Election: Flight and confusion

Weeks within the postponement of the 2015 general elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), a growing uncertainty is plaguing the country. It is only in Nigeria that elections are cancelled and the president of that country comes out to announce that he had nothing to do with such decision.  As a result of uncertainty, […]

Weeks within the postponement of the 2015 general elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), a growing uncertainty is plaguing the country.
 It is only in Nigeria that elections are cancelled and the president of that country comes out to announce that he had nothing to do with such decision.  
As a result of uncertainty, my hairdresser and people like her fled to their various villages in the South. There are tales of how families struggled to raise transportation fares, withdrew their children from school and closed their shops for business, only to realise that they would stay up to six weeks without any income. They have since been plunged into confusion a great magnitude.  
In Kano, Sabon Gari, where most visitors reside, has become a ghost town as shops are closed and quietness permeates the air, a situation that has added to the confusion of northerners in that city.
What worries me about this development is the discovery that those fleeing to their villages (at least those from Kano) are not going to vote because they live in Kano and registered in Kano. If the scenario is the same for all others fleeing to their home states, then the number of those to be disenfranchised would exceed 20 million. This is in addition to those who have not collected their PVCs, such as yours sincerely.
There is an infectious ethnic prejudice sweeping through the country as a result of mistrust, leaving an atmosphere of fear among people who have lived peacefully together for decades.
Unfortunately, however, many of us grew up to embrace tribal consciousness, handed down to us by our families and the society. And according to proponents of emotional intelligence, “Prejudices, when learned, are difficult to erase, even in adults. So we live together peacefully, yet retain this small part of us which displays an open bias.”
That is why people will leave their houses and businesses behind, just to be with their kinsmen in case of any trouble elsewhere. They prefer to die at “home’’ instead of “another person’s land.’’ And our political leaders are not helping matters as they continue to fan the ember of discord among the people. They even employ religion as a tool for division and sentiment. It is their words and actions that brought about the present election flight.  
This is unlike what happened in the Second Republic when leaders were more interested in national pride than ethnic tendencies. They were united in building a new and strong Nigeria. And the country was on the road to greatness.
Sadly, gross deficiency in leadership has brought mistrust and fear; hence the ugly situation we have found ourselves in. Our leaders must eschew acts of discrimination to achieve selfish gains before this country is consumed.
There is the need for a major paradigm shift to be spearheaded by our leaders. Let there be an active and vigorous campaign to eradicate tribalism and promote unity.  Studies in emotional intelligence have shown that those in positions of authority play a crucial role in significantly crushing the expressions of bias by making strong statements against it.
The governor of Imo State, Owelle Rochas Okorocha  had, in the run-up to  the postponed elections, appealed to all the Igbo living in the North to remain, just as he called on northerners in the South not to flee for fear of election violence. That is an example of a good leader. Governor Okorocha is a valuable asset to nationalism and the kind of leader who would play a major role to unite the country. Leaders should curb acts of disunity by sending powerful messages against it. As part of their development plans, our present and future governments should instill good values to the citizenry.   
 A good example of this is contained in a section of  the Vision 2010.   Vision 2010  was, and is still the finest detailed  blueprint of a comprehensive action plan to make Nigeria a developed country. If all its recommendations were implemented successfully, Nigeria would have been a better place.  Produced during the late Abacha regime, it contained a large section devoted to  how a paradigm shift would be achieved  through the orientation of citizens to internalise certain core values such as honesty, patriotism,  integrity,  honour and hard work. Among other things, it recommended that Nigerians must imbibe the spirit of mutual love and respect, a sense of belonging and an unwritten code that binds their hearts and minds together through love, harmony and good neighbourliness.
The Nigerian society should be one where every citizen is free to live, work and prosper in any part of the country. It should be a place where citizens should understand one another and do not discriminate against or intimidate one another. Nigerians should welcome the spirit of co-operation and cohesion to work together for the common development and progress of the country. The truth is that transformation is badly needed in our core values.
The onus is on our generation to stand firm and remain resolute in halting the spread of tribal or religious hatred. It is up to us to save the only country we have from war and destruction. Our future is in our hands; now is the time to act.  
Amina Ibrahim wrote in from Abuja