Dimensions in the Construction of National Identity in Nigeria

Abstract

Identifying the most influential dimension in the construction of national identity poses a huge challenge. Keillor et al. (1996) identify four key dimensions as being important in shaping national identity. This article examines these dimensions, namely national heritage, cultural homogeneity, ethnocentrism and belief structure within the Nigerian context and attempts to measure which of these is the most influential.In addition to the historical information contained in existing literature, a survey is carried out to provide an empirical basis for this analysis.Keywords: national identity, cultural pluralism, religion and politics in Nigeria, ethnicity IN TRO DUCTIO N National identity involves 'a sense of political community which implies a definite social space, a fairly well demarcated and bounded territory' (Smith 1991: 9). It is 'a set of meanings owned by a given culture that sets it apart from other cultures ' (Keillor et al. 1996: 58). The concept is related to the collection of common identifiable attributes and values in a nation. These attributes and values give the members of a community genuine meaning and a sense of belonging. However, the existence of these common values, meanings and way of life that binds members of a community is easier to identify in a homogenous cultural context. As Dougherty (2003) aptly explains, racial homogeneity and ethnic purity were key characteristics that once upon a time identified nations but today Studies in World Christianity 16.2 (2010): 169-179

Nigerian Students’ Perceptions and Cultural Meaning Construction regarding Academic Integrity in the Online International Classroom

“…Western education was promoted by Christian missionaries in the colonial period by the progressive suppression of indigenous cultures and beliefs in order to facilitate the adoption of foreign cultures (Anele, 2010;Madu, 1974). By ignoring the ethnic cultures of approximately 350 ethnicities in Nigeria, amongst them the dominant ethnic groups -Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa - (Agulanna, 2011;Williams, 2010;Shaka, 2005), "Europeans had assumed that Black people are innately inferior to the Whites, and they did not see any point in learning the ways of an 'inferior race'" (Anele, 2010, p.41).…”