Perspicacious Jingoism: The Enemies of Nigeria’s Survival
By
Debo Awosika-Olumo
“The
man who views the world at 50 the same as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of
his life”- Muhammad Ali.
I
read the address credited to gentleman, ex-Head of State and elder statesman
General Yakubu Gowon on above subject matter. After thoroughly perusing the
content of the address. I came to the conclusion based on the credentials
described above about our simpatico ex-Head of State, that he was not the author
of the address and that his name was dropped to give it credibility. I pray that
I am correct if not, Nigeria is in trouble.
I
love and respect the innocent Hausa/Fulani masses and I always try as much as
possible to educate other southerners about the plights of the masses in the
North. They are not the problems. Likewise I do not hate their leaders or the
cabal who continually enrich themselves to the detriment of the innocent masses.
Because “if you hate a person, you hate something in him that is part of
yourself. What isn’t part of ourselves doesn’t disturb us”.-Herman Hesse.
I
would like to address the points raised in the address because there are some
people that believe in the views raised and secondly it opens door for dialogue
on the future of the country.
The first group that he mentioned was “idealists who cannot wait to see a perfect Nigeria.” Nigerians are the most patient people because no group of people all over the world can survive what Nigerians have gone through in the hands of hapless and self imposed leaders in the past 30 years. The last time Nigeria as a country moved in the right direction was 1971, since then the ship of Nigeria has been moving in the negative direction with some spikes of hope here and there. Our universities are now factories for assassins, hospitals are now morgues, and public services and health services are in a dire state. Lack of accountability in every area of governance. To call those who are drawing sufficient conclusion to insufficient premises as idealists and enemies of Nigeria survival is very uncharitable and unbecoming of someone of Gowon’s stature.
The second group identified in the address was those “who wants the country balkanized into small territories to be headed by tribal leaders” and demagogues and other anarchists who will sooner take Nigeria back to the chaos of the 18th centuries”. I have three questions for you.
As a former Head of Sates of Nigeria why are you a member of a tribal group?
What are the missions and objectives of ACF? The last I know it is supposed to promote the interest of the “Hausa /Fulani cabal that had ruled this country for more than 30 years with the only meritorious achievements of turning out the richest ‘out of’ and in government public servants and the poorest geographical area in the country. The lowest private and indigenous investment in the country. The worst vital statistics in the world.
To
describe the agitators who are responding to the injustice, lack of
accountability in every area of governance, as enemies of the country is very
disingenuous. The injustice and lack of accountability in the country is
epitomized by situations where you need to spend only months in government for
your family and you ‘to be made’ for life without any punitive measure. A
country where someone like Banbagida is viewed by some people as a hero and
there is the possibility of him becoming the president of Nigeria whether the
majority likes it or not because of the beneficiaries of his plutocratic regime
and his ability to buy his way with the money he made while in government.
Sir,
some of us believe that we do not inherit the land of Nigeria from our
ancestors; but we borrow it from our children while people who share your view
believe the opposite. To those who share your view my response to them is that
the actions of those who want to change the status quo and move the country
forward to its rightful position can be summarize in Abba Eban words that
“History teaches that men and nations behave wisely when they have exhausted
all other alternatives”.
The third group you described are “those who desire the country break up into geo-political territories, whereby the big ethnic groups may swallow up small ones without challenge”. Sir, this is an old scare tactics that we’ve being hearing for the past 35 years. I am not against unity of Nigeria but any union based on falsehood and distrust, disillusionment, disharmony and disinclination is bound to lead to disaster. In the present day Nigeria, no tribe or ethnic group trust each other, it is a common sense issue that no relationship can succeed without trust. Hence for anyone to say that the unity of any country is not negotiable is the most erroneous and disingenuous statement any sane mind can make. My response to you can be summarize in the words of Gertrude Stein “Everybody get so much common information all day long that they lose their commonsense”.
Sir
policies of past and current leaders have driven Nigerians to the wall and by
their action have given us the momentum necessary to get over the wall.
Nigerians are tired of the current structure, corrupt and feudalistic culture
and we are ready to take chances because “our lives improve only when we take
chances, and the first and most difficult risk we can take is to be honest with
ourselves”-Walter Anderson.
The
fourth group mentioned are “those asking for a new constitution that will
allow them to keep 100 percent of money derived from the sale of oil that is
extracted within their territories”. This comment stretched the truth and is
very demagoguery. I am very happy
that you acknowledge that the oil is from their territories. What this people
are asking for is accountability and fair distribution of their
non-replenishment resource called oil. Secondly, to let
every state government manage their own resources and pay tax to a loose central
government for the following purposes, national security, defense, commerce and
other national responsibilities that the states shall concede to the central
government. To describe these agitators as enemies of the country baffles
me, and using my daughter’s common statement when she needs clarification “I
just don’t get it.”
Nigeria
must be governed on the basis of fairness, justice and rule of law, it would
be an arduous task keeping it as one entity. Sir I agree with you if your
fairness is real fairness and your justice and rule of law is the
universally accepted justice and rule of law and not selective ones that
have permeated our society in the past 41 years where people’s hands are
being cut for stealing goat and embezzlers of billions of dollars are
heroes. Women are being convicted to die for adultery and the men involved
are allowed to go unpunished. I did not hear any comment from you regarding
the massacre of the Ogoni, Odi and Tiv agitators.
