NIGERIA: ALART. ON THE MARCH TO RWANDA Ngozi Chukwuka Every crisis, violence, political or ethnic upheaval of horrendous dimensions never happened without warning and is hardly spontaneously, i.e. the first and second world wars, or the Libyan crisis that consumed its strong man, Col. M. Gaddafi is typical examples.In 1994, the wind that was sown over the years turned to whirlwind when Rwanda witnessed the worst carnage in its history. And if a country of virtually one religious creed, one culture and a language (Hutu, Tutsi and Twa tribes) engaged in slaughter of such magnitude what could become of Nigeria (with over 300 ethnic nationalities) if the myriads of problems confronting us explodes into ethnic, religious and political war. You will expect me to say ‘God forbid!’ No, it is not God, it is you and me, all of us; especially the politicians (the politicians, out of selfishness, greed, and quest for power are bent on destroying this country) and of course, to some degree, the religious leaders. Religious orientation is in part at the root of our problems. There is need for religious re-orientation. In Rwandan crisis, some priests and Rev. Fathers participated in the mass killing. In Rwanda, the Belgian colonial authority elevated the Tutsi above the Hutu, thereby creating a deep resentment among the Hutu majority; before leaving they handed over power (a rigid form of colonial system of racial classification and exploitation) to the Hutu majority, who turned against the Tutsi, marginalizing, massacring and forcing them into exile. And the exiles formed rebel army and startedfighting the Rwandan government. Although power sharing was later negotiated between the Hutu and Tutsi by UN, yet hard-line Hutus extremists spurned the agreement and, instead, planned and executed a heartrending genocide against Tutsis and moderate Hutus where close to a million people were murdered in 1994. Today, some people are resisting change and or restructuring in Nigeria. During the Nigerian Centenary Celebration I watched a programme in the NTA and one of the guest discussants, a lawyer from the north was arguing against the convening of the so-called national conference; he argued that previous similar conferences came to naught; he said it is a waste of resources and that Nigeria has the national assembly that was empowered to make constitutional changes, therefore, there was no need for the national conference (this conference is a national conference not constitutional conference). Many, especially from the core north have echoed similar sentiments. I don’t want to mention the south west APC members who also kicked against the idea of the conference since most people from the same area saw between the frauds of political hypocrisy in such rejection. These megaphones or megalomaniacs, those who dread or deride dialogue would not stop short of charting the course of catastrophe for a country they claim they love and wished to remain as one; and they are on course to achieving their objective, since they refuse promoting equity and justice. These national conference phobic-individuals are aware that the ruling class, starting from Sardauna of Sokoto and Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and the military juntas perpetrated so much injustice and inequity that favoured the north; coupled with the British arrogance and misplacement of priorities of governance while handing over power before independence. Much as those desires still remain elusive (desires and demand for equal opportunity and justice for all) we must learn to tolerate one another and strive to avoid another Rwanda of 1994 or Somalia. No doubt, there is no politician who can make any reasonable difference in our lives or bring about true equity or justice to Nigerians. Some people’s sense of reason, justice and fairness is poisoned and killed through the chemistry of the mind by selfish, hypocritical and dishonest destructive emotions. Any sane person who, for whatever reason detests and rejects dialogue deserves to be consigned to the dustbin of inertia. Even the deaf and dumb engage in dialogue without which they cannot live or stay together. Why would anybody in Nigeria kick against this conference? What is dialogue to such selfish, dishonest, and hypocritical individuals? Is dialogue, now, just a political expediency? The urgency of having this conference now cannot be overemphasized in the face of flawed religious indoctrination, xenophobic and hateful attitudes exhibited among Nigerians, especially in the northern part of the country where an innocent man of different tribe and religion, in a religious frenzy would be forced from unlawful detention by the police, slaughtered and his head carried round the metropolis by religious zealots and jingoists in a civilized and twentieth century society and nothing is done to redress such cruelty and animalistic behaviour. Such act is a bad omen for our religious, cultural and social co-existence. If you would permit me to digress, why would not the same police who unlawfully put the man in detention (pretentiously on the order of a court), not arrest those who were found with fresh human head in their possession if they knew their job? Though, an advocate of dialogue I don’t believe that any reasonable or positive change(s) to our national life will come out of the national conference; I may be wrong. Can the confab address the ugly situation of these self-destructive tendencies? But dialogue is good. Who knows, possible breakthrough may take place and the government may make it a law. Let there be dialogue, it has become a necessity, whatever the cost. In the words of, Frank Nweke Jr. himself, a delegate “I believe we