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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Collective memory, coloniality and resource ownership questions: the conflict of identities in postcolonial Nigeria
Author:Umejesi, IkechukwuISNI
Year:2015
Periodical:Africa Review: Journal of African Studies Association of India (ISSN 0974-4061)
Volume:7
Issue:1
Pages:42-54
Language:English
Geographic terms:Nigeria
Great Britain
Subjects:colonial territories
indigenous peoples
natural resources
property
communities
State formation
External link:https://doi.org/10.1080/09744053.2014.977595
Abstract:The indigenous concepts of 'public', 'identity' and 'ownership' of natural resources in precolonial Nigeria were redefined with the evolution of the Nigerian nation state. In Eastern Nigeria, for example, the 'public' and 'national identity' revolved around small independent communities. These communities, within the ethnic space, owned the resources within their borders. However, the creation of the Nigerian state by British colonialism reconstituted 'national identity' and shifted 'ownership' from the community to the nation state. Using the framework of collective memory, the article examines identity constructions and ownership of natural resources. The article argues that while the nation state has become the dominant geospatial basis for individual and collective identity, the dynamics of power relations embedded in the Nigerian state since its creation often rehabilitates primordial identities, where communities find expression in resource control agitation. The article utilises both primary and secondary sources in its analysis. It focuses on perceptions of resource ownership among communities of South-eastern Nigeria. Bibliogr., notes, sum. [Journal abstract]
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