One of the very important values accepted by most people and nations in the world today is the equality of all men. The idea presupposes that everyone is born equal and should be treated as such regardless of racial, ethnic, religious and cultural differences. The Nigerian Constitution, the Charters of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and the United Nations Organisation (UNO) support this value of equality of all men. In fact, equality of persons is one of the very important principles of democracy. Any government that respects democracy must recognize equality of all men in its Constitution.
But despite constitutional provision for equality in our country, we are confronted with dangerous tendency of mutual distrust and manipulation of what divide us by powerful political and religious cum ethnic mongers. In truth, socio-economic cum political inequality is a reality in Nigeria. But in spite of various efforts to eradicate the problem as evidence in the creation and proliferation of states, ethnic "arithmetic", ethnic balancing, federal character, NYSC scheme, Federal Unity Colleges, various formulas for revenue allocation, the policy of WAZOBIA, relocation of federal capital, official and unofficial exhortations for national unity and interethnic tolerance and inter-faith groups, the problem still hunts us.
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