Can Nigerians Bear The Cost Of Break-up?
BY SIMON REEF MUSA
Amidst the myriad of calamities threatening our nationhood, we have become oblivious of the advantages we have in being citizens of a united country. Current terror attacks and criminal activities in various parts of Nigeria and sometimes the cluelessness of the political class are adding fuel to separatist inclinations that have gained traction and increasing fervour among citizens on advantages of a possible breakup. After over 21 years of unbroken democracy, with most of our hopes thrown into the dungeon, the Biafran secessionists may have been finally proven right as to the futility of running a united country called Nigeria.
However, we should not be quick to dismiss the gains of United Nigeria. Just last Wednesday, former President Olusegun Obasanjo warned against Nigeria’s disintegration, saying that Nigeria’s break-up was capable of exterminating smaller ethnic groups. Before him, The Bishop of the Sokoto Catholic Diocese, His Lordship Dr Matthew Hassan Kukah, had on May 1 noted that the cost of maintaining the unity of Nigeria was far less than breaking up.
In 2003, I asked the former Governor of Kaduna State, Alhaji Abdulkadir Balarabe Musa on the possible break-up of Nigeria. His response was astounding and has continued to diminish the hope of a possible break-up. According to him, Nigeria may continue to dance on the precipice, but breaking up cannot be envisaged any time soon. Due to the interwoven marriages and mutual relationship among citizens, Balarabe added, such a break-up could leave on its trail devastating impacts.
The owners of Nigeria, Balarabe then noted, could be lackadaisical in showing up for a rescue. However, when it becomes imminent that the country was headed for the brink, these owners of our nation, comprising citizens that cut across ethnic and religious divides, would hurriedly appear to salvage their inheritance.
There is no doubt that the struggle for the soul of our country is still an ongoing battle. During the First Republic, the fight for supremacy by the various regions saw to the emergence of regional champions that competed favourably in showcasing development strides in their regions. There was a complete absence of rampaging greed and personal acquisition of wealth. All that the First Republic politicians wanted was development.
If the First Republic politicians were kicked out due to the collection of 10 percent on government contracts, what we are seeing today is far from the sleaze and corruption that trailed the past. Our present times are fraught with indescribable rot that has turned governance into a field for the almost irredeemably corrupt. Even after over three decades of political freedom, the vision of improved living conditions for citizens is still a pipe dream.
With Nigerians, the previous year would always be better. There is no proof of this assertion than the current travails Nigerians presently find themselves in. When in 2015, Nigerians rejected President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, that decision was hinged on insecurity and the threatening spectre over our continued existence as a nation.
Less than three weeks to the midterm of the second and final tenure of President Muhammadu Buhari, Nigerians’ wailings over insecurity and bad governance have never been so loud. Drumbeats of break-up have led to tension, with terrorism and banditry turning our nation into a slaughter house. More than any other time in our history, citizens are asking if it is worth the pains of staying in a united country.
Terror attacks in the North-east have increased in horrifying levels. Banditry and kidnappings is making citizens dread the challenge of ordinary living in a nation invaded by murderous monsters. Some Nigerians have relocated their families to safe havens in Europe, the Americas and other continents. What citizens once thought to be an impossible act is happening in Nigeria. Students have been turned into commercial objects for ransom just as the murder of five Greenfield University undergraduates by bandits symbolises how cheap life has become, with criminal elements completely taking charge.
It is clear that our security agencies are overwhelmed and the urgency to act is now. When a nation is faced with demons of destruction, the best way is not to advocate a break-up, but to look for solutions in resolving the problem. Government remains the only organised institution that can deploy legitimate violence against enemies of the state. When we fail to recognise that, the road to combating national challenges will continue to remain a mirage. The break-up of any country does not hold the hope of bringing utopia; rather such a disintegration casts long shadows in providing solutions to national problems.
Let me state here unequivocally that I do not believe in the disintegration of the Nigerian state. The increasing volume of break-up voices is hinged on citizens’ despair and the incapacity of government to deal with the threat caused by terror gangs and outlaws. While Nigerians are desirous of staying in a united country where the equality of all citizens shall be upheld, the present appalling iniquities of the Nigerian state make it an impossible feat for patriots to remain silent.
On this note, when the government is unable to rein in the evil works of criminals and bring them to justice, the cost of uniting a nation increases. Allowing criminals’ access to weapons, while the same right is denied to patriotic citizens, amounts to aiding the disintegration of the nation through the enthronement of the supremacy of one group over the other.
Our present situation is best described by the Shakespearean quote: “All cheerless, dark and deadly.” Nigeria stands at the crossroads; and the decision we take as citizens and government is crucial in advancing national goals. We must eschew efforts aimed at widening our gulf of differences and concentrate on issues that unite us. As a democratic country, we must hold our leaders accountable and work towards standing by our elected representatives in the legislative arms and other arms of government to secure and deliver our nation from the claws of criminals that have turned our nation into a flowing river of bloodshed.
Our politicians that are already deploying our collective tragedies into campaign points should be made to know that we can only play politics when we have a country. Governments at all levels must rise up to their mandates and those who think the prospects of war are to be embraced than that of peace must exercise restraint and work towards perfecting the imperfections of our nationhood.
Recent submissions of both President Obasanjo and Bishop Kukah should guide us in preserving the unity of our nation whose continued existence was attained at a great cost. We can’t afford to render in vain the labour of our past heroes. There is all we can gain in a united than a divided Nigeria.
