Why Nigeria needs to be restructured – Chido Onumah

Bookshelf: In May this year, your third book ‘We Are All Biafrans’, was released. Why did you choose to write such a book? Chido Onumah: The purpose really, was to prove, provoke, not in the sense of irritating people, but to push the argument and therefore the debate that there is a lot wrong with […]

Bookshelf: In May this year, your third book ‘We Are All Biafrans’, was released. Why did you choose to write such a book?
Chido Onumah: The purpose really, was to prove, provoke, not in the sense of irritating people, but to push the argument and therefore the debate that there is a lot wrong with Nigeria and that all Nigerians will have to come together to deal with the problems of the country. The title is like a coin which has two sides. On one side is the argument that Biafra is part of the history of Nigeria and it happened for a purpose, notwithstanding the sides people take on what led to the war, how it was prosecuted and the aftermath. On the other side is the argument that those who are pushing for ‘Biafra’ are not the only ones who feel marginalized or have issues with the country. Across the land, from East to the West, from North to South, there are pockets of agitations. So, in a sense, Biafra in this book is just a metaphor to express our collective pain. It also expresses the need for collective action to reclaim Nigeria. I am happy with the attention the book has generated in the sense that it has reopened the debate about the structure of the country. And believe me, this is one issue that will not go away anytime soon. Except of course we are willing to act.

Bookshelf: So, this is what you hope to achieve…
Onumah: Exactly what I said; to provoke a national conversation about the need to restructure Nigeria. This is one debate we should not be afraid to have. I have said this several times, but it is worth repeating here. Nigeria is not working for the overwhelming majority of Nigerians. This structure is simply not sustainable and we should be bold enough to tell ourselves that truth. Having realized that, how then do we begin that inevitable process of national reclamation? That is what I hope to achieve. To nudge us to do something about our dear nation before it is too late.

Bookshelf: Some Nigerians may be of the opinion we should let bygones be bygones. What will you say to them?
Onumah: If you are referring to the issue of Biafra secession and the civil war, certainly it is not for me to say. I was born on the eve of that war. I can’t tell you I know how those who lost loved ones on both sides feel. So to that extent, it will be a bit disingenuous of me to speak for those people, many of whom still bear the scars and pain forty-six years after it ended. I am focused on the present. The book, ‘We Are All Biafrans’ is not focused on the Biafra agitation then, neither is the focus on the renewed agitation for Biafra now. Of course, there is a way in which the past reflects the present. But my focus is on the Nigeria of today which of course has been defined by the actions of our rulers yesterday. Essentially, what I am saying is that a lot of Nigerians have issues with the country, but whatever our grievances are, let us sit at the table of nationhood and deal with them. The more we talk today, the less likely that we will hack each other to death tomorrow. 

Bookshelf: You wrote that most of the problems of Nigeria today are as a result of the way the country is structured. How feasible do you think a socio-political restructuring of a country as large as Nigeria is? 
Onumah: Yes, most, if not all of the problems of Nigeria are rooted in the structure of the country and the kind of constitution it has thrown up. That is why as far as I am concerned, the issue of restructuring is a top priority for the country. There is no alternative to restructuring. It is either we restructure or perish as a nation. But that is not to say that restructuring is a silver bullet or a cure-all for our problems. But the reality is that, there is no way we can deal with the problems of Nigeria without restructuring. What it will do is help us come together to have an agreement on how we want to run and develop the country. If we don’t have that agreement, we are wasting our time as a nation. 

Bookshelf: How positive do you think this debate and discourse will be for Nigeria at such a time?
Onumah: Very positive, of course. Is there really an alternative to talking? Well, the scary alternative is anarchy and war. Unfortunately, if that scenario happens, it is still dialogue that will resolve it at the end of the day. So why don’t we have that conversation now when we still have time, when the situation is still salvageable.

