Theorising the Relationship Between Archival Memory and National Identity Construction in Post-Colonial Nigeria

This study theorises the relationship between archival memory management and national identity construction in post-colonial Nigeria, making an original contribution to both archival science and post-colonial studies. Archives are not neutral repositories but active agents in the construction and contestation of national narratives, a dynamic particularly salient in Nigeria's fractured post-colonial context where competing ethnic, regional, and political memories seek archival legitimation. The research employs a critical discourse analysis methodology, combining analysis of National Archives of Nigeria finding aids, government policy documents, and archival acquisition records (1960 to 2023) with thirty-two narrative interviews of historians, archivists, and cultural scholars from Nigeria's six geopolitical zones. Post-Colonial Theory (Mbembe, Stoler), the Archive-Power nexus (Derrida, Foucault), and the Social Memory Theory (Halbwachs) provide the theoretical architecture. The study reveals structural patterns of archival bias, selective preservation, and identity-motivated description that systematically marginalise certain community memories. An original theoretical proposition, the Post-Colonial Archival Pluralism Model, is developed and validated through peer review symposium. This study fills a significant theoretical void at the intersection of archival science and Nigerian national studies. Recommendations target the National Archives Commission and the National Council for Arts and Culture. Keywords: archival memory, national identity, post-colonial Nigeria, critical discourse analysis, archival theory