DELTA STATE DIASPORA AND THE RAMIFICATIONS OF ETHNIC AMBIVALENCE FOR HOMELAND DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

Diaspora’s reputation as an agent of homeland development through remittances has gained unprecedented traction since the turn of the 21st century. The African Union’s declaration of the diaspora as Africa’s sixth region underscores this assumption, just as the mobilization of formal and informal activities around the value of the Nigerian diaspora testifies to the prominence the country accords its diaspora for development. While scholars have continued to investigate the developmental role of the Nigerian diaspora, little has been done to investigate the disproportion in the diaspora interface with the Nigerian homeland states. This study, therefore, examined the phenomenon of ethnic ambivalence among Delta State diaspora and how the attitude has hindered development in the homeland. Lucy Tse’s “Ethnic Ambivalence” was adopted as the framework to foreground the study, while the ethnographic design was used for data collection. Primary data were collected from three locations: London, Lagos, and Delta State. The locations represent foreign diaspora, local diaspora, and homeland, respectively. In-depth interviews were conducted with 40 purposively selected respondents in both locations of the diaspora in London and Lagos. The snowball technique was employed to select five respondents of each ethnic group—(Ijaw, Isoko, Itsekiri, and Urhobo)—excluding the Igbo-speaking group whose diaspora interfaces with their homeland. Key informant interviews were conducted with four respondents from each ethnic group who had an understanding of their ethnic ambivalence dynamics. Four sessions of focus group discussion, comprising eight discussants each with each ethnic group, were held in the homeland in Delta State. Non–participant observation and field tours of some communities in the state were carried out. Relevant literature made up the secondary data. Data were categorised and thematically analysed. The major causes of ethnic ambivalence by Delta State diaspora identified were multiculturalism, interethnic marriage, ethnic minority status, environmental degradation, corruption and bad governance, insecurity, poor homeland infrastructure, fear of witchcraft, perceived cultural incivility, distrust, poor value system, deve (illegal fee) collection, interethnic friction, and home-based overwhelming demands. While under-development, value system distrust, and bad governance dominated the narratives of foreign diaspora, local diaspora dwelt heavily on witchcraft, lack of love, and disunity as factors precipitating their ambivalence. As for the home-based, the diaspora's exhibition of arrogance and overbearing attitudes account for the strain in relations. For all three locations, multiculturalism, ethnic minority status, interethnic marriage, deve, insecurity, and environmental degradation were causes of ethnic ambivalence that undermined the diaspora's agency as homeland developers. While the Urhobo and Isoko diaspora blamed their ethnic ambivalence on the supposed lack of love and disunity by fellow kinsmen, city life heavily influenced the Itsekiri diaspora. The Ijaw attributed their ethnic ambivalence to environmental pollution and perceived cultural incivility. Delta State diaspora has enormous potential and resources to be one of the prominent homeland developers in Nigeria. Nevertheless, the diaspora, government, and the homebased need to be flexible, strategic, more accommodating, sincere, and focused in their relationship with one another and the homeland for the ultimate realisation of development in the state.