-reviewed journal articles, reports of reputable international organisations, working papers and newspaper articles. It concluded that identities have become powerful manipulative instruments in the hands of the political elites used to divide the Nigerian populace. It recommended the promotion of justice, equity and fairness in governance to ameliorate the chances of identity dissension and identity-based conflicts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nigerija je država s mnoštvom etničkih, religijskih, jezičkih i kulturnih identiteta koje politička klasa neprestano iskorištava za promociju svojih sebičnih interesa. Iako nije determinanta za konflikte, različitost je u Nigeriji neopravdano izazivala etničke, društvene i religijske konflikte koji su posljedično rezultirali stvaranjem separatizma, secesionističkih pokreta, pobuna, široko rasprostranjenog siromaštva, marginalizacije, podjela, nejednakosti i etničkih nemira, a sve su to prijetnje koje mogu odvesti zemlju u stanje neprestane nestabilnosti. Ovaj rad stoga nastoji procijeniti mučno iskustvo koje je Nigerija imala s identitetom i politikama identiteta uz poseban osvrt na etničke, religijske i lingvističke izazove. Rad daje doprinos diskusiji o politikama identiteta u Nigeriji kako bi ponudio praktična rješenja. Rad tvrdi da je svijest o identitetu nadjačala nacionalnu svijest te je iznjedrila odnose koji se odlikuju dominacijom, superiornošću i hegemonizmom različitih grupa. Rad otkriva kako su sredstva politike sentimenti zasnovani na etničkom, na hegemoniji i rivalstvu, što predstavlja prijetnju nacionalnoj integraciji. Rad daje pregled dostupne literature o ovoj temi koja uključuje članke iz recenziranih časopisa, izvještaje renomiranih međunarodnih organizacija, radne dokumente i novinske članke. U zaključku se kaže da su identiteti postali snažni instrumenti manipulacije u rukama političkih elita koje ih koriste za stvaranje podjela među stanovnicima Nigerije. Rad preporučuje promoviranje pravde, nepristranosti i poštenja u vlasti kako bi se umanjile šanse za pojavu konflikata zasnovanih na pitanjima identiteta. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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