Watch Part I above and Part II linked below and comment on your prediction of Nigeria's future, and read the two articles and post in comment section by end of the day Tuesday:
Using the FRQ guide given to you on Monday, Describe with evidence from the texts here (and/or Hauss Ch. 15) what is going on in Nigeria today (remember, Economic, Political and Social lenses) and explain why you give the Nigerian State at age 54 a Pass or Fail grade.
Nigeria State of Independence Part 2 of 2
“Growing old is like being increasingly penalized for a crime you have not committed.”
~ Anthony Powell
Nigeria at 50: She's a bit too temperamental for me
Is Nigeria a Failed State?
(Thanks, Ken Wedding Teaching Comparative Blog)
It's a question that's been on the minds of many people. The editors of Leadership ("Nigeria's most influential newspaper") now make their case. Do they cover all the bases described in your textbook? (The editors are not political scientists, so forgive them if they use "state," "government," and "regime" in less than precise ways.)
Can you tell if this editorial is more than just a statement of political opposition to the government of President Jonathan? What resolution is suggested?
Our Stand: This State Has Failed
It’s about time we admitted it: Nigeria has become a failed state… About a third of the country’s land mass has been under emergency rule for the past one year… at least another third of the country including the Federal Capital Territory: mass murders, kidnapping for ransom, daylight armed robberies, breakdown of law and order, and unrestrained stealing of public funds.
Several authorities identify a failed state as one that can no longer perform its basic duties in such areas as security, power, eradication of poverty, education and job creation. Even the Nigerian constitution recognises that the reason for government’s existence is protection of life and property as well as maintenance of law and order. Events of the past few years indicate that Nigeria has since exceeded the minimum requirements for classification as a failed state.
Currently, the nation is still in grief following the massacre of over 100 people and injuring of more than 200 others by a bomb… On the night of the same Monday, Boko Haram, which has been working together with international terrorist groups al-Shabab and al-Qaeda, seized about 100 female students from a school in Chibok…
No day has passed in the past weeks without a tale of one horrendous atrocity or the other committed by the bloodthirsty hoodlums…
After each act of terror, the Nigerian president, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, has made promises that he has never fulfilled…
And so, we ask again: what is a failed state? In this same country, 6 million university graduates applied for 4, 000 job slots in the Immigration Service. Almost 800, 000 of them were invited for an interview during which 23 of them died as a result of stampedes at some centres…
Our country has, in recent years, always featured on the list of the world’s failed or failing states. In its Failed States Index 2013 released recently, for instance, The Fund for Peace (FFP) ranks the country 16th out of 178 countries. It is only a few points looking better than war-torn Somalia that is ranked first… No wonder the country performed poorly on all indicators used by the FFP: mounting demographic pressure, movement of refugees or internally displaced persons, vengeance-seeking group grievance, human flight, uneven economic development, poverty or severe economic decline, legitimacy of the state, progressive deterioration of services, violation of human rights, security apparatus, rise of factionalised elites and intervention of external actors.
As the State of Emergency imposed on the three states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa expires this Saturday, President Jonathan should not attempt to extend it, unless he wishes to extend it to a larger part of the country. The leaders of the three states have made it clear that they won’t welcome an extension. After all, the entire nation is in emergency already, as clearly shown in the war with terrorists in the north, and the failed amnesty programme in the Niger Delta leading to the militants’ resumption of hostilities; armed robbers and kidnappers rule the roost in the south-west and the south-east. No doubt, the theatre of war now covers the entire country.
The Jonathan regime has demonstrated a frightening incompetence in the handling of the state’s affairs. It is now beyond doubt that the regime is incapable of protecting the people. This government cannot even protect Nigerians from the next attack or even the following day’s attacks. Before the latest kidnap of school girls in Chibok, nobody seemed to have been looking for or even as much as discussing those kidnapped earlier. All Nigerians now live in extreme fear.
When a state has failed, it should not be left to be propped up by failed leaders and failed politicians. But nothing is unstoppable. This trajectory can still be reversed before it is too late. That is why statesmen must speak up now!
Or does money change (or an apparently surging economy) everything?
