It was in 1914 that the decision of London to bring together nations within the same geographical proximity and call them Nigeria was executed. I am not a student of mathematics but I believe that was over 100 years ago. Within the next 46 years, the colonial masters put in place a scheme to keep themselves in control of these nations now lumped into one, without any plan for exit. Between 1967-70 while these people killed themselves in what was one of the worst homicides ever known, the colonial masters used that avenue to make business deals to further perpetuate their economic interest. It has always been about economics.
In recent times, we have noticed the trend, the enablers of war are in place and have always been the same…economic interest. It is said that nations do not necessarily have permanent friends or permanent enemies but permanent interests. This explains why certain persons and nations will not give attention to what you say or to the cry of the oppressed. If you want to count on humanitarian grounds for soliciting help from nations in your fight for self actualization and independence, that is probably not going to be effective. Something always goes for something. When money changes hands or money is agreed to change hands, either in cash or kind, then maybe you will have any hope of help and support. Your allies don’t just spend their time and money helping you get what you want if there is nothing in it for them. Do you understand that? Adam Smith explained this in the Invisible hand long time ago, and today we see it at the macro level.
Part of the problem of Nigeria is that she is made up of several different nations. Our diversity could have been an asset if, and maybe if it was our idea to cohabit and if we had an input into how we will cohabit. Unfortunately the decision was made by London apparently because our people were considered incapable of independent decision. But then the person that made that decision also built roads and railways that led to the sea….because goods and produce have to be hauled to London…things that we have which they need. After all what was the main purpose of colonization? Was it to help Africa develop into a world power? By no means!
But by 1950s agitations for independence were on the increase. When Nkrumah and his men had succeeded in Ghana in 1957, Nigerians had to join the league even though our people were not really ready especially the north. But if Nigeria must be free, she can only be free in some ways and slave in other ways. The task masters knew that these nations are different and the onerous task of creating a coherent country out of incoherent nations was going to undermine the newly ‘independent’ entity. Who doesn’t know what the oligarchy is capable of and perpetually interested in? Who doesn’t know the story of Nigerian in the post colonial era of the last 60 years?
But these people are different in every respect. So instead of embarking on nation building, the parties to this amalgam are interested in their share of the cake. For almost 60 years, it has been nepotism, favoritism, cronyism and the like. This is because nobody actually sees Nigeria as ‘our own’…the Arewa is first Arewa then Nigerian, the Igbo is first Biafran then Nigerian and the Yoruba is first Oduduwa then Nigeria…and so are the other nations in Nigeria. Our allegiance is to our nation not ‘the Nigerian nation’. So instead of embarking on the task of nation building we embark on the task of myopic nepotism and cronyism…looking for dividends. When a Daura man is in charge, every development has to be in Daura and people from Daura become lords and disrespectful of the kangaroo constitution that was put together by individuals of a particular extraction. The same is applicable to the rest. So in every election the central focus of the individual nation is to win the election so they can enjoy their turn to grab what they can when they can. A time will come when there is nothing left to grab, maybe then China will turn around and grab all of what is left.
The task of nation building is a task that has been talked about but never really embarked upon. Decentralization of governance back to the regions will create competition and enable the regions (nations) to embark on nation building. Look at Ghana, they are not more than the Yoruba nation. Have you not seen that she is doing better than Nigeria? Although not a mono-national country, they are able to handle their differences probably because of their manageable size. Look at South Africa, her size is also manageable. Nigeria is too big and too diverse for the kind of government we run, given our mentality and cultural differences. Our people, the constitution and the leadership are jokes, otherwise someone should have known to do something about what is not working. When you are in a car that is not moving do you not know? If your relationship with someone has stalled, don’t you know?
There is no accountability and performance is measured by ridiculous outcomes. For example how do you clap for a governor and call him ‘performer’ because he pays teachers’ salaries on time? That means the people have accepted a new norm…non-payment of salaries such that payment of salary is now abnormal and celebrated. Isn’t that ludicrous? The Quota system is another manifestation of the notorious grabbing mentality that will always work against nation building. This quota system has undermined our educational system, health system, leadership and every aspect of national interest. Even though some form of quota will still be in place when you have your Arewa, the dynamics will be much easier to manage. Under quota system, it has been difficult to hold persons accountable because instead of look and judge what is done we judge who is doing it. If he is from ‘my nation’ you better don’t talk about him else I fight you. How can a country move forward like that?
What we propose is not nation grabbing and nepotism which have been ongoing but nation building by the nationals. It does appear that the Fulani nation from across Africa has come to possess ‘their possession’ and build their nation on the geographical space called Nigeria and the leadership of the country is quiet probably because she is in tandem with the agenda. The nations under siege will have to figure out how to defend themselves against the marauders, maybe wrestle their space from the invasion and maybe then review their commitment to this entity called Nigeria. If the government of the day is taciturn on a matter as serious and grievous as the security concern that is looming now, then what portion has anybody in this entity?
Instead of building the nations, the federal government seems to be playing partisan politics and ignoring call for security intervention. If she continues the way she is going, will Nigeria survive this present regime? If the individual nations resist the marauders from taking over their land and eventually succeed in that quest, would they still identify with and be part of Nigeria or become their own independent/sovereign states? If the federal government continues to pretend as if she is not aware of the tanker loads of strange fellows being smuggled into the nations of southern Nigeria, and the weapons of war that go with them, when this impending war is fought and won, would you still expect these nations to continue to be identified with Nigeria and as Nigerians? Your guess is as good as mine.
Mezie Okolo is a leadership analyst and can be reached at mezieokolo.com