A deeper thought for Nigeria -- Okechukwu Emeh These are not the best of times for Nigeria. The polity is currently enmeshed in rapidly metastasizing cancer of political intolerance, economic uncertainty occasioned by international crude oil prices that have plunged to a new low and terror campaign by Boko Haram religious sect, whose activities have brought a calamity of evil through massive bloodshed and depredation. At tempestuous times like these, it is needful for all men and women of goodwill in Nigeria to coalesce and be fully committed to the survival of the country by nursing a deeper thought for its future. This is hugely important because despite our present trials and tribulations as a people, we have not reached the end of the road. Therefore, we should refuse to surrender to a kind of fatalistic resignation, as punctuated by hopelessness and despair, which would not help matters. Rather, with alacrity, we should embark on soul-searching and lateral thinking in order to articulate how to rebuild from our debilitating national crises. As a step in the direction of national rebuilding in Nigeria, members of our political elite, irrespective of party affiliations, are urged to close ranks in the interest of salvaging our beleaguered federation. They should manifest the sterling qualities of the guardian class, which subdue personal and sectional interests for national objectives in times of extraordinary challenges like now when we are facing grave situations like brutal insurgency and terrorism and the resultant insecurity. This is a clarion call for our politicians to recourse to centrist politics, statesmanship, patriotism and a sense of national duty, as clearly demonstrated by members of the political class in the United Kingdom (UK) in September this year, when they cohered under the auspices of Better Together advocacy coalition to save the UK from dismemberment during the much-heralded referendum on Scotland’s bid for independence. The overriding need for our politicians to unite by eschewing mutual suspicion, distrust, resentment and hostility is presented at this crucial moment when we are inching towards the 2015 general elections, which many analysts apprehensively see as make or break elections. Ahead of the decisive elections – mindful that elections are the life-blood of an institutionalised democracy – they are called upon to play according to the rules of the game. Our politicians should not treat politics with a do-or-die attitude, because such attitude that reeks of confrontation and policy of unco-operation is not only contrary to democratic norms and values, including understanding, tolerance and moderation, but also destructive, judging from the violent concatenation of political events that led to the demise of the first and second republics. So, what we desperately need now is a positive-sum politics of concession, inclusion and persuasion that builds trust and cooperation, not that of a zero-sum political game of intimidation, exclusion and coercion, which is at the root of violent civil unrest in many African states today. In essence, our politicians should not seek elective positions at all costs, because while political players who are thoughtless and self-serving are preoccupied with the next election, those who are clear-headed think of the next generation. It is noteworthy that the electorate in Nigeria holds most of the aces for election of credible leaders in the country. Accordingly, they should discharge their civic responsibility by shunning voter apathy, vote-selling and sentimental voting on the basis of ethnicity or religion, because such untoward acts would affect them in the long run through emergence of unaccountable leaders. Our electorate should also guard against being used as a tool for political violence, as no vaulting ambition of any politician in the country is worth the sacrifice of their lives, peace or happiness. Needless to say, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has a vital role to play in promoting democracy in Nigeria by conducting peaceful, transparent, free and fair elections based on the universally acclaimed principle of one man, one vote. For INEC to perform creditably in the forthcoming polls, it should be perfectly positioned to be a formidable and impartial electoral umpire. And this demands that the electoral body must be empowered with requisite manpower, funds, logistics and security, as well as given a free hand in organising elections. Security agencies, especially the police, are expected to complement the efforts of INEC during elections by checking disorderliness, thuggery, ballot box snatching, violence and other distractions, while being above board by not supporting any party or candidate. For a viable and sustainable democracy in Nigeria, our politicians must place premium on the essential values of pluralism, mutual recognition of opposing views, popular participation, dialogue, open-mindedness, restraint and forbearance. There is no doubt that such values would help reduce tension and forestall grievances and the accompanying conflict. Again, what should be uppermost in the mind of our politicians for the sake of democratic consolidation in the polity is playing issue-based politics – not hot rhetoric that reeks of extreme brinkmanship ahead of the 2015 polls. Basically, this is how to forge a new future for Nigeria, engender responsible, responsive and thoughtful leadership, inspire good followership, foster inclusive political outcomes (including government of national unity), stem electoral violence and maintain law and order with a view to protecting lives and property. There is need to fight corruption through Clean Hands campaign, promote, defend and champion unity and corporate existence of the country, nurture Nigerian Dream in which every compatriot will be part of it without limiting opportunities, build an open society, create a society that works for the good of every member and every member works for the good of the society and make every citizen to be protected by fundamental rights that cannot be taken away by the state or fellow citizens. We need to encourage tolerance, multiculturalism, peaceful