What are the ways of promoting national unity? In every society, there is need to promote unity and understanding amongst the people of that society. Without national unity, even the law may not be able to shape the lives of people effectively. This is undoubtedly why national unity is thought in almost every institution in the world. In heterogeneous countries like Nigeria, it is even more important because the absence of national Unity can lead to all sort of damage to the country.

To explain what unity is, it is easier to see it as the absence of waror anarchy in a particular place. When people live in unity, they prosper and live in happiness because of the sincerity of purpose and dedication to one course.

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In this article, i will be explaining the meaning of National Unity and the ways of promoting national unity in a nation. I enjoin you to read carefully if you want to learn anything from this article.

Meaning of National Unity

National unity is the living together of a particular ethnic group or nation in peace harmony, devoid of any form of disagreement, anarchy or animosity, this is aimed at promoting their economic and social status. People with a viable national unity usually performs better than places without national unity.

In 2967 when the civil war broke out in Nigeria, millions of people were killed and properties worth billions were vandalized. Nigerians learnt their lessons and since then measures to promote national unity we’re established eg NYSC.

For a better explanation of the meaning of National Unity, i strongly recommend that you watch the video below:

Top 6 Effective Ways of Promoting National Unity

1. Tolerance: Tolerance is the act of accepting other people’s way of life. In a country of multiple national group, there are so many people with different cultures and traditions, which influences their ideologies about life and about how to approach things.

To promote national unity, one therefore needs to accept and Accord every person the respect he deserves in matters relating to differences in ideologies a d understanding. Tolerance is divided into two vis-a-vis, Religions Tolerance and Tribal Tolerance.

a. Tribal Tolerance: Tribal Tolerance is the act of according people of other tribes the respect they deserve as a people. Some tribes habours the arrogant believe in tribal superiority, thereby relegating other tribes to background and regarding them as second class citizens. Lack of this has led into many tribal crisis in African countries especially in Nigeria. A typical example is the crisis between the Fani and Jukun People in Taraba state. The crisis between the Agulere and Umulere in Ebonyi state is another example, this crisis has cost the life of so many people.

b. Religious Tolerance: Religious Tolerance is one of the major areas of tolerance, this is the act of according due respect to peoples religion. Some Religious sect are also in the habit of schooling their People on the superiority of their own religion, as a matter of fact some of them teach that any body who is not with them is against them and therefore should be seen as a potential enemy. Many of the terrorist known today are products of religious extremists, eg ISIS, Boko Haram to mention just a few.

These people are the religious extremists who believe in the superiority of their own religion, they kill, extort, kidnap and mail those who do not share in their believe system. National Unity cannot thrive in such setting, it is against the rule of natural justice that you brutalize and unleash mayhem on People simply because they don’t share in your own religious believe system.

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2. Petriotism: Petriotism is the love for ones nation. This is one of the major tools for promotion of national Unity, infact it is the bedrock of national Unity, because when there is love for ones nation, such love will engineer the spirit of brotherhood and fraternity among citizens.

A patriotic citizen will avail himself to be used as an instrument for creating germain policies for national growth. A patriotic citizen will be willing to die for his own country, and also hold sacred the unity of his country.

3. Showing Hospitality Especially to Strangers: In other to promote national Unity, there is need to be hospitable, that is showing love and kindness to people around you, especially strangers. Showing hospitality to people points a good impression, of a person with purity of heart and eager for a peaceful co-existence. Showing People hospitality will always make them to reciprocate to other people and the circle continues.

4. Living a Life Devoid of Discrimination: Discrimination is the act of avoiding inter-relationship with other people, because of their tribes, colour, ethnic group etc. It is one of the root cause of lack of national Unity, this is because when a particular sect of people a constantly duscrminated by others, those being discriminated, develop a feeling of insecurity and subsequently it might lead to hatred.

If this is not diplomatically handled, it might also lead to revolt. Discrimination should be completely avoided, everyone deserves to be treated with love and respect.

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5. Encouraging inter-tribal Marriages: One of the best way of promoting national peace is through intertribal marriages amongst young people who are willing to get married. When in-laws of  other ethnic extraction are made, it will foaster a relationship that will linger for ages, this is also a way of fusing People together to get a hybrid.

This will create a crop of citizens who can stand in the gap in the event of tribal wars, so that peace making can be lot more easier. When INTER-TRIBAL marriages are contracted, it helps in solidifying the relationship between two ethnic groups.

6. Encouragement of Settlement in Other Areas: When people travel to settle in other areas, it expose them to understand many things about the host ethnic group, eg rational for certain behaviors, understanding of their cultures and traditions, dos and don’t. This is exactly the idea behind the NYSC program.

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By way of conclusion, it is important for national Unity to be seen as a sacred commodity whose existence is not a subject of negotiation. This is because that is the foundation of any People, therefore it should be upheld at all cost. The progress of and development of any nation is tied to the level of national Unity obtainable in that area.

Edeh Samuel Chukwuemeka ACMC

Edeh Samuel Chukwuemeka, ACMC, is a lawyer and a certified mediator/conciliator in Nigeria. He is also a developer with knowledge in various programming languages. Samuel is determined to leverage his skills in technology, SEO, and legal practice to revolutionize the legal profession worldwide by creating web and mobile applications that simplify legal research. Sam is also passionate about educating and providing valuable information to people.