should have such a conference as this and I believe it should be ongoing” One of the problems besetting or weighing against the success of the national conference is the fact that the president himself rejected it at the outset and, hence, did not properly coordinate its birth. Perhaps, he was putting it off. The mindset with which some people approached the confab to make sure it failed is not the only reason I fear for Nigeria. Why are nations fighting and killing? Why are people, politicians overtly and covertly courting and calling for war and committing political and economic frauds? It is nothing but greed, power and fame, they seek. The unguarded utterances and actions of a professor, Professor Ango Abdullahi, other northern politicians like Murtala Nyako, Kwankwanso leave much to be desired; people who live in the age of enlightenment but thinks in the stone-age; some, with heart, filled with hate dispatch memos to their fellows, insinuating “my people rise up and kill the other people…;” such inflammatory utterances portend danger for the corporate existence of Nigeria. Gov. Murtala Nyako’s instigation is wicked and evil, born out of hatred, selfishness and greed. However, this time he received a bashing from Col. Abubakar, Gen, Marwa and many other sincere Nigerians. Oburu ogwu ogaghi erere gi (you‘ll not succeed). What is the offence of the other people? If his instigation is carried out I may likely get killed too? And yet, I‘ve no hatred for and I can’t even contemplate to kill a Hausa or Yoruba or Muslim. Why would people like Jeremiah Useni grant a press interview, boasting of how he participated in a coup and killed innocent members of another ethnic group at a time we are at cross-roads; a discounted politician, he only joined the fray in the hate media, alignment and re-alignment publicity, in my thinking, as a retired general with oil wells, because he fears that a taciturn president, from south south like President Jonathan may revoke and reallocate his wealth to benefit other Nigerians. His driving motive is only personal economic interest. Aside from the na?ve youthful exuberant and religiously radicalized Asari-Dokubo, those making destabilizing and destructive utterances are the so-called elder statesmen, elder statesmen indeed, like Prof. Ango Abdullahi, whom no living or well informed Nigerian would see as patriotic or sincere. Even chief Edwin Clark’s sweeping statements of corruption against northern governors is inflammatory and holds no water in the face of reality. Many northern governors have performed better than some of their southern counter parts. Nigerian major disease now is the so-called elder statesmen. Nigeria, like the world in its dynamism demands for new leaders, new ideas and new ways of doing things. Not people who incite and encourage idle minds, some indoctrinated and unthinking youths to barbarism. Even as most Nigerians harbour religious and tribal sentiments, yet domiciled together in one country, it is proper we control our emotions and actions and guard our utterances. Resident in the north, in my interactions with Yoruba, Ibos and Hausas, it has become clear to me that suspicion, distrust, tribal hatred, religious sentiments and political animosity increased exponentially among the tribes, even though, more and more people are becoming educationally exposed. Our over ambitious politicians are mainly behind the politicization of everything (including our very existence) in Nigeria. Without the oil gushing from south south and south east geo-political zones would there still be Nigeria today? I doubt if Nigeria would still be one. Living as one, just because of oil is sheer hypocrisy and worthless. Nigerians should stop deceiving themselves but demonstrate that they truly want to live as one by projecting their religious and cultural orientation to suit their inevitable desire (the desire to remain one country) to live together As an advocate of one Nigeria, I chose to remain politically neutral; I hate the idea of decimation of Nigeria, because for me, the break-up will simply mean atomizing the existing problems.As long as we live in this wicked world humans cannot do away, completely, with tribal, political or even religious sentiments; but can education and experience in life help? For people like Prof. Ango Abdullahi and Gov. Murtala Nyako, education or civilization is no tool for checkmating or correcting religious excesses, political and tribal sentiments and burning hate. Too bad! Boko Haram is a consuming fire threatening to end the Nigerian State. MASSOB or pro-Biafran sentiments maybe difficult to die, but if north east and north west politicians want the end of Boko Haram in 60 days at most, it will happen. Where is the militancy in south south or Maitasine of the north today? We all know how they came to their end. Corruption has eaten deep into the fabric of our national purse/life. And successive governments have only paid lip service to this canker worm. Even today, one is still at a loss, if attention could really be paid to checkmating and curtailing this hydra-headed and pervasive social evil. Recently, criminal charges, involving Mohammed Abacha and former aviation minister, Femi Fani Kayode have been dropped by the federal government. No government, past or present, state or federal could deny using this type of political strategy for selfish purposes. No hope in our political horizon. Many who claim they are interested in the Nigerian project are daily working against the idea and taking us closer to Rwanda of 1994. https://facebook/groups/paff.789/ Paffcomm paffcomm
Posted on: Sat, 27 Sep 2014 06:22:56 +0000
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