 Nigeria's illusive search for nationhood. If anyone was under any illusion of Nigeria's nation state status, the Muhammad Buhari administration in its six years so far must have helped to cure that illusion, even if in the most unfortunate of circumstances. It is not that Nigerians ever had a consensus about the idea of Nigeria as a geographical space where the potentials of each member of the diverse nationalities comprised within it can thrive as members of a common national destiny, not at all. Even in its infancy, the young Nigeria was described as no more than a geographical expression by one of her founding fathers. What the Buhari regime has come to make us realize is how divided we are having done a bad job of mismanaging or managing our diversity in the last six years. Some critics have had to argue that no other time was Nigeria so divided in her history than now. Only you couldn't have but agree with them. I was moved to deep reflection recently against the backdrop of all the depressing news in the country and I couldn't have but come to the conviction that Nigeria might just be battling a crisis of nationhood, a situation which reinforces the convictions of separatist agitators who would rather the divergent nationalities constituted in Nigeria go their separate ways. The North-South divide has grown so wide in recent months owing to inability of leaders and followers to reach a consensus on critical national debates, such as system of animal husbandry, power rotation, freedom of speech, etc. The alleged entitlement mentality of the North and the seemingly marginalization of the South, particularly the South East, has created a sense of exclusion whereby some people are seen as less Nigerian than the others. One of the unintended consequences of this social disequilibrium is the emergence of the we vs them mentality, where truth and objectivity is now a function of group and tribal solidarity. Amidst the bedlam over the suspicion of Twitter, I noticed with concern the conspiratorial silence of the North and her so-called intelligentsia where the South was agog with condemnation of it. On the other hand, I also observed the rearrest of Mazinambika and the raid on Sunday Ibuhus residents were hailed by the North where the South expectedly rose in condemnation of same. One question that has emerged from all of these is how do we build a nation? Perhaps another way to phrase the question might as well be are we supposed to be a nation? For if after 60 years of independence, the two distinct protectorates that became the country Nigeria as we know it today are unable to achieve a pan-consensus on critical and basic issues of nationhood, then it may not be out of place to take a second look at this colonial experiment. It has also been suggested in some quotas that since the clannish nature of President Muhammad is largely responsible for this level of division in the land. Working towards a post-Buhari era should be the collective preoccupation of all and sundry. But whether that would not amount to kicking the proverbial can down the road is another thing altogether. I don't know if it would be discouraging to say that I do not know what it would take for us to actually be a nation. I'm not of the school of thought that there should be a separation. Because I'm not exactly sure what purpose it would serve. Whether or not we like it, all the regions in this country have benefitted one thing or the other from the other regions. However, it's a real thing, right? People are genuinely concerned about their place in Nigeria. Genuinely so. I grew up in the south, I'm from the southeast. But I was never aware of my tribe until I moved to the southwest. And this is still the south. So that makes you a bit concerned. Because the first thing you see is you see my tribe before you see me. Before you see what I have to offer. Before you see the value I bring to anything. And that's the same sentiment across all the different tribes of the country. So now all the things that are happening is when something happens that is against the sovereignty of the nation or a national problem, people are not looking at the problem. People are looking at who did it. If some boys were caught doing drugs. The first thing people are looking at, what tribe? Where is it from? So we are so divided as a nation that I really don't know how we are going to get past it. I don't know how. I think honestly that for, like you said, for as long as I've known as long as I've lived, we've always been about tribe. I'm not sure that we have ever truly been without our tribes at the back of our minds. I remember that I always knew I was Yoruba. I knew that. And even within being a Yoruba person, there were times you were told you can marry from this tribe. You can't marry from this part of this tribe. Imagine that kind of issue. So we will now go to the bigger picture of Nigeria and they are told you can't marry someone from that part of Nigeria or someone from that part of Nigeria because it behaves like this. Or situations where you actually hear, we know when we were growing up, we used to have all those funny things where they would say, these people eat food and they don't drink water. Or these people use their feet to kick their parents. Or those of that was, so many snide remarks that we grew up with literally speaking. And so that begs the question did we really have a nation? And then there was something that was said that you said about the experiment, the social experiment by colonial masters. I don't know whether it's time to start advocating for separation. I don't know whether it's time to advocate for whatever it is they were advocating for. But one thing that I do know is that as human beings we cannot do without one another. So whether we're going into different nations or we're staying together we have to come into a system of governance that's going to be profitable for us that's going to make sense so that people can have a sense of identity. And like Uche rightly said a lot of young people don't know what it means to be called Nigerian again. They don't know what it means to have a sense of nationhood. And indeed maybe we are just throwing the proverb Belkan down the road and I don't know what it is. It's certainly sometimes a depressing topic. I totally agree with both of you. Let me just bring the governance and leadership dimension to the debate because I found that the Buhari government has to largest help to fund the embers of the division we are witnessing today. I know Nigeria has not been well not been that united but the deliberate steps of this government has to a large extent force that sense of exclusion. We are by some position now okay I