Restoring hope in our nationhood

Today, more than five decades of nationhood, Nigeria is at a critical stage after experiencing years of devastating coups and counter-coups and civil war. Turning a search light on this as we commemorate our 52nd independence anniversary with sobriety at these times that try the soul are a pot-pourri of political, economic and social crises […]

Today, more than five decades of nationhood, Nigeria is at a critical stage after experiencing years of devastating coups and counter-coups and civil war. Turning a search light on this as we commemorate our 52nd independence anniversary with sobriety at these times that try the soul are a pot-pourri of political, economic and social crises nudging to undermine the future of the polity. Politically, Nigeria is pervaded and befuddled by a miasma of tense and volatile atmosphere arising from dissonance and bitter rivalry among members of our political class, decline of clean hands in politics, leadership uncertainty, travesty of democratic values and deficiency of popular participation in governance. Economically, there is unease and disquiet in the country over harsh economic realities, official corruption, mismanagement, widening gap between the rich and the poor and deterioration of public infrastructure and social services. And socially, the gradual erosion of spiritual, moral, family and social values and the attendant loss of sense of compassion and solidarity are threatening the foundation of our national cohession.

Already, the ripple effect of some of our political, economic and social crises has cascaded in the unprecedented wave of violence, bloodshed and acts of impunity now stoking insecurity, uncertainty and sense of vulnerability across the land, including communal insurgency, terrorism, armed robbery, assassination, kidnapping/hostage-taking, vandalism, cultism, murder and ritual murder. In the face of this, many of our compatriots are day by day losing hope in our nationhood. During the trying times of British suzerainty in Nigeria, the nagging question on the lips of most Nigerians was: when would the oppression of colonialism end? Today, many of our people are wondering when the hard times of independence would be over. Others are wondering when they would reap the dividends of democracy and the accompanying remarkable improvement in their standard of living.

Although no national society is devoid of bad times in the annals of its history, the prevalence of critical political, economic and social problems in Nigeria on continuous and aggravating scale in recent years is disturbing and completely unacceptable. Also giving cause for concern in the country is the short supply of political leaders who are genuinely committed to public good. Equally worrisome is the gradual disappearance of the towering ideas of peaceful coexistence, tolerance, forbearance and reconciliation in the lexicon of many of our people who seem to be bitten by the bugs of ethnic nationalism and religious fundamentalism that have become a political force, as fuelled by real or imagined grievances, with such fierce identity-driven passions and mobilisations frequently ricocheting in an orgy of violence and bloodletting in the polity in recent times.

Presenting a sad commentary on the state of national consensus in Nigeria today is the sectional card being played by almost every ethnic, religious and regional group in the country. This is not to glide over the resurgence of the old North-South division, which is rearing its ugly head through the babel of contentious issues like presidential power shift, on-shore-offshore oil dichotomy, derivation, fiscal revenue sharing formula, indigene/settler controversy, secularism, state creation, restructuring of the federation, sovereign national conference, constitutional amendment and state police.

Now the crucial questions. Is there any likelihood that the mounting political, economic and social crises in Nigeria would coalesce and conspire to wreck the country through breakup, as feared in certain quarters? Can Nigerians, with one accord, make aggressive efforts to pull the polity back from the brink and start rebuilding from the ruins of our multifaceted problems? These questions could receive an affirmative response. With regard to the first one, Nigeria could implode and go the unfortunate way of the dissolved Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia and suffer dismemberment like Ethiopia (through Eritrea) and Indonesia (through East Timor) if our political, ethnic and religious leaders did not close ranks and make supreme sacrifices to save our federation. On the other hand, we can rebuild from our ruins considering that once there is a will there will be a way out of our difficult situations, which are not irredeemable. In view of this, both the political office holders and the led in Nigeria should demonstrate a resolve to chart a new course that will guarantee all of us a better future. After all, forward-looking countries like the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China, Germany, Japan and India had experienced tough challenges and upheavals in one time or the other without losing hope of recovery and are today in the forefront of global political and economic leadership. The same could be said of countries like South Africa, Ghana, Ethiopia, Uganda and Rwanda, which are reckoned as the promising face of African renaissance after passing through national adversities.

In essence, Nigeria still has the opportunity of undergoing positive change and renewal despite her chequered history. Interestingly, by 2014, the country will be marking the centenary of the amalgamation of the northern and southern protectorates in 1914 by the erstwhile arch-colonialist, Lord Lugard. Both the amalgamation and the political statehood of Nigeria on 1st October 1960 should be an important milestone in our quest for self-actualisation through national unity, peaceful coexistence, nation-building and national integration rather than the subject of national controversy they have become today.

Emeh is a social researcher based in Abuja. okemehjr@ yahoo.com, 08036895746