Breaking the jinx of disunity

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity.”- Psalm 133 verse 1 (New American Standard Bible).

The public space is bombarded with a cacophony of ideas about the unity and future of Nigeria. At the same time individuals are also making hate speeches which, to my mind, cannot promote unity amongst Nigerians. Leaders of thought and public affairs analysts across the length and breadth of the country are engaged in debates on how to move the nation forward. Some advocate that Nigeria should go for sovereign national conference, while some are for referendum. There are eminent Nigerians who see restructuring of the political structures as the way forward for a better and improved Nigeria. All these views, to my mind, are from those who wish Nigeria well, as there is an urgent need to unify the people more than before.

The quotation above has been selected from the scriptures to remind Nigerians that we must accept ourselves as one people, though, tribe and tongue may differ; and that there should be no division whatsoever amongst us irrespective of our religion. But we must learn to be perfectly united in our thoughts and ideas about how Nigeria could be a strong and indivisible whole. The “us” against “them” rhetoric that ignited the last civil war between 1967 and 1970 which resulted in bloodshed of bestial magnitude must not be allowed to resurrect again. Had it been that war is the solution to our national problems, we should not be talking about inequality, injustice, and social exclusion of some tribes anymore. But guess what, war is not the solution to achieving unity. Those who have either fought or experienced war would tell you, if they are alive, that war is gruesome, destructive, and deadly. Those who are dead have no stories to tell. War is never a solution to a national problem between brothers and sisters.  We need to dialogue and negotiate what our coexistence should look like. Perhaps, it is time for us to use these agitations to redefine Nigeria for greatness.

The challenges we face today are due mainly to leadership and the type of constitution the nation inherited from the military. The political class took over power in a hurry in 1999. They thought erroneously that the resolution of the political crisis, which started in 1993 by the annulment of the June 12 election, will be resolved through constitutional making in preparation for a democratically elected government in 1999. But who prepared the constitution to run democracy? The military did. I doubt if political elites were interested in the character traits of those who are to run the affairs of government after elections. Behold, it was an all-comers affair as no serious consideration was given to honest, upright, and conscientious leadership. What the nation needed at the start of a democratically elected government, in my opinion, was an assemblage of thoughtful leaders who would serve the nation with their hearts and minds. Why? It takes a generation of committed leaders to build a nation. We lost that opportunity big time!

Scholars of political structures and military-driven constitutionalism know but took for granted the paradox inherent in the writing of a constitution authored by the military. This is because the objective of a military-sponsored constitution has often been to legitimize and civilianize military rule rather than restore constitutional life as expected in the country. This is the genesis of the challenges the nation is facing today. That is why some Nigerians are demanding that the 1999 Constitution be reviewed through a referendum, and that the restructuring of the nation should start with a constitution that reflects the wishes of the people of Nigeria. They defended their position by saying that the 1999 Constitution is stifling political and economic growth. The political structure, they argued, must reflect true federalism, while the cost of governance must be reduced significantly. Furthermore, the government at the centre must shed its weight by transferring most of the items reflected in the Exclusive Legislative List with 68 items to the Concurrent Legislative List of 12 items to enable states generate wealth. Anyway, the reason for a referendum, to my mind, is to resolve some subjective interests and preferences which were cleverly tucked into various layers of the constitution by the military junta. Whatever we want to do as a people, the terms of restructuring and basis of our unity must be discussed and negotiated by all constituent parts of the nation.

How then do we break the jinx of disunity in the nation? It is very important that Nigeria must have quality leadership. Nigerians must elect those politicians who have courage, vision and a sense of history. Any leader in a plural society with more than 250 ethnic groups with over 500 languages must have the capacity to persuade, inspire trust and confidence. We need leaders who possess the capacity to attract men and women of talent into public office, not those who buckle under the influence of any cabal. The appointment of men and women with positive character traits and appropriate capacity must take into consideration the federal character principle.

My humble opinion is that Nigerians want to stay together in one balanced and equitable Nigeria. Most Nigerians want an open society with open competition. They want their due share of the national “cake” without being represented by bogey-men who for selfish reasons line their own pockets and massage their egos rather than help the ordinary citizen to achieve his or her dream. Much of the agitations we observe today are not because most Nigerians do not believe in Nigeria per se, but due to injustice and anomalies that characterize the kind of federalism we operate. It seems that those separatist agitators could be pacified by true federalism. But how will this reform happen bearing in mind the challenges of reforming the Nigerian federation. Some have argued that the 2014 Confab Report with about 600 recommendations have answers to addressing most of the grievances. As much as we need harmony and cohesion amongst ourselves, we should not be deprived of equity, justice and fair play. We should remember that only righteousness will exalt Nigeria. We should not allow the labour of our past heroes to be in vain.

 

Akinsola Johnson