Leaders
should clearly embody the esteemed value of honesty and integrity and earn
the willing respect and loyalty of the people. Duh!!!
I wish I know that. These are wonderful quality that cannot be
attained in any human race by just lip service. Sir what we need is
accountability, although the word accountability is foreign to our both past
and present leaders to suggest because they are yet to give account of their
past and present stewardships. Accountability brings integrity. Where there
is no accountability there can never be integrity, justice and fairness. My
Bible says “The heart of man is deceitful above all things, and
desperately wicked: who can know it”-Jeremiah 17:9. The God that
created us human beings know that humans without accountability is wicked
and dishonest based on his experience with Adam and Eve in the garden of
Eden. So he gave the Ten Commandments and other injunctions to create an
accountable society. He did not only gave the commandments and injunctions,
He enforced it to the fullest. The culture of lack of accountability crept
up from the final part of your term as the Head of State and came to obvious
prominence since 1985 till present day.
Sir
the greatest service and hope that you can give to the present Nigerians and the
future generations to come as the oldest living Head of State not in age but in
term and time of service is to show an example of accountability by giving
account of your stewardship as Head of State and call on all those who serve
under you to do the same and if you want to pay restitution, although, this is
not necessary, but it will lay the foundation of accountability and put Nigeria
in the path of accountability, loyalty and respect of the people.
The
other solution that you suggested that people that have contrary opinion to
yours should be “checked”. Is this a threat or oxymoron? My advice to you is
that “We owe almost all our knowledge not to those who have agreed, but to
those who have differed”.- Charles Caleb Colton. No one can make us feel
inferior or intimidate us without our consent.
The
most obnoxious statement made during the seminar was the one credited to
Governor Ahmed Makarfi, I quote “it was ironic that we (the north) have ruled
this country for long, and yet we are the poorest”. He further submitted that
“such a situation could only have prevailed because the North was not selfish
or else we the North would have been the richest”. “It is always the best
policy to tell the truth, unless of course, you are an exceptional
liar”.-Jerome K. Jerome.
Governor
Makarfi, according to Joseph Heller “some people are born mediocre, some
people achieve mediocrity and some people have mediocrity trust upon them”,
what are you? Your reasoning and statements fly in the face of reality. Who
impoverished your people, when your government and past governments from the
North prefer to encourage or sponsor people to go to Mecca than to sponsor
people to go to school.
They
prefer to enrich themselves than to educate and improve the lot of their people.
What investment do you and your ilk’s have in your state and other states in
the North. The Ibos that invested their you’ve used your failures and the
instigation of your masses to drive them away.
There
are more federal government investments in the North than the southeastern part
of Nigerians, but the southeasterners despite the effects of the civil war are
collectively the richest group of people in Nigeria. But individually, the
richest people in Nigeria are in the North. The surest way out of poverty is
education. Until the northern Nigerian leaders set their priorities right and
make education mandatory and compulsory no matter the number of years you stay
in the corridor of power the north we always be the poorest and the Achilles
heel in the progress of the country as a whole.
General
Gowon, Governor Makarfi and their ilk’s your plan and direction for Nigeria is
to just maintain the status quo and hope for a miracle or the false concept of
little by little. This is a very wrong doctrine and I have an advice for you
that “The great thing in this world is not so much where we stand, as in what
direction we are moving”.-Oliver Wendell Holmes.
The enemies of Nigeria survival are:
Those who are using hegemonies or hiding under the umbrella of tribal jingoism to deceive the masses in other to achieve their inordinate ambition.
The beneficiaries of the present system of mendacity and
Lack of leaders with conviction and sense of purpose. I suppose leadership at one time meant muscles; but today it means getting along with people.-Indri a Gandhi.
The sit down and look, let us be patient choir. “The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it”. –Albert Einstein.
Those who believe that we inherited the land of Nigeria from our ancestors; and owe nothing to our children.
The “commoners who wept more than the bereaved”-Chinua Achebe. These are people like Chief Sunday Awoniyi who are ready to sell their birth rights just for the bowl of porridge. Chief Awoniyi while responding to the fiasco at Idi-Araba in which the Yoruba were the victims and the Hausa were the aggressors. Without any evidence, he accused the Yoruba of killing his people (Hausa/Fulani). Chief Sani (Sunday) Awala (Awoniyi).
“
An honest politician is one who when he is bought, will stay bought”-Simon
Cameron.
Sir
“experience is not what happens to a man. It is what a man does with what
happens to him”-George Bernard Shaw. Nigeria as a country can not and will not
survive with this current zoo like structure. We need to learn from past
experience, try alternative ways. The use of fear and scare tactics and
demagoguery words and jingoism will lead us to no where but disaster and violent
balkanization.
“All progress in human is based upon the universal innate desire on the part of every human to aspire beyond their ability. The current system and arrangement breeds incompetence and nincompoops. Our current structure is stifling abilities and driving out intelligent and productive Nigerians to other countries. I repeat with more clarity and without any ambiguity, no country can develop or be productive when the majority of its productive adults are either out of the country and those in the country are in a state of despondency.