Trending: The Economist explains how Nigeria's economy grew by 89% overnight http://econ.st/1oTPp8I
26 comments:
I do not think that Nigeria is a failed state. It's a young country, only 54 years old, so it makes sense why it is struggling. If you look at the US when it was 50 years old, or any country for that matter, you would see that it was blighted with several very discouraging problems. Nigeria has a lot of potential. It has a abundant resources and a civil society that is, as the video stated, waking up and calling for change. I think that these two factors are nothing to be scoffed at. Both can help propel Nigeria to economic, social, and political stability. That said, I do believe that Nigeria has a high risk of becoming a failed state. If the country cannot tackle various problems such as corruption within the government, ethnic conflict, and exploitation by foreign companies (especially oil companies) then it will be in great danger of collapsing. Each of these problems on their own could mean the end of any nation, but the fact that they are combined could, if not handled in a timely manner, all but ensure the failure of Nigeria.
"Then she promises she will do better, she even shows me some of the things she's doing to change" - i think this quote says a lot about nigeria. it carries a lot of potential, both to fail and to pass, and it hasn't been a big international concern because of it's faltering promises and resources. i think nigeria is on the right track, trying to steady the ship, but faces a lot of domestic struggles
"Several authorities identify a failed state as one that can no longer perform its basic duties in such areas as security, power, eradication of poverty, education and job creation."- while this blog is quick to point nigeria as a failed state, they fail to point out any positives, if any. regardless, this quote helps to determine what makes a failed state, and in the context of the blog, nigeria is certainly a failed state
"...there is no proof"- a quote from IBB in the video regarding the disappearance of billions of dollars from nigeria in which nobody has been implicated because there is no proof.
while i'd like to be a believer, i truly think nigeria is a failed state. it doesn't take care of its citizens, it can't handle foreign pressures, it faces rampant corruption that sees no sign of ending. it is different from the violence seen in mexico, as those stem from drug cartels. the violence is nigeria is ethnic. a deep rooted hatred for other people within the same country. a cleavage that will continue to divide nigeria and prevent it from becoming a stable state.
Yes Nigeria is a young nation, yet one would think that after 54 years they would be a little more pulled together. Nigeria is rich with natural resources, much like Russia or Iran, and the potential to create a profit is there. From Onuzo's blog post, "True, she said she was working on it but she's been working on it for years!" By creating efforts to draw out this oil and sell it, Nigeria is working on bringing in revenue and creating a better nation. But corruption and lack of transparency has held Nigeria back. So it is true they are working on it, but results are not there. Nigeria is a poverty stricken nation, with the unemployment rate "80 per cent while the poverty rate is closer to 95 per cent". The standard of living is extremely low, according to the video many Nigerians live on less than $2 a day. The lack of wealth between the people may be a main cause for the many "kidnappings for ransom, daylight armed robberies, and unrestrained stealing of public funds". The people are so desperate to have an income they resort to dangerous lengths. According to the video, Nigeria is made up of many different tribes, thus causing tension between the people. It is necessary for a political leader to be able to bring all groups together as a unified front, yet Nigerian politicians either lack morals or they lack the ability to work with the people. Nigeria is weak socially, economically, and politically.
I would give Nigeria a failing grade because "it can no longer perform its basic duties in such areas as security, power, eradication of poverty, education and job creation." This is supported with the high unemployment and poverty rates, as well as violent rampages and frequency of kidnappings. I hope that Nigeria will soon regain some strength, but currently they are barely holding themselves together.
Personally, I think Nigeria is not a failed state. As Anna mentioned before, they youth of the nation must first be understood. Nigeria is young, so young that we might not even be able to help it, until it picks up on natural instinct and learns to crawl. It is not like Nigeria doesn't have the capability, or the man power. It has both, and it has enough in abundance. Yes, it has problems with inflation, yes it has social issues that hinder it from being safe, yes it has political issues where the government cannot control it's people. But didn't we have them too? Didn't we have problems with a centralized monitory institution, a civil war that drove us apart, many years wondering if our government is doing anything to protect us? I think we put way too much pressure on Nigeria to do well. As Mr. Wolak said in class the other day, 'If Nigeria succeeds, then the rest of Africa has hope'. That is a lot of pressure to put on a country that is linguistically and culturally heterogeneous. Let's consider Nigeria in the grand spectrum. Not only is it placed in a disadvantaged part of the world, with virtually no stable governments beside it, but it is resource rich and internally collapsing. I think Nigeria has a silent strength though. It has citizens that are ready to be governed, it has a strong base for economic prosperity, and it has everything it needs for a strong regime to kickstart change. Goodluck Jonathan has faced many problems in his time as the head of Nigeria, and I truly think that if a stronger regime steps up, and sets up a stable legislative and judicial system, then slowly, little by little, Nigeria will succeed. I would call this 'growing pains'.