coexistence and reconciliation, establish a road map to diversified economy to check adverse effects of sole reliance on crude oil as our major source of foreign exchange in a very challenging era of international oil glut (and the associated fall in prices), alternative energy sources revolution and discovery of shale oil by a number of industrialised countries like the United States (US) and Britain, equip our country for massive industrialisation and technological change and ensure inclusive economic growth and sustainable development. Government must invest in infrastructure and social services with public and private finance working together in vital sectors like education, health, electricity, road, housing and water supply. Effort must be made to tackle mass poverty through safety net, skill acquisition and reform of the labour market, address relative deprivation and the attendant discontent and conflict. We must alleviate hunger, lay the foundations of a new Nigeria where honesty, merit and hard work will be rewarded and political institutions are governed by public good (not private interest). Our nation can be changed by first showing that we have the courage to change ourselves; arouse a sense of individual duty considering that from it we could connect the greater good and the interests of our national community, rebuild the sense of civic pride and responsibility out of the chaos of spiritual, moral and social breakdown around us. We should safeguard the environment and its ecosystem for the benefits of the present and future generations, define Nigeria’s place in the world, not in isolation but as a leader among the community of progressive countries in this post-modernist age of gloablisation and globalised economy and the rest. For ruling parties at all levels in Nigeria, they are exhorted to go beyond being partisan and identity-driven in facing the challenges of engendering common good. They should govern in righteousness, with vision, pragmatism, transparency, accountability, probity, altruism and compassion as their articles of faith. Our political office holders should also exhibit zero tolerance for corruption, mismanagement, nepotism, cronyism and exclusion, which the resultant deprivation is part of the causative factors for the current fragile security situations in Nigeria, as made egregious in violent crimes like armed robbery, kidnapping, communal clashes and terrorism. On the part of the opposition parties in Nigeria, they should be a stabilising force in our democracy by putting the ruling party at all levels in the country on a proper footing through constructive criticism. They are duty-bound to help in formulating viable ideas for transformative leadership, human welfare and sustainable development. Suffice it to say that such a progressive and forward-looking politics has helped in promoting good governance and political stability in many countries practising multi-party democracy, as well as ushering opposition parties into the seat of power, as seen in African states like Senegal, Ghana, Benin Republic, Cote d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Malawi and Zambia where ruling parties have lost presidential or parliamentary elections in recent years. As powerful sources of conflicts in modern-day Nigeria, ethnic and religious groups in the country should strive to be a positive force. For example, ethnicity – a collective group consciousness characterised by common identities like language, religion, culture, heritage, origin and interest – can be harnessed to provide material benefits and meet intangible needs like esteem and sense of identity, inclusion and purpose, rather than being negatively directed towards “tribalism” and micronationalism. On the other hand, religion, as a means of worshipping, obeying, glorifying and adoring the all-knowing, all-doing and all-present God, can be channelled towards its true ends of building a good society through spirituality, piety, morality, love, peace, human welfare and universal brotherhood of man, instead of abuse of this system of faith with gravitation towards religiosity, hypocrisy, exploitation, intolerance, extremism, violence and bloodletting. Arising from the foregoing, aggrieved ethnic and religious groups in Nigeria should renounce hatred, bitterness, vengeance and violence and embrace diversity and peaceful coexistence, with the strategies of dialogue, engagement, tolerance, forbearance and reconciliation as their rallying cry. This is urgent considering the periodic descend into an inferno of senseless communal killings and destruction in different parts of the country in recent years, especially in flashpoints like Jos, Kaduna, Taraba, Bauchi, Nasarawa, Benue and Warri. That such sectarian strife has had destabilising impact on the herculean tasks of nation-building and national integration, as well as our internal security situations, is not in doubt. Against this backdrop, warring groups in Nigeria are enjoined to sheath their sword, dig a hole and bury the past and look to the future. They should recognise the umbilical cords of common humanity, shared colonial history and same development challenges that oughtto bind them as a people – not primordial attachments like ethnicity, religion, language and custom that seriously divide when put to negative use. They should employ such ties to build what could be termed a beloved national community – a philosophical ideal of a nation state that transcends ethnic, religious, regional, political, ideological and class barriers and is suffused with mutual love, care, empathy, goodwill and solidarity. At these times that try the soul in Nigeria, the fate of the country is now in the hands of Nigerians. Therefore, all of us as a people should come out of our assumed personal or sectional cocoon and spare a deeper thought for our dear fatherland by speaking for its well-being, not for our selfish interests as rampant nowadays. For sure, it is only in so doing that we could witness a national re-awakening geared towards sustainable peace, stability, happiness and progress in our land.
Posted on: Thu, 04 Dec 2014 12:59:15 +0000
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