Nigeria And The National Question

I came across a joke recently and I couldn’t but chuckle about the creativity of my countrymen on issues that border on our collective aspirations and it is one reason that we still keep standing and will continue to stand even in spite of our differences. The joke talks about three categories of people who are difficult to advise; the first is a woman in love, the second is a man who has money and the third category is a supporter of President Muhammadu Buhari. Not every Nigerian will laugh at this joke particularly Buhari’s staunch supporters but I laughed albeit to myself because I was alone. Seriously speaking, Buhari’s supporters are very difficult to advise. I listen to radio phone-in programmes a lot and sometimes I would be laughing alone in my car when I listen to Buhari’s supporters turn round 360 degrees to defend him on matters for which they vilified others before him because this is President Buhari and not just any President!

I am not a critic of President Buhari or the ruling All Progressives Congress, neither do I have sympathy for any political party. However, as a Nigerian citizen with my own mind, if I choose to criticise any act of government that affects my well-being, I have the right. I am a advocate of good governance and I try to guard my emotions against hurriedly queuing behind popular views concerning governance because many times before we had been deceived. President Buhari’s messianic assumption of power and the local and international acceptance that greeted him were invaluable assets to this government and it was unprecedented. From the moment he took his oath and became President, it would be expected that our collective patriotic zeal should have tilted our loyalty to the Nigerian nation, the constitution of which Mr. President swore to uphold. This is what distinguishes the countries we call developed. But in my beloved country, supporters of President Buhari defend any action he takes, even if bizarre, because their loyalty is to him and not to the Nigerian nation. It is dangerous for our polity to deify a sitting President; no human being is infallible, President Buhari can be wrong.

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There is no better time as auspicious as now to address the national question and I beseech the main actors in this government to stop seeing other Nigerians who have dissenting views as haters of President Buhari and his government. You simply cannot vilify or demonise those who don’t agree with you. All of us have a stake in Nigeria and those in possession of power now need be reminded that power is transient. Whichever word is used to describe it, almost every Nigerian agrees that the present system we operate is unlikely to connect us to our future and that is the reason behind the numerous agitations that daily threaten our unity. I’ve heard arguments that some new voices calling for a review of our present structure are doing so because they are on the wrong side of power game, some are accused of insincerity for having been in power before and didn’t see a need for what they now call for. The question I ask is, how do these accusations invalidate the import of their message? When it suits people in power, they ask that we ignore the messenger and take his message but when the message hits at them, they quickly remind us that the message is coming from the enemies’ camp. Sometimes, the dramatis personae in this government forget the process that brought them to power; may I pose a subtle reminder that voices of erstwhile sworn enemies sounded like music to the souls of the architects of this government at the formation stage of the alliance of the party that brought it to power? It didn’t matter then who was speaking so far it was all about their common interest – to seize power.

I want this government to succeed because her failure can be very expensive for Nigeria. Whether restructuring or devolution of powers to the states or true/fiscal federalism, whatever name it is