Trading on ethnic rivalry

Ignorance of history often leads a people to repeat the mistakes of the past. People with short memories presume the capacity to ride on the back of a tiger forgetting that those who have made similar attempts ended up in its belly. Until it is known why history, as an academic subject is struggling for […]

Ignorance of history often leads a people to repeat the mistakes of the past. People with short memories presume the capacity to ride on the back of a tiger forgetting that those who have made similar attempts ended up in its belly. Until it is known why history, as an academic subject is struggling for survival in the curriculum of secondary education in Nigeria, one would suspect that those who encourage its demise are perhaps ashamed of the nation’s historical past. Who knows if they did it to save the children from the ugly memories of Nigerian political history? It is difficult to escape the conscience of history as counsel by John Cardinal Onaiyekan that, “The rulers of the nation “should also know that they will answer for all their actions and inactions before their consciences, before history and before God (John Cardinal Onaiyekan, “Let not evil prevail, collected letters from Rome, Abuja, Maths Prints Limited, 2015, Page 7).Whether history is taught in schools or not, it will continue to reveal how some people traded and continue to trade on the ethnic rivalry of nations for their egoistic interests instead of struggling for the common good.
While we hope that someday we may get to the root of why history is neglected in the secondary schools, we can do with the already existing history to call upon those who aspire to rule or lead the nation in any capacity to stop trading on ethnic rivalry for their selfish gains. From past history, it is observed that every political ambition has a hidden agenda. In an interview reported by SUN NEWSPAPER on March 31, 2016, Prof. Pat Utomi said: “There are people who want power for self-aggrandisement. People, who think they can make money, enjoy the sound of siren or whatever pecuniary thing they see in power. There are people who want power to revenge on their enemies (http://sunnewsonline.com).The root of ethnic rivalry in Nigeria could be traced to the effort to establish Nigeria as a federation in 1954 with Oliver Lythleton Constitution. Mike Ozekhome says that, “It became finally consolidated at independence in 1960, when it emerged a federation delicately balanced on tripod pedestal of the three major ethnic groups, the Yoruba, Hausa/Fulanis and Igbo (Mike Ozekhome, “Zoning to Unzone, The Politics of Power and the Power of Politics in Nigeria, Lagos, Mikzek Law Publications, Page 131).
Since independence these three major tribes have become political rivals using the minority tribes as tools to achieve personal ambition. Chinua Achebe affirms that, “The structure of the country was such that there was an inbuilt power struggle among the ethnic groups, and of course those who were in power wanted to stay in power. The easiest and simplest way to retain it, even in a limited area, was to appeal to tribal sentiments, so they were egregiously exploited in the 1950s and 1960s (Chinua Achebe, “There was a country, A personal History of Biafra, London, Allen Lane, 2012, page 51). The place of the minority tribes as second fiddles was re-echoed by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo in 2016. He said: “I believe that Nigeria politics will be strengthened even more if we have the opportunity to allow the minority in its own right to emerge as President” (https://www.naij.com). As in every power struggle, some people in the minority tribes for personal reasons and political ambition sometimes support the majority power brokers to force out the incumbent leader who comes from the minority. Some people are not patient with incumbent leaders because they always look forward to a saintly leader which even the majority tribe has not succeeded in giving to the nation. 
A flash back to the history of political rivalry between the major ruling tribes would show how even some of the nationalists were helpless at the dawn of the premature abortion of democracy in Nigeria. This eventually led to the civil war that still carries fresh scars like a recurring decimal in Nigeria. After many years of the civil war, Chinua Achebe still had the impression that Chief Obafemi Awolowo was driven by an overriding ambition for power, for himself in particular and for the advancement of his Yoruba people in general. Achebe recalled the very words of Awolowo: “All is fair in war, and starvation is one of the weapons of war. I don’t see why we should feed our enemies fat in order for them to fight harder” (Achebe, “There was a Country”, Page 233).
One would have expected the Nationalists to defend the democratic independence they laboured for like Nelson Mandela. Unfortunately, they were either helpless or complacent. Perhaps, they feared death! The perennial result was lack of political detribalised heroes who could sacrifice their personal ambition for the common good. The good people who could have made this sacrifice abandoned politics as a dirty game. Thereafter, a generation that now trade on ethnic differences and rivalries took over. They did not have the vision akin to John F. Kennedy who said: “My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country (www.brainyquote.com). With the consistent flow of innocent human blood, the land has become polluted through war, financing of insurgency and extra-judicial murder. Today, the leaders want to completely erode the truth and the fear of God from the children with a curriculum that attempts to destroy the authentic teaching of religion and history in the schools. Why does the nation intend to produce children with the ideology of secular humanism devoid of morals and sense of the sacred?
There is need for a proper expiation to purify the land; otherwise, History would continue to re-sound: “Murderers who trade on human blood”. We must remember: “The evil that men do live after them” (William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar Act 3,Scene 2). In this year of mercy, let this expiation begin with a change of attitude on a personal level. Let there be restitution by using merit and not ethnicity to appoint leaders with the capacity to put in place enduring structures that can put the nation on the path to progress. Let over ambitious politicians repent of their Machiavellian principle of elimination by all means with a conscious awareness that no one lives forever. It is a fact of history that no one is buried with earthly wealth. Let human beings invest in knowledge and wisdom in view of heaven. “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul” (Mark 8:36)?
Given the way and manner some political “messiahs” have failed, some people seem to feel that democracy is alien to Nigeria. This could be so because many perhaps do not care about the ontological causes of the political problem. To many with enlightened minds, the problem may not be located in democracy but in those who have polarised the nation along ethnic and religious divides to an extent that merit and efficiency have given way to appointments based on compensations and ethnic sentiments. These notwithstanding, we cannot continue to complain and remain at the level of blame game, pointing fingers to others for our woes instead of looking inward for solutions to our problems. We need to move on! We must break through our selfish ego to a genuine liberation from the chains that have prevented us from building a community where peace, love and justice reign. May God save us from ourselves!
Fr. Cornelius Omonokhua
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