I do not think Nigeria is a failed state as it is only 54 old and has an abundance of potential wealth-oil. However, I believe Nigeria has the potential to emerge as a middle class industrialized nation like the United States with its oil reserves. However, Nigeria is not politically stable and has a lot of corruption so the oil wealth is not being evenly distributed to the common man. If everyone got their equal slice of the pie, Nigeria could be a world power and climb out of poverty at just 54 years old. Nigeria also struggles socially with its many tribes, the hundreds of languages being spoken. Not to mention the Christian-Muslim divide as shown in Hauss after Obasanjo took office. "Several northern states adopted Sharia, the Islamic legal system, despite opposition from the non-Muslim half of the population. The army bloodily suppressed ethnic fighting in the state of Benue. Rioting in Lagos resulted in hundreds of deaths." Despite its potential to become wealthy, Nigeria struggles politically with its oil revenue stealing, corrupt Government, socially with its mix of tribes, languages and religions and economically with poverty. "It ranks among the poorest quarter of the countries in the world" All in all, I believe Nigeria's social and economic problems will be solved when its Government spreads the oil wealth because they will emerge out of poverty and more wealth makes people happy and hopefully that will suppress the social conflicts.
In my opinion Nigeria is a failed state because of its government's inability to suppress the ongoing terrorist attacks coupled with the stable, low standard of living despite strong economic growth. The article stated that "It is now beyond doubt that the regime is incapable of protecting the people....... Nigerians now live in extreme fear". I think it is hard to declare Nigeria a successful state, or even a passing state, when its citizens are terrified to leave their homes. Unfortunately I do not believe the ethnic tensions will diminish in the near future meaning either the government will need to find a solution or, most likely, there will be another civil war.
In the article "Nigeria at 50" the author ends with a dialogue meant to demonstrate the unacceptable level unemployment in a country with such ampule supplies of oil. Again, I find it difficult to give a passing grade to a country which has chosen to reward its elites, often through corrupt means, rather than allowing their citizens to benefit from the growing economy. However, unlike the social tensions this may be fixed within the next decade if the government focuses on taking a hard stance against corruption, and begins expanding job opportunities.
I believe that Nigeria is already a failed state despite it only being 54 years old. As stated in Our Stand " about a third of the country’s land mass has been under emergency rule for the past one year for reasons that are glaring also in at least another third of the country including the Federal Capital Territory: mass murders, kidnapping for ransom, daylight armed robberies, breakdown of law and order, and unrestrained stealing of public funds." With corruption and violence like that occuring normally it is hard to say Nigeria is not a failed state. "The Nigerian constitution recognises that the reason for government’s existence is protection of life and property as well as maintenance of law and order" and the government does not fulfill their role. Nigeria's "potential" with oil is running out. An expert in the Curse of Black Gold stated that Nigeria's oil money will only keep coming for about 40 more years. Nigeria needs to get settled within that time.
I do not think that at age 54 Nigeria is a failed state. It's a bit ridiculous that we are piling up so many expectations on a country that is less than a century old. While their government and major sources of income are all controlled by corrupt officials, it's still too soon to label them as a failed state. They're still trying to work themselves out with the oil situation and should be given a break on how much criticism they're getting. Their potential and abundance of oil should allow for skeptics to retreat. "Several authorities identify a failed state as one that can no longer perform its basic duties in such areas as security, power, eradication of poverty, education and job creation. Even the Nigerian constitution recognizes that the reason for government’s existence is protection of life and property as well as maintenance of law and order." The government of Nigeria should be given at least another 50 years of development and time to sort themselves out before anyone gives them such a harsh label as "failed state". How many people would call a 7 year old a failure for not understanding basic Algebra? Of course they face hindrances towards progress such as the fact that there are over 500 languages spoken in Nigeria, however with time the people of Nigeria will unite and rise to become a successful state.
