Nigeria’s ethnicity problem is at least one of the reasons why Nigeria maintains its bizarre presidential rotation system. Ethnic divisions persist in countries like Nigeria not because the “cultures” of those countries are predisposed to ethnic strife, but as a result of a weak state. It is a weak state that has, up until now, been incapable of capitalising on policies that enhance and benefit a singular Nigerian national identity. It is the major characteristic of a weak state. It is the failure to bring the bulk of the population under the protection of a Nigerian state in which they are able to trust regardless of their ethnicity or the ethnicity of their president.

Source: The North Africa Journal August 26, 2016 11:26 UTC