Ken Saro-Wiwa’s Concept of Erectism: A Paradigm for Sustainable National Development and Unity in Nigeria

Abstract

Nigeria has had a civil war and repeated frequent ethnic and communal wars in virtually all parts of the country ever since it became an independent republic in 1963. It has also witnessed many religious clashes and insurgency. These and other related factors have combined to make the country very unstable, both politically and economically, and disunited. Many scholars regard the multi-ethnic character of the State as its major undoing. On the other hand, political leaders at the national level see the country's amazing ethno-cultural diversity as a social condition for national growth. The politicians have, however, failed to provide the necessary ingredients that would promote national development and unity. This work seeks to examine the appropriateness of Ken Saro-Wiwa's concept of ‘erectism' as a paradigm for sustainable national development and unity in Nigeria. Adopting a constructivist approach in the pursuit of that objective, this work critically analyses the systemic anomalies of the Nigerian state vis-í -vis its multi-ethnic structure and concludes that Saro-Wiwa's theory of erectism is a workable formula for promoting national development. The concept entails ethnic autonomy, ethnic ownership and control of resources as well as ethnic control and management of environment.