I believe that Nigeria is in a similar place as Mexico. It is at a crossroad, and it's future dangles in the balance. However I think the potential for good and bad in Nigeria is much higher than in Mexico, seeing as Nigeria is much younger. We are quick to judge them, but where the US was at 54 was not much better, and in another lens it is an unfair comparison, because the world the US was trying to set off on it's own, the world was much different then today. While Nigeria has problems, like its patronage, and corruption, that's nothing new for a developing nation, and I believe Nigeria is young enough to recover from it.
I believe that Nigeria still has a chance. When reading the blog post by Chibundu Onuzo,the one phrase that stuck out to me the most was how Nigeria was "working on it". As we have talked about in class, Nigeria is a young country. They are trying to find a strong foothold in the modern world. America, France, UK and more nations all had struggles when they were 50 years old. They did not really have to worry about global influences, advanced weaponry, or the Internet. Nigeria is expected to perform at a high level when they barely have the foundation or infrastructure to do so. There is another specific quote within the Leadership article that states, "The Johnathan regime has demonstrated a frightening incompetence in the handling of the state's affairs." What must be noted is that the author is addressing the regime's failure, not the nation. A nation's whole identity should not be based on the works of their leader. If that is the judgement line, the U.S. would have been a failed state under the likes of Ulysses Grant or Calvin Coolidge. There is hope for Nigeria and I believe there is still a chance for them to rise from their current political standing.
Sorry, this anonymous comment was from me. I hit enter to soon
I do not think Nigeria is a failed state. Nigeria is very young and has huge potential economically, socially and within the youth. The biggest problem with Nigeria is the trinity of foreign oil companies, corrupt government, and the NNPC. these three prevent money from the nation's oil to trickle down to the people. The people are ready for more infrastructure, with "6 million university graduates" and passionate youth, just a little more money into the city and new jobs can go a long way. Socially Nigeria has made leaps of improvement, from the several tribes fighting one another, to the unity and nationality that we now see today. The social cleavages are now religion with Christianity and Islam which may seem like nothing has changed, but it shows how they no longer distinguish themselves as a Huasa or a yorubas but as Nigerian citizens. This nationalism will allow them to work together to stop this corruption and allow the people to gain money and power and rise themselves up.
If I disregard the fact that Nigeria is a young country then yes: I would say it's a failed state. Common characteristics of a failed state include a central government so weak that it has little control over much of its territory, widespread corruption and criminality, and sharp economic decline. I think it's safe to say that Nigeria definitely fits the widespread corruption and criminality. For heavens sake, it's commonplace and expected for citizens to bribe policemen. The economy should be going strong with how much oil they have but that's not possible because of the corruption. Politicians and officials embezzle the money quite often and even when some money is salvaged it's distributed terribly. Poverty is rampant and the government doesn't do anything. The citizens don't even trust them to do anything for that matter. So yes, I would say that it definitely goes into the failed state category in its current state. However, I feel like it's only up from here for Nigeria. It's still an extremely young country and it has a long road ahead of it. The issues need to be handled quickly before any more damage ensues to the already brittle and needy nation.
The main argument for Nigeria as to why it is not a failed state is because it is young and can grow out of it. Why I believe Nigeria is a failed state is because although Nigeria is young, it does not seem as though changes will be made to dig themselves out of this hole they are in. As mentioned in the Curse of the Black Gold, when oil became Nigeria's economic mainstage, it created many problems (i.e. corruption, violence, economic imbalance). Because of these problems, the oil industry has become a disaster for Nigerians, and to make matters worse, the disaster will not stop in the near future. The political elite in Nigeria are patronizing important petroleum engineer jobs, thus putting skilled Nigerians out of work, leaving clueless and corrupt individuals to screw it up. With Nigeria's federalist style government, the elite members of government are raking in money and power with the oil movement, so they obviously have no plans of changing anything. All I am saying is that with change, Nigeria could become successful, but with the wrong people in power, that change seems far from occurring.
