What Does It Really Mean to Be Nigerian? A Gen Z Reflection

I left Nigeria in 2023 for a master’s degree in Italy, carrying the familiar dream of education, opportunity and a better future. Living abroad, however, made me question how differently we describe ourselves at home and outside the country. Before Nigeria existed, the peoples within its present borders had distinct kingdoms, languages and political systems. British colonial rule brought these communities under one administration in 1914, but political unification did not automatically create a shared identity. Independence, military coups, regional rivalry and the Biafran War deepened divisions that still echo through families and communities. As Gen Z, we have inherited these histories while trying to define what it means to belong to one country with many identities.

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