don't understand what is going on here with a part of this country. So since we understand that how elusive this can be what it means is that it even takes more deliberate leadership steps from people who elect into power the pluralistic nature of the Nigerian society and tried as much in fact the frameworks of the constitution they were not fools when the in our chair session 14 sub session 2A that this is the federal character it was in the consciousness of the nature of the country whereby for there to be that sense of nationhood every person should be seen to be involved in the process. Seen to be in the operative world the case pretty much every other thing crumbles because everything has to rest on there has to be a nation before any other thing can happen. So you might be building red from here to wherever when the people in the country are not actually happy being in it. But do you know do you think that the whole concept of federal character has actually helped with regards to development of our nation? I will answer in this way people have argued that should we do federal character for the sake of it but my response is we can actually get meritocracy within the framework of federal character principle. You know recent interesting that we are having this conversation and I just remembered something that was said now I mean on my status before this conversation occurred there was a person that was talking about the issue of Nigeria and how okay so when you get qualified you have a degree, you have your muscles and everything as a person from any part of Nigeria are you going to apply for a job are you told sorry maybe you need to go and get some other things while somebody else who is from the northern region of Nigeria goes there and the person is like oh whatever qualification or come in and then gets the job makes money from the job and then further push to further their education but the point that the person which was very unusual was actually equal to the southern part of Nigeria that in the northern part of Nigeria you find that people it's literally like a communal sense of engagement and the person was pushing for the fact that I mean totally away from governance and nationhood but it struck me because one thing I have seen like I said when I studied was that even within Nigeria and within the different tribes we have those things that how many of us actually really truly like build each other or pull each other out of that how about that sense of communalism now this is talking about federal character because you find that one of the things in the federal character system we're a part of Nigeria and I'm very careful not to do the north south divide because I literally avoid those kind of conversations but we do know what we're talking about here where the standards for meritocracy were not achievable they literally just pull themselves up and so in pulling themselves up and giving themselves a leg up they're able to finally bridge the gap what they've done is one thing I have discovered is that we may not realize it but it's you know there's something about strategy so even if they came in from this level of understanding or my educational qualification was your school set within 15 to 20 years that's the person who entered the system with school set actually goes to school and gets to the highest level of the education and becomes competent while maybe we studied with the fact that okay I've got my master's degree I've gotten I mean I have a PhD and all that but so maybe just maybe the federal character because right now we don't have anything that is saying that anything is changing so because we have to find a solution in the system we're in maybe when I start to clamor for the fact that on my simple very simple non-governance ask say how about we start to look at how do we actually build ourselves with the marginalized supposed marginalized people for that to happen there has to be a complete change of mindset fantastic let's use the regions the south east already believes that they are marginalized from the top to the bottom and so what they do and I suppose every region is to say okay do you know what where is the space that is my own that I can own and so they will focus on trade and commerce and will not go after those opportunities that you speak about so that bringing up is not going to happen they will say let's say that door has been closed to you by virtue of the way the country has been run for years so why are you wasting your time so go focus on your focus where you know that you're going to you have an edge so there's a complete mindset reorientation that needs to happen right I I'm a south like I said I'm a south easterner and I've lived and I'm working they goes for a very long time I'm always the probably the only south easterner in a room many times because they're like those doors are being closed to us unfortunately mentally so we need to start to re-educate people and the only way people can believe it is if at the leadership top you talked about governance and leadership there is actually a demonstration that we are trying to create an inclusive environment for everyone people will tell you look at all the heads of the you know parasitels in Nigeria they all come from one part of the country so that tells you something so people are like aha how do you believe that there's going to be a chance for me so when we are voting next time we need to be careful how we vote we need to be strategic we need to be looking at leaders that have demonstrated that they truly truly understand the whole concept of federalism you know what is a nation is a group of people gathered together for one common vision and what is the vision of Nigeria I don't know it how many of us know it actually how many of us really know it and maybe that really is the question what our foundation might be what are we working towards because if the three of us believe we are working towards one goal that benefits all of us it wouldn't matter where we are from well I guess this conversation would not end certainly and I am happy that she ended with a note of leadership and as we approach the 2020 election I hope Nigeria should have that focus in mind of letting the leader who will have that sense of inclusion we hope so too on last week's episode Milo Mor says education and inclusion is everything thanks for the report Antonia Ale Biosu says this is quite insightful follow us on social media platforms on facebook plus tv africa hashtag the advocates ng or on instagram plus tv africa hashtag the advocate ng to catch up with previous broadcasts go to plus tv africa.com slash the advocate ng any time it's next after the break do stay with us