While I see both sides to this argument, today I take the stance that Nigeria is a failed state. Nigeria has tried to make many efforts to come out of the rut they are in, but nothing is actually happening. Of course it's economy is being stimulated by the oil industry however we cannot ignore that it is also being carried by the oil industry. Other economic industries are being completely sidelined which doesn't make sense because oil is a resource that will eventually run out and besides the middle east already has many more oil reserves. I understand that Nigeria is a young country, times are different since other developed countries were at the same stage as Nigeria is at. The sheer divide in the country and failure to overcome obstacles is a clear indication it is a failed state. Going of that economical lens, as the video said that most Nigerians are living off of less than two dollars a day. If we identify a failed state as "one that can no longer perform its basic duties in such areas as security, power, eradication of poverty, education and job creation", then clearly Nigeria falls in this category. If most Nigerians are living in complete poverty (apparently almost 95%), and the economy is being completely run by the oil industry, we're already failing several categories here. Especially as the article "Nigeria at 50" discussed how there is so much unemployment regardless of the supply of oil in the area. The citizens of Nigeria aren't working together which is just ruining them. Furthermore, the ethnic conflict and linguistic barriers that divide the country up are demolishing any potential the country could ever have to work together and solve these issues. Politically, the government isn't doing anything. The amount of corruption in Nigeria is the reason the lives of the Nigerians isn't up to par with any standard of living and why none of these problems are being tackled. Besides the excessive pressure the international community puts on Nigeria, I honestly think the international community is the only way Nigeria can be saved because on its own, Nigeria is failing itself.
Even though Nigeria is relatively young, I believe that they have been on a declining path for quite some time now. I believe that Nigeria is right now a failed state. I think a large part of why I think they are a failed state is because they have the important natural resources to make it an incredibly prosperous state. Due to their lack of government and immense corruption, they cannot be as prosperous as they should be. The leadership article states that "several authorities identify a failed state as one that can no longer perform its basic duties in such areas as security, power, eradication of poverty, education and job creation." This is proven by the fact that the unemployment rate is around 80% and the poverty rate is somewhere around 95%. In the Curse of the Black Gold, O'Neill mentioned how the annual per capita income in Nigeria is a mere 1,400--the lowest of any major oil nations. In addition, O'Neill wrote about how "after 50 years, the oil companies are still searching for a way to operate successfully with communities". That means for just about all of Nigeria's existence they have been "figuring it out"...(or not). Another fact that I felt was absolutely astounding was that in 2003, 70% of oil revenues--more than 14 billion dollars was stolen or wasted. As we know, corruption is a huge problem here. In addition, the first video spoke about the great ethnic conflicts that are struggling to be maintained. For all of these reasons, I believe that Nigeria is a failed state, and hopefully can get outside help to dig themselves out of this huge mess.
"Several authorities identify a failed state as one that can no longer perform its basic duties in such areas as security, power, eradication of poverty, education and job creation. "
If this is what a failed state is, then I think Nigeria qualifies as one. While Nigeria is young, I don't think there were mass killings all over and a government that stands by and doesn't act in states that have come to have legitimate and strong governments. With poverty and unemployment so high, the government isn't doing anything to take care of the struggling people and the people are very discontent. Nigeria hasn't handled the oil wealth well and the cultural divides tear the country apart. There is corruption all throughout the government and the people are very aware of it, yet are powerless to do anything. I think at some point Nigeria might be able to succeed as a state but at the point the country is now, it is either failing or already failed.
I think Nigeria is a failed state. As of right now, they technically are not, but in the near future I can see their nation crumbling. They have too much diversity in their nation to overcome it. I know that that is typically looked on as a good thing, but in this case it is very bad. The nation of Nigeria is much to separated to make any progress towards a better quality of life or anything of that sort. Oil is also another detriment that will eventually bleed Nigeria dry. What is going to happen when all the oil is gone? All of the oil companies will leave and much of the Nigerian economy will be destroyed. Here is a quote about all of the crime and terrorism in Nigeria. "...about a third of the country’s land mass has been under emergency rule for the past one year for reasons that are glaring also in at least another third of the country including the Federal Capital Territory: mass murders, kidnapping for ransom, daylight armed robberies, breakdown of law and order, and unrestrained stealing of public funds." Like I said earlier, Nigeria just has too much on its plate to get any traction towards being a legitimate state. With oil, terrorism and lots of crime, and no national identity due to differences in culture, this nation was doomed to fail at the start.
