The Appropriation of Difference: State and the Construction of Ethnic Identities in Nigeria

With an analysis of the construction of ethno-political identities in Nigeria, in this article I show that ethnic identities in postcolonial, multicultural societies are often constructed by the state and the elites that control it and use state power for accumulation and to maintain distributional inequities. With its roots in the character of colonial rule, this construction has been an important strategy of Nigeria's elites and the state in political struggles, and competition over power, economic resources, and prestige. In Nigeria's case, state managers, under pressure from domestic groups, international financial institutions, and governments, engage in contradictory processes of trying to promote a "national" identity while also promoting ethnic/regional identities, which subvert the former. In doing this they borrow freely from the values and beliefs held by particular groups about themselves and others, which as cultural meanings, help mobilize action. In this sense, ethnic identity in Nigeria does not merely reflect the material base but rather helps shape that base and is internationalized. Perspectives, which only stress the primordiality of ethnic identity and struggles or see ethnicity as merely a reflection of class struggles or merely the result of the nature of colonial oppression, are seen to be inadequate. In this article I show that a reduction of destructive ethnicity in Nigeria requires a more equitable redistribution of resources and more inclusive cultural, including educational policies and practices that allow for fair and equitable representation of and respect for various cultural traditions and other forms of difference in the country.