Nigeria: One Nation, Many Flags

31 August 2012
editorial

The recent creation of flags and anthems by some state governments in Nigeria has elicited comments from many who feel that such action is a signal for secession. Bayelsa, President Goodluck Jonathan's home state, is the latest in this novel act. It has reportedly created its own flag and made its own anthem.

Observers of the Nigeria Project are uncomfortable with this development and feel that states should be barred from creating special identities that may signal disintegration. Adopting individual states' identities is not altogether new in Nigeria, however, and is not a problem on its own. In Nigeria's pre-military era, each of the regions had its own symbols and this was not a problem then. Even in the United States where we copied out presidential system of government, each state has its own motto and flag. Yet, the US citizens are highly patriotic when it comes to national issues.

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