I believe Nigeria is currently a failed state. "Several authorities identify a failed state as one that can no longer perform its basic duties in such areas as security, power, eradication of poverty, education and job creation." If this is the standard for being a failed state, then it is obvious that Nigeria fits the title.
That being said, I think Nigeria has time to become a legitimate state. People make it sound like Nigeria is in such a bad state that it has no hope of recovery, but the United States had just as many problems when it was 50 years old. Both Nigeria and the U.S. has cultural/ideological cleavages, causing political problems and instability. We ended up having the Civil War because of our North vs. South cleavage. At that point in time, the U.S. was considered a failed state, but we were able to fix the problem and are now a world power. Although Nigeria’s ethnic and religious divide is a lot more severe, I think the world just needs to give Nigeria time to figure this problem out, just like they gave the U.S. time. I think they have the opportunity to redeem themselves once they have a strong, legitimate leadership, since "the Jonathan regime has demonstrated a frightening incompetence in the handling of the state’s affairs. It is now beyond doubt that the regime is incapable of protecting the people." Once Nigeria is able to get over these hurdles, it has the potential of becoming a stable state.
I don't believe Nigeria is a failed state yet. That being siad, i do believe if they do nothing to solve the problems of their country, they will become one. Although the oil is their downfall at the moment, the oil could also be the thing that saves their country. That can only happen if the government accepts its duties and works towards making the oil business in Nigeria less harmful to the local villages of Nigeria, and creating jobs for the Nigerian people. With a little bit of outside help from larger countries, Nigeria can begin to get its stuff together for the future.
I don't think Nigeria is a failed state. After 54 years do you think that any other place on this earth would be perfect after 54 years... No. Nigeria has a bunch of potential to become a more posperous place. Nigeria has an abundant resource such as oil that can help their economy. Even though there has been a lot of carruption, does not mean things can not change. I think there needs to be a lot of changes made, and that those changes won't be made right away just like other places in the world things take time. And what Nigeria needs is just time.
Taking into account that Nigeria is only 54 years old and has only had half a century to develop, currently it is a failed state. The given definition of a failed state was "one that can no longer perform its basic duties in such areas as security, power, eradication of poverty, education and job creation." In accordance with definition and evidence from the article and video, Nigeria at this moment is a failed state.
However, Nigeria had the possibility of becoming a flourishing nation with time. In the video, a researcher said "if you can fix Nigeria, you can fix Africa." What becomes of Nigeria over the next couple of decades is pivotal for Africa's future. Nigeria is simply going through the normal obstacles of a newly independent nation: social/political/ethnic cleavages, civil wars, balancing resources, etc. If Nigeria can control the religious divide, gain a legitimate government, and stop some of the foreign control of resources, Nigeria could very well become a world power.
"It is not enough. It is nowhere near enough," says a woman who wishes to love Nigeria but cannot. I believe Nigeria is a failed state. Nigeria's own people have no faith that it can overcome it's issues, and even if they did they could not fight for it because they are not united. Our stand calls for statesmen to speak up, but why should they if they have everything they need? Problems can't be fixed without good leaders, good leaders won't come about without an end to corruption, which will only happen upon revolution- impossible because Nigerians are so ethnically divided. The author of "Nigeria at 50" states that problems are only being solved partly, and out of order, and the situation has digressed in the past 4 years. The Nigerian government has failed to protect livelihood and safety for its citizens, let alone employment and education. Sadly, I believe Nigeria is a victim of the dependency theory- once its mother country left it will never be able to support itself.
I do not believe that Nigeria should be considered a failed state. Regardless of its original reaction to sudden wealth from the explosion of the oil industry, Nigeria still has time to react to the influx of economic potential. At the young age of 54 years, the nation can be expected to make some mistakes when it comes to nationalizing resources and managing a wealth whose size was previously unheard of in the region. While the civil society of the country has much to improve on, what with corruption running rampant through the ranks of the government, or the Christian-Muslim holy war that is steadily worsening in the area, Nigeria has the ability to turn all of this around within a decade or so. If not countered, these problems will fester and eventually render Nigeria a failed state, with greedy oil companies feeding off its remains.
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