By Samuel C. Okechukwu

"When people lose their identity in order to get to the top, they begin to lose everything."

— Sadie Robertson

Identity is the soul of a people. It carries our dignity, our worldview, our shared memory, and the purpose that binds us together.

Yet, throughout our history, this identity has been slowly eroded—sometimes through force, sometimes through subtle pressures, and at times through our own silent compliance.

A timeless principle of justice applies here:

An injustice against one eventually becomes an injustice against all.

The structural problems that weaken one community today will eventually circle back to the entire nation. As Nigerians like to say, "last last, na everybody go chop breakfast."

But this "breakfast" is not heartbreak.

It is the painful realization that we are losing who we truly are—often handed to us through the same colonial structures that once exploited us, now operated by local elites who speak of service while quietly extracting identity, dignity, and power from their own people.

How did a vibrant people become strangers in their own land—begging for safety, dignity, and national coherence?

To answer this, we must trace how our identity has been systematically diminished.

When a nation loses its identity, it loses everything:

• its moral compass,
• its economic creativity,
• and its resilience in times of crisis.

THE SYSTEMIC ERASURE OF IDENTITY: HOW OUR STORY WAS REWRITTEN

Over the decades, several forces have contributed to the dilution of our true identity:

1. Names Were Silenced

Indigenous names—carriers of meaning, lineage, and spiritual identity—were replaced or devalued, creating a psychological detachment from our roots.

2. Regions Were Centralized

Genuine federalism gave way to extreme centralization. Military rule collapsed the strength of regional governments into a single overloaded center, weakening diversity, innovation, and local autonomy.

3. Languages Were Neglected

Local languages, the vessels of our culture and intellectual heritage, were sidelined in education, governance, and business. A generation grew up unable to fully interpret the wisdom encoded in their mother tongues.

4. Governance Was Replaced

Traditional systems of leadership were swept aside and replaced by a constitutional document declaring "We the people…"—despite not being authored or consented to by the people.

This structure concentrated power in ways that rewarded extraction, not development.

How long will we continue operating under this inherited illusion?

How long will we remain silent while the foundation of our identity erodes before our eyes?

If we fail to rebuild a true Nigerian and African identity, others—internal and external—will be happy to manufacture a false one for us.

In many ways, they already have.

FROM CREATORS OF WEALTH TO BEGGARS OF RENT: THE ECONOMIC SHIFT

Our original economic identity was clear:

We were creators and producers of wealth.

In the 1960s, regional competition spurred agricultural and industrial progress.

Each region thrived by building on its unique strengths.

But today?

We have been structurally transformed into a rent-dependent, consumption-driven nation.

The federal center hoards power, resources, and decision-making, leaving states and regions waiting monthly for allocations instead of building sustainable economies.

"Demands for new states—particularly the South East's legitimate quest for equal representation—reflect real historical grievances. But without restructuring, new states alone cannot solve the deeper issues. They may only increase administrative dependency unless regions are empowered to develop their own economies."

This dependency and fragmentation did not emerge naturally.

They evolved from a constitutional and economic system rooted in colonial control and refined by local power brokers who prefer easy power over genuine productivity.

DESIGNED TO FAIL: ENGINEERING THE ILLUSION OF POVERTY

Nigeria is not inherently poor.

It has been structurally configured to operate as a poor nation.

A country with immense human talent, abundant natural resources, and fertile land has been reduced to chronic instability by an Extractive State that rewards dependency, rent-seeking, and inefficiency.

These crises are not random—they are predictable outcomes of the system's design.

They manifest as artificial failures that keep citizens disempowered and divided.

THE FOUR PILLARS OF ENGINEERED SCARCITY

1. Artificial Scarcity

Mechanism:

A system that favors importation, arbitrage, and elite-controlled monopolies over domestic production.

Outcome:

Manufacturers face crippling costs for power, security, and logistics, weakening competitiveness while elites profit from subsidies and import licenses.

2. Artificial Insecurity

Mechanism:

Persistent violence creates political leverage, thriving black markets, and justifies opaque, unaccountable security spending.

Outcome:

Fear immobilizes citizens and diverts development funds into shadow systems.

3. Artificial Justice

Mechanism:

Judicial processes remain slow, costly, and influenced by political interests, creating the appearance—not the reality—of accountability.

Outcome:

Impunity flourishes at the top; frustration spreads at the bottom.

4. Artificial Divisions

Mechanism:

Elites weaponize ethnic, religious, and regional differences to fragment the populace and deflect scrutiny.

Outcome:

Citizens fight horizontally, while structural failures continue vertically.

THE PATH FORWARD: RECLAIMING OUR STORY

Though we are losing parts of our identity, it is not irreversible.

Identity can be rebuilt, renewed, and reclaimed.

1. Shared Consciousness

Rebuild a national identity grounded in truth, dignity, and our pre-colonial unity of purpose.

2. Economic Freedom (Restructuring)

Return power to regions to unlock productivity, innovation, and economic diversity.

3. Cultural Pride

Revalue our names, languages, traditions, and indigenous knowledge systems.

4. Constitutional Reset

Adopt a truly people-driven constitution that reflects our realities and aspirations.

Nations rarely collapse suddenly.

They crumble through small, silent erosions—until the damage becomes irreversible.

If we continue on this path, identity will not be the only thing lost.

We risk forfeiting the future itself.

But if we choose transformation—if we choose unity, dignity, and truth—this moment can become a turning point.

Nigeria has everything it needs to rise.

What remains is the collective will to remember who we truly are.