No unity should be at any cost. Human lives are sacred and living together has its price. The call for a united Nigeria or a continued united Nigeria has a cost. Suppose General Olusegun Obasanjo, who had fought with his life for Nigeria, could accede that unity must not be at any cost. In that case, we need to evaluate the cost we are ready to bear to keep us united or divide us more. The cost is not farfetched. The cost for peace and unity anywhere in the world is justice.
I recently had a convincing experience with two Bolt’s drivers who provided unbelievable services to me in a city in Nigeria. Alli DanMallam was so engaging with his passengers. He carefully explained the difference between a Hausa and a Fulani man to me. He complained about the country comparing prices of food items and commodities during Goodluck Jonathan and Mohammed Buhari. You will be surprised at how Alli was quoting the costs and making a meaningful evaluation of the two regimes. He did not spare the security of lives and properties. He confirmed that Nigerians have never been unsecured and divided like this in her history. Why are we so divided? Injustice to many at the expense of all and to the benefits of few individuals.
Pelumi Akanbi was an exceptional driver I encountered. I feel like having him in my class of uplifting service. He portrayed the highest level of service with his courtesy and engagement. He was willing to go the extra mile for his customers. He showed an owner-thinking mentality and exuded more than his National Diploma qualification. His charisma earned him some business tips from me on how to increase his customer base and leverage his customer-centric nature.
These two Nigerians represent the strength of our diversity. We are stronger not as a single unit but as a multi-ethnic, big, and peaceful country where opportunities are available to all irrespective of religion or race. We will be more respected if we are united and unleash the potential in an average Nigerian. Nigeria is a bowl of soup with multiple ingredients if we allow the aroma of justice to prevail over other sentiments. It is either we do justice to all by restructuring or dismantle the country through our institutionalized impunity. Unfortunately, those who will destroy us will not be impacted as much as a common man or woman with no power to create the peace and unity we deserve.
For the sake of the millions of Nigerians in the likes of Alli and Pelumi, our leaders should re-orientate their minds and seek justice for all. If we traced the clamour for succession. it came because of failure to restructure, lopsided appointments, corruption, and massive nepotism. We, therefore, need a new set of leaders who can be impartial and retreat from the old order to move this country forward.
It is not enough for the regional leaders to dismiss the call for successions. The Ndigbo and the Yoruba leaders have positioned that the unity of Nigeria is sacrosanct. This position is without a root cause analysis of what is causing the agitation. A brilliant graduate from one part of the country was disadvantaged with the quota system, whereas his average contemporary is in government. It has been a game of unequal animals in the animal kingdom.
If we want peace, we must pay the price of justice. There is no peace and unity without justice. Those who are calling for successions have the right to demand a change for a system that is not working. Where the future cannot be seen, one is created if extinction is to be prevented. Nigeria is at a stage where a traditional ruler is asking his subject to defend themselves. The insecurity will not only lead to a war against the rich or the poor but aggravate the call for self-determination, except we start redressing the known and unknown injustice. Those who are at the helm of affairs should know the game is getting over. The south is requesting a constitutional change because they have waited for a long time, and the few people’s dominance cannot continue.
Yugoslavia separated into six independent countries because of undue injustice leading to political competition, social differences, and religious and ethnic lines. That description is the narrative of present-day Nigeria, except that our leaders are still united for what they will get and against the people behind them. The root cause of Sudan’s civil wars is the division between the north and the south based on the exploitation by one region over the other. Injustice via political exploitation in power and wealth allocation is like a colonial government and its power. It does not last forever. There will be a time when the game is over, and it is almost over for Nigeria and her 1999 constitution of the oppressors.
For Nigeria not to toe the part of Sudan and Yugoslavia, our political leaders must be sensitive to our polity’s structural and institutional defects. The clamour from any part of the whole must never be dismissed as there cannot be the whole without the parts. There are limits to a political solution in poverty and a hopeless environment where the majority does not know where the next meal will come from. A sensitive northern or southern leader will see the impact of a prolonged injustice and start the process of redressing it. I do always ask if Nasir is a prophet. He appears to be a rare leader who is not afraid, to tell the truth in the interest of a united Nigeria. The way up for Nigeria is also the way down. A right of dominance must be given away for freedom of equity and justice if we want to be progressive, united, and maximize the potential of Nigeria. The prevalent insecurity is not helping our case. It is making our situation more pathetic and dangerous than that of United Sudan and the six nations from disintegrated Yugoslavia.
What should our leaders do in response to the call for restructuring, the dominance of political positions, insecurity, and high handedness of the regional cattle-rearing group? Seek justice above any other considerations; be it ethnic or religion. Without justice, there will be no peace. Peace does not live in the absence of unity. Nigeria’s situation is still repairable only with the right leaders who are not sectional and shortsighted in their approach. Let them know I hear my words. Hear the word and make Nigeria a place for all. A united Nigeria is worth more than your political influences and wealth, which will evaporate with preventable violence. Let us get our peace and unity by giving justice to all.
