Non-violence: The uneasy romance with Nigerian writers
It suffice to say that following the Bakassi contention, the ongoing Niger delta crisis, the menace of religious strife and threats of forthcoming anarchy, the demand for non-violence is greater now more than at any other time in the history of the entity known as Nigeria, and this demand regrettably has received little attention from […]
It suffice to say that following the Bakassi contention, the ongoing Niger delta crisis, the menace of religious strife and threats of forthcoming anarchy, the demand for non-violence is greater now more than at any other time in the history of the entity known as Nigeria, and this demand regrettably has received little attention from the present day generation of Nigerian writers. Notwithstanding literatures dealing with the questions of sustainable peace and non-violence are springing up in every region across the country; to mention a few, ‘The coming anarchy’, ‘The carnival’, by Alpha Emeka ‘Waiting for an angel’, by Helon Habila and Kaine Agary’s ‘Yellow Yellow’, are determined attempts made by contemporary Nigerian writers at putting a stop to the virus of violence contaminating our country.
When a writer moves to pick up a pen, it is regarded as an act of confrontation, of impending violence as Sartre rightly observed; a committed artist or writer ‘weather he is an essayist, a pamphleteer, satirist, or a novelist, whether he speaks only of individual passions or weather he attacks the social order, the writer, a free man addressing free men, has only a single subject –freedom’
It therefore still stands that only a few of the first generation of Nigerian writers have actually gone beyond the ink to initiate practical approaches at confronting the monster of violence.
Despite the lurking ghost of ken Saro Wiwa and many others of blessed memory, Nigerian writers, human right activists and journalists are fast recuperating from the onslaught of past military governments. They are once again picking up their pen and questioning the effects of government policies, why? Since 1960 stable power supply has remained a mirage despite the billions of naira spent annually on that sector, is it not a reason for violence? Why is education in Nigeria not given due priority, and we fill government positions with halfwits brandishing fake certificates? Lecturers strike and students protest, are these not causes of violence? Why are Nigerian graduates grudgingly paid a paltry 9,775 naira in the NYSC scheme and our pot bellied senators acquire millions monthly are these not facilitations for violence? Gone are the days when banks collapse and the savings of hardworking Nigerians are lost forever, why? One good man can make a change! This only infers that most of our government offices are not held by good men. The 2008 Jos crisis has proven the Nigerian security to be a total disaster; the Nigerian transport system is in quote ‘nearly unexistent’, why would robbers not litter the highways, what country can develop without a workable railway system? Over forty years of oil export and a majority of Nigerians still cry for the basic necessities of life. The Nigerian electoral commission has proven itself as incompetent alongside the judiciary struggling to be fully independent. Are these not signals of brooding aggression? Considering the vastness of our natural resource, it is pathetic that the millennium development goals now seem like an unreachable oasis.
Nigeria as a nation has been bedevilled by mounting violence ever since her independence in 1960, put aside the civil war of 1967-1970, a tragedy which effect is still felt today. Religious crisis, political unrest, and economic upheavals consequential of the worst form of visionless leadership are clogs in the wheels of sustainable development for the entity presently known as Nigeria but that a sovereign national conference should be held where decisions to consciously split the country would be reached are some of the violent suggestions with which Nigerian writers should totally disagree; But that the present system of government is too expensive and should be reconsidered, that public office holders should be held accountable for their actions or inactions is a dream which the Nigerian masses have dreamt for too long.
The Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) could be a potential force, a voice in the country’s decision making, but so far the association has shied away from the question of violence and the way forward. In an age when writers are taking over the international scene and are given free rein to fight as ambassadors on behalf of their country, the censorship board in Kano state deemed it fit to return to the dark ages by taking actions against the activities of writers, the pillars of any society, and true envoys of any cause. This tells much of the pathetic state of the Nigerian writer and perhaps explains their seeming unwillingness to be involved in the fight for non-violence.
Onotu is the director, Onotu theatre for non-violence and conflict resolution based in Jos, Plateau State.