Nigeria: Where do we go from here; what are the options?

On 1/1/14, Lord Lugard issued the following proclamation:  ‘from today, all the country from the sea to near the desert in the North and from the French country in the West to the German Kameruns in the East shall be one single country under one GG so that there may no jealousy or rivalry between the North and the South and all may cooperate together or the advancement of peace and prosperity..it will be my earnest endeavour to promote peace and justice for all men, to protect every man in the observance of his own religious faith and to administer equal justice alike for great and small’

The proclamation was full of declarations of good intentions. But the hearts of men, including those in governments, whether colonial or otherwise, are ordinarily deceptive and what people declare are most often at variance with what they have in their minds. Anyway, neither peace, nor cooperation, nor prosperity, nor advancement, nor justice alike for great and small, nor freedom to worship as we like, has been the lot of Nigeria and Nigerians since the days of Lugard to the present day. Of course Lugard was responsible for the unfortunate outcome because the amalgamation was not done in the interest of the constituents and even at that,  he had some favourite children among the potential contenders for power and influence. Consequently and unfortunately, Nigerians, are, in this year of our Lord, 2014, wondering aloud what to do with the ‘mistake of 1914’ which birthed ‘a mere geographical expression’ and such discussions are mostly from a negative, doomful mindset

Our history in the last 100 years of being frozen together (as against being melted together) has not been  awe-inspiring. In 1960, We became independent, ruled by an openly reluctant North, which had less than 5% of civil service and commerce because they abhorred western education (it did not start today). There was political crises in the West, a coup that  some people conveniently christened an Igbo-coup, the threats of Araba by the north, the coordinated and officially sanctioned mass-murder of southerners and mostly the Ndigbo, 3 years of Biafran war of Independence, a long period of military interregnum and the return of civil rule in 1999.

Between 1999 and now, we have had 15 years of un-interrupted civilian rule. It is not yet democracy though there are elements of democracy and what we have is certainly much better than militarized governance. Our experiences have also not been awe-inspiring. Corruption has grown in such leaps and bounds especially in the oil industry, tax waivers and contract awards that some individuals are now richer than Nigeria and the rich-poor gap is widening at an alarming rate. On the political front, our politicians practice a peculiar Nigerian brand of politicking that thinks of their stomachs and their parties but little of the country. On the integrity of the geo-political entity called Nigeria, while the Niger-Delta resource control insurgence has slowed down meaningfully, we are now faced with a group of demagogic fellows who have declared war on Nigeria and are attacking us ferociously, starting from the Maiduguri Axis. The so-called Fulani-herds men are  also on the prowl and there are other flashpoints of violence across the land. There are also millions who are not armed but who feel that they have been seriously short-changed out of the resources of this country because of the political/economic model we have adopted.

It is under these circumstances that President Jonathan suddenly did a u-turn and empanelled the national conference. Before the conference, there have been an undeclared and un-moderated debate by Nigerians in the media and especially online, about what to do with or to Nigeria. Some people feel that the nation should be divided because we have nothing in common and that the division should star from North and South. And I ask: which north and which south? Some people that our strength lies in our size and diversity strength and that we should optimize what we have. Others feel that we should adopt true federalism. Which one is true federalism?  Contingency theory teaches that federalism is only true to the environment and that is why all federal systems are different. Some people argue that Nigeria is wonderful the way it is today and that landmass is the determinant of everything. They forget that Japan is the 3rd biggest economy globally. Others want

 100% of their resources. But everybody has his own resource and none of the greatest countries in the world today depends on natural resources. They depend on human capabilities: intelligence, ideas and information. So, as we move into the next 100 years and as we face these unforeseen challenges, what are the options before us?

 Irrespective of the flow of this discourse, it is good that we are talking. But those at the National conference should remember that they are there for serious business and concentrate on things that shall make Nigeria better for Nigeria. The age spread of the membership is unforgivable because those who own the future should design the future. With those who participated in the pre-independence talks are all over the place, it is good to recall the words of Murdock that those who created yesterday’s pains do not control tomorrows potential. The monthly allowance is scandalous given that some people in Abuja live on minimum wage of N18000. Conferees should also be sensitive and tactical while, of course, saying the truth. I agree with Kanayo Esinulo that those who feel they are from Cameroun should not actually be at a Nigerian conference!. They should also not turn the conference into a venue for glorified  clowning, theatre and theatricals’(to be  continued)

Ik Muo