Book Review: Sam Momah, Nigeria Beyond Divorce: Amalgamation in Perspective, Ibadan: Safari Books Limited, 2013


  •  Chukwuma Osakwe    

Abstract

This twenty-one chapter book of 277 pages is a convergence of the ideas and experience of General Sam Momah as well as an expression of his abiding faith in the corporate existence of Nigeria. In this lucid narrative, the author in four parts takes the reader on a tour of Nigeria from the colonial era to present day. Prior to that, in the prologue, the author contend that Nigeria with all its potentials is yet to be a nation not to think of being a great nation. He then goes on to appraise some of the contending issues militating against nationhood such as the need to give equal weight to state of residence and state of origin. To the author, the constant clamour for state creation and complaints about marginalization are some examples that Nigeria is yet to be a nation. In this regard, education which should serve as a bellwether in the quest for nationhood is being challenged by an insurgent group known as Boko Haram. This unfortunate situation, the author laments, has been met with a studied silence by those Northern leaders who fashioned it as a militant tool with which to rest power from Southern politicians, and for them to respect the political party arrangement or understanding within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for a rotational Presidency. Beyond the Boko Haram monster, the author identifies other militant groups in the country and a host of other grotesque social pathologies not least of which are kidnapping, ritual killing and the “419” scheme. In conclusion, he observes that the life of the rich and the poor are unbearable and both experience sleepless nights.



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