In recent months, the southern part of West Africa’s most populous country has seen a resurgence of self-determination groups. This is the case with the Igbo groups in the southeast and Yoruba in the southwest. Olufemi Vaughan, a professor at Amherst College in the United States, discusses these privacy tendencies, which continued despite the arrest in late June of Biafra leader Nnamdi Kanu and a police attack on a Yoruba activist, Sunday Igboho.
For Olufemi Vaughan, the emergence of independence movements is mainly due to the growing feeling of not being sufficiently recognized by the central government.
Self-determination is about asking to be listened to and heard more. More inclusion, as well as greater awareness of national identity or political and economic representation. This is what Nigerians want.
According to the professor at AmherstCollege, separations and irredentist movements thrive when there is a perception of authoritarianism.
The administration is becoming more and more authoritarian with militaristic methods. Not just in the case ofNnamdi Kanu, but also ofSunday Igboho, among others. This is really their engine. They also thrive in a growing sense of insecurity and insecurity, when people feel excluded, marginalized. What the government needs to do is encourage debate on the constitution, including federalism, which gives Nigerians a sense of belonging.
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