Keeping clear of Frankenstein

Nigeria is presently at a crossroads. Times such as these in the history of nations have often succeeded in throwing up true patriots who made a difference and took their nations to a higher pedestal, having inspired or guided their less visionary countrymen into a position where they could share their vision for their country’s […]

Nigeria is presently at a crossroads. Times such as these in the history of nations have often succeeded in throwing up true patriots who made a difference and took their nations to a higher pedestal, having inspired or guided their less visionary countrymen into a position where they could share their vision for their country’s destiny.

Sometimes, the patriot was a single charismatic individual such as Joan of Arc, Charles de Gaulle, Vladimir Lenin, Winston Churchill, Abraham Lincoln or Mao Tse-tung. At other times, it was a group of men (and women) who stared eyeball-to-eyeball at some of the existential challenges of their generation until, through their collective effort, those problems were compelled to blink first. 

Perhaps it says something that all the persons mentioned above had contributed immensely to the development of the five countries which today constitute the permanent members of the powerful United Nations Security Council.

Nigeria has often been compared to a sleeping giant who, if he succeeded in waking up, could break the sound barrier in his global impact. However, that has not happened. It is a sad fact that almost 57 years down the road after Independence, the various nationalities that populate this beautiful land have yet to discover a formula for fruitful and peaceful co-existence. As a result, we have staggered into each other’s way so often that it is truly a miracle that we have not succeeded in doing permanent damage to the nation: we have always managed to screech to a halt just at the cliff’s edge at the last moment.

Unfortunately, on one significant occasion, our brinkmanship failed us woefully and we ended up with a civil war in which an estimated 3 million Nigerians lost their lives. But whereas several nations have emerged from a civil war stronger and more cohesive, Nigeria missed a golden opportunity to diligently implement an innovative post-war reconciliation, rehabilitation and reconstruction (3-Rs) policy enunciated by the Yakubu Gowon administration.

Ever since, cries of marginalization with regard to the nation’s ubiquitous “sharing” phenomenon have periodically rung out not only from the former Biafran enclave but also from all the nation’s nooks and crannies. Groups championing certain centrifugal ethnic positions have reminded us at one time or another from virtually all the geo-political zones that all is not well with the way we have been co-existing.

Consequently, the level of distrust among the country’s ethnic nationalities has risen significantly. The ante was recently upped by a purported quit notice announced in Kaduna by a Northern youth group allegedly issuing an ultimatum to all the Igbo residing in the North to leave the region within three months. 

How such an obviously unconstitutional order from persons outside of any government in Nigeria could be enforced without perhaps irretrievably destroying the very foundations of Nigeria’s nationhood when the country is still grappling with the challenges of recession, militancy and insurgency is the reason for the widespread condemnation of the move from individuals and groups across the country, including state Governors and other political office holders.

We do not need to peer into a crystal ball to suggest where all these could culminate if urgent steps are not taken to halt the current rush to the precipice. Not quite long ago, Nigerians were justifiably outraged by manifestations of xenophobic incidents against their compatriots residing in South Africa. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was compelled to make the right noises, including veiled suggestions about some possible sanctions.

Has it occurred to those who issued or sponsored the unfortunate Kaduna statement that we could now be the world’s laughing stock and our government could henceforth find itself gagged and handcuffed regarding any efforts to speak out or take action on behalf of Nigerians oppressed abroad?

What will now happen to the erstwhile immense international clout enjoyed by Nigeria within ECOWAS, the AU and beyond if we tried to initiate or champion any peace-making or peace-keeping roles? Are we not likely to be secretly ridiculed or be gleefully told to our face by our more audacious enemies, “Physician, heal yourself”? What about our moral locus standi to intervene as a regional fireman to help douse the flames in our neighbour’s house as we did in Liberia and Sierra Leone during their civil wars and the ebola pandemic, or help reverse an unconstitutional change of helmsman as we did in another neighbouring country?

If an ethno-political chain reaction were inadvertently ignited, is it not possible that we could reach a critical mass and descend into a failed-state status? Is that not what happened to Somalia when they failed to properly manage the post-General Siad Barre challenges? And they are still grappling with the resultant anarchy almost three decades later. Or is the Libyan, Syrian or Afghan variant better?

It is commendable that voices of sanity have been urgently raised across the land calling for restraint in this potentially volatile situation. Of particular note is the statesmanship of Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, who has been quite busy of late, meeting with critical stakeholders in an effort to diffuse the tension. Also commendable are some Northern leaders such as Governor El-Rufai of Kaduna state who spontaneously reacted with outrage at the inception of the Kaduna statement. It is only to be hoped that the voices of sanity will not be drowned out by the hysteria of mischief.

It is pertinent to draw attention to some salient facts at this point. Competitions for economic and political advantage by groups of human beings (which are quite legitimate within certain paradigms, notably the rule of law) could still produce a win-win outcome if the spirit of give-and-take is applied. Whenever this has been the case, the benefits have accrued to most Nigerians. U.S. President Bill Clinton had affirmed as much when he addressed the then barely one-year-old National Assembly in Abuja on August 26, 2000.

He said then: “You have struggled for democracy together. You have forged national institutions together. All of your greatest achievements have come when you have worked together.” 

To demonstrate the imperative to know when to apply the brakes, the following examples will suffice. British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan famously declared in the early 1960s that “a wind of change is blowing across Africa”, implying that his country was prepared to fast-track the granting of independence to its vast colonial possessions.

Also, after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev espoused and developed the twin concept of glasnost and perestroika which culminated in the independence of all the ‘Republics’ that had been incorporated into the Soviet Union for decades.

Thirdly, in the 1970s, apartheid South Africa appeared impregnable and invincible to political and military pressure. But through the political sagacity of President Frederic de Klerc and Nelson Mandela who joined him in the peace process after his release from prison, South Africa is today a peaceful, racially diverse and economically strong country. 

In all three cases cited above, the realization by visionary leaders and critical stakeholders that the status quo could not be sustained indefinitely carried the day and averted potential conflagrations of frightful proportions. Nigeria could learn vital lessons from these examples. When a defective status quo no longer serves the interest of the nation, playing the ostrich cannot be a viable option. What is required is bold and purposeful leadership that is not afraid to take necessary risks as well as a patriotic followership.

As for those from all sides who may insist on pursuing a dangerous collision course, the world of the 1960s was quite different from the global architecture of 2017. Organizations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and, more ominously, the International Criminal Court (The Hague) may be looking in our direction already, given all the volatile statements and actions being bandied about, and individuals may be called to account if anything goes wrong.

However, Nigeria does not have to take a Frankenstein trajectory at this crucial stage of our nationhood. Rather, we should immortalize the words of our National Anthem: “The labour of our heroes past shall never be in vain”.

Afam Belolisa                  [email protected]