Sowore’s revolution: A sign of the times?

Former Presidential Candidate Omoyele Sowore has launched a poorly defined and poorly articulated Nigerian “revolution”. Apart from increasing the sales of his revolutionary symbol the orange beret, perhaps the best he can look forward to is prolonged detention without trial! To be fair to him it’s become clear that neither of the two main political […]

Former Presidential Candidate Omoyele Sowore has launched a poorly defined and poorly articulated Nigerian “revolution”. Apart from increasing the sales of his revolutionary symbol the orange beret, perhaps the best he can look forward to is prolonged detention without trial! To be fair to him it’s become clear that neither of the two main political parties has the capacity to solve Nigeria’s problems.

Both the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) have been totally discredited simply because there is really no difference between their styles of governance. Professional politicians who have been living off government ever since 1999 have refused to step aside despite the nation’s continued retrogression in all indices during this period. Nigeria’s problem is that that there is no credible alternative. Given the vacuum left by poor governance, the seething anger of the masses makes it increasingly likely that people will be attracted to revolutionary ideas. If time is not taken the age-old adage that those who make peaceful change impossible make violent change inevitable may play out. Many within the corridors of power believe that nothing will happen simply because the majority of Nigerians are peace loving people.

This is may turn out to be a grave error of judgment. At various times in history the Germans, Russians, Chinese, and Japanese ended up killing millions of people even though the majority of their citizens were peaceful. In more recent times the majority of the over 2 million Muslims living in America were peaceful and law abiding, yet just 19 Muslims high-jacked four aircraft, destroyed the World Trade Center, attacked the Pentagon, and killed over 3,000 people fostering  “islamaphobia” in the US. History has repeatedly shown that when a determined few set out to execute a deadly agenda, the peaceful majority have never stood in their way. What is really important isn’t whether or not the majority of citizens are peaceful, but whether or not those in charge of government can keep the peace. When government’s fails to do so, the likes of Sowore despite his superficial understanding of the term “revolution” tend to gain support.

While Government plays ostrich and continues to ignore all warnings, Nigerians who are allergic to violence are voting with their feet to leave the country before things get totally out of hand. There is no gainsaying that any government which isn’t prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant facilitates the destruction of tolerance. Paradoxically, the unashamedly racist US President Donald Trump gained wide support of Africans for his description of their nations as “sh*t-hole” countries. Recently, he insulted Somalia born Democratic Representative Illan Omar of Minnesota who immigrated to the US when she was young. Rejecting her criticisms of his policies he said she should go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested place from which she came, then come back and show America how it’s done!

The contempt in which Americans hold Africans in general and Nigerians in particular isn’t something that can be abated by complaints from the poorly conceived Nigeria Diaspora Commission which should in fact be a mere Department in the Federal Ministry Foreign Affairs. Respect for Nigeria and dismissal of calls for revolution can only come as a result of government showing a requisite level of impartiality towards all citizens, compassion for mass suffering, and ability to solve the nation’s problems without continuously going cap in hand begging for loans.

Despite warnings from all corners, government is doggedly refusing to accept its failure to harness the aspirations of Nigerians and lessen the tension nationwide. The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity Femi Adesina has urged tolerance and fear of death. This leads to the appalling conclusion that Nigeria’s destiny is in the hands of a hostile, threatening minority whose interests and ambitions are antithetical to those of the peaceful majority. Sowore on the other hand believes that the nation belongs to all of us, not just the few who openly claim it belongs to them. He believes that the peaceful majority have a right not to tolerate the intolerant minority.

There is no disputing that Nigeria is going through a rough period even though it’s supposed to be a nation bound in Unity, Peace and Justice. Regrettably it’s a nation of highly intelligent and patriotic people ruled by a less intelligent and less patriotic political class. Checkmating the likes of Sowore and others who may come after him requires government to show both the capacity and the will to defend citizens from injustice, insecurity and foreign invasions. All said and done calls for revolution are uncalled for because at the end of the day, no matter how bad things become, when the dust of death and destruction finally settles the nation will have to rely on the peaceful majority to create a just society.

Meanwhile to paraphrase Chinua Achebe in his book titled “The trouble with Nigeria” the greatest sufferer is the nation itself which has to contend with the legitimate grievance of wronged citizens; accommodate the incompetence of favored citizens; and endure the decline in patriotism and subversion of efficiency caused by an erratic system of performance and reward.