Bookshelf: The book is a collection of essays published in various newspapers in the last three years. All along, did you foresee it becoming a book?
Onumah: Yes, I did. This is the third book of essays focusing on the issue of federalism. Hopefully, it is the last. I really wanted to try something else, but also focusing on the issue of democracy, good governance and federalism in Nigeria. When I started writing opinion pieces twenty-five years ago, I didn’t envisage that I would put together my essays into a book, even though from childhood I fantasized about writing books. The turning point came twenty years ago when I was working as Associate Editor of the Insight newspaper in Accra, Ghana, and I came across two books, ‘Ordinary People’, a collection of essays by my managing editor, the Ghanaian journalist and rights activist, Kwesi Pratt Jnr and ‘Fire at Will’, published in 1989, by the celebrated American journalist and columnist, DeWayne Wickham, a fascinating collection of essays on sundry issues in the US. I was captivated. Since then, I have been focused on having my writings in books.

 
Bookshelf: You have talked about how local and state governments hardly work. Do you foresee in the near future, a Nigeria where power is no longer at the centre?
Onumah: I sincerely do. The way I see Nigeria, the country can’t break up without a very bloody civil war and I am not sure there are many Nigerians who fancy that option. Generally, I think Nigerians want to live in a united country. What is in contention is how to define the terms of that unity. I am optimistic that we can make Nigeria great. But I am also a realist. Nation-building is not a tea party. Unless we make concerted efforts to make Nigeria work, it will not work. We can’t wish or pray Nigeria to greatness and one way to deal with that is devolution of power.

Bookshelf: You are a journalist, human rights activist and Coordinator of the African Centre for Media and Information Literacy. How has your experience shaped your writing?
Onumah: My writing is the totality of my experience. And it is not just my work experience. I have learnt a lot travelling around the world. In the last twenty years, if you add Nigeria, I have lived and worked in seven countries, namely Ghana, Canada, the USA, Haiti, Dominican Republic and India. Also, I have travelled to dozens of countries across all continents. In the last three years, I have been living on and off in Barcelona, Spain, where I am completing a doctoral research on the digital transition of the print media in Africa. All these have shaped my thinking and defined my writing. One of the things I have benefitted from travelling and living outside Nigeria is the opportunity it has afforded me to experience the practise of federalism in places like Canada, the USA, India, and Spain. In all these places, like in Canada for example, you have provinces as the federating units, states in the USA, regions in Spain and states in India. Even though there are certain things peculiar to each country, the overarching similarity is the level of ‘autonomy’ the federating parts enjoy. It will be interesting to see that level of autonomy here; for our states to take more responsibilities. But they won’t take that responsibility without authority. These are the kinds of ideas that have shaped my writing.

Bookshelf: All your three books dwell on the Nigerian state. Do you see yourself writing a political thriller some day?
Onumah: There are so many book ideas I am toying with. I want to write a travelogue and I have a working title, ‘See Barcelona and Die’. I want to write my biography. I am not sure about a political thriller. I am not really a literary person. I don’t have the patience for that. I read a lot of literary works in high school, but managed to dodge literature as a subject. I will leave the political thriller for the literary geniuses. But it is a genre I will love to see thrive in Nigeria. There is so much happening in our country, in our politics and democracy. Look at the case of Abia State, the mess in the National Assembly and so on. That could be turned into a bestseller. 

Bookshelf: Do you nurse a political ambition?
Onumah: No, I have no plans to join partisan politics. I play politics though at different levels

Bookshelf: What are you working on at the moment?
Onumah: I am working on my dissertation on the impact of digital media on journalism in Africa which I had to defer to focus on ‘We Are All Biafrans’. Now that the book is out, I can return to my research. I planned to stop writing opinion articles for some time, but it is so difficult to tune off with the kind of shenanigans going on in the country in the name of governance. I also have another political book that is almost seventy per cent done. The working title is ‘Nationless State’. I was working on it simultaneously as ‘We Are All Biafrans’. I am tempted to revisit it every now and then. I sincerely hope I can resist that temptation.