Rallying for peace in troubled times

The tension-soaked atmosphere in Nigeria continued last week when on Monday, the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF), a coalition of Northern youths groups, which had earlier issued a quit order asking all the Igbo living in the North to vacate the region before October 1, 2017, wrote an open letter to Acting President Yemi Osinbajo.

In the letter, the youth groups commended the Federal Government’s efforts aimed at finding a lasting solution to the lingering tension that is “undoubtedly overheating the polity”, but also urged the Acting President to initiate a peaceful process that would allow the Igbo who are agitating for Biafra to have their way as guaranteed by a number of international conventions to which Nigeria is signatory.
Looking back at history, they listed all the things they considered as the sins of the Igbo since 1960, alleging that the Igbo demonstrated hatred for Nigeria’s unity barely five years after Independence by way of the January 15, 1966 military coup which ushered in what is now known as the dark days of military rule in the country. They said they had reservations as to the efficacy of the government’s approach in ensuring lasting solutions to the ongoing tension, adding that “the seed of hate planted in the name of Biafra is evidently so deep that the ongoing interaction between you and the leaders from the South-East cannot in our well-informed opinion douse or address the deep-seated underlying problems”.
They said while they did not see the clamour for Biafra as an issue over which a single drop of blood should be shed, “we at the same time insist that the Igbo be allowed to have their Biafra and for them to vacate our land peacefully so that our dear country Nigeria could finally enjoy lasting peace and stability”.
The letter brought about its own bit of tension as many Nigerians of Igbo extraction took to the social and traditional media to debunk all the allegations made against the Igbo by the Arewa youths. Some said the Arewa youths, in their attempt to paint the Igbo black, had merely embarked on ugly historical revisionism.
This did not, however, deter the Acting President from continuing with his ongoing peace moves which have so far garnered widespread commendation from a cross section of Nigerians. On Wednesday, Osinbajo met with governors of the 36 states of the federation at the Aso Rock Villa to discuss matters bordering on the tension arising from the raging agitations in the country.
Osinbajo had the week before held a meeting with foremost leaders of Northern extraction, ‎where he issued a stern warning that dire consequences await anyone who makes hate speeches capable of disrupting the peace of the country. He had also met with South-East leaders, urging them to speak out against hate speeches capable of destabilising the country. Thereafter, Osinbajo met behind closed doors with the Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, and later, with traditional rulers from the South-East and the North.
At the consultative meeting with the 36 state governors held at the old Banquet Hall, State House, Abuja, on Wednesday, the Acting President reeled out a number of agreements he had reached with leaders from the North and South-Eastern parts of the country whom he had earlier met with.
He emphasised the unity and indissolubility of Nigeria as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution and told the governors that they are very critical in the whole process of reconciling the differences and dousing the tensions in the country as it was impossible to get anything done or to even implement any of the ideas or suggestions that may arise without them being the primary movers of whatever is agreed upon.
“Today’s meeting is one which I hope will be able to seal all of the discussions we’ve had with the different groups, with the traditional rulers, the leaders, the elders,” he said.
On the root causes of Nigeria’s problems, the Acting President said the major issues the country is faced with centre around unity in a multi-religious, multi-ethnic and very diverse country.
“And as it’s always the case, we need to handle all of these issues carefully because at various times there are attempts to play up those fault lines. There are attempts by various groups, individuals, sometimes by politicians, to play up those fault lines and to create tension sometimes for purely selfish reasons but at other times for even genuine reasons,” he said.
“I think that it’s our duty as leaders, especially as elected leaders, to really make a difference in the way that these conversations and interventions go,” he said.
He said while people are free to express their views, which is a major ingredient in any healthy and robust democracy, “there is a point where a line has to be drawn, and that is when conversations or agitations degenerate into hateful rhetoric, where the narrative descends into pejorative name-calling, expressions of outright prejudice and hatred”.
Osinbajo said it was important to do more to engage the youths productively, creation of jobs and multiplying the economic opportunities available to the young people.
“And very importantly, we agreed on the need for leaders to speak out more forcefully to counter divisive speech or any kind of warmongering. We agreed that cultural leaders, religious leaders and political leaders should speak out forcibly against any kind of divisive speech and we expect that our political leaders would do so without waiting to be prompted,” he said.
Osinbajo further urged the governors to unite with themselves and the Federal Government to “resolve various challenges that arise on a constant basis for the benefit of all Nigerians regardless of party affiliations”. He called on the governors to resist the temptation to play politics especially with matters of security.
Meanwhile, Rabiu Kwankwaso, a former governor of Kano State, advised the Federal Government to be lenient in handling Arewa youths who wrote eviction notice to Igbo in the North so as to avoid inciting tribal clash between the two tribes. This also drew its own portion of ire from some quarters.
But just a day after the Acting President’s meeting with the governors, leaders of the Middle Belt and other Northern minorities met in Abuja and asked the Federal Government to immediately begin the implementation of the 2014 National Conference report to address the agitations for the restructuring of the country. The meeting, which was convened under the aegis of Middle Belt Leaders’ Forum, was attended by other leaders from Adamawa, Taraba, Southern Kaduna and the six states of the North Central zone. They specifically canvassed a middle belt region made up of the current six states in the North Central zone, as well as Southern Kebbi, Southern Kaduna, Southern Borno and parts of Adamawa, Taraba and Gombe states.
The Middle-Beltans’ agitation add to the number of chaotic voices already causing tension in the country since the release of Nnamdi Kanu from Kuje prison and the sit-at-home protest observed by South-easterners on May 30.
Recall that following the quit order to the Igbo on June 6, a group of purported South-West youths codenamed the Youths of Oduduwa Republic came up with a similar threat on June 7, asking the Igbo to perish the idea of Biafra or vacate the six states of the South-West. Another group in the South-South had also come up with the idea of Region of the Niger Delta (Rondel) making a demand for independence from Nigeria by 2018.
Beyond these agitations, hate speeches, in writing, videos and audio recordings, have been flying in and out of social media, with several attempts by mischievous Nigerians to rewrite history to suit their ethnic self-interests. Many Nigerians hope that these moves by Osinbajo, despite the misgivings nursed by some sceptics, would douse the tension in the land and save the country from yet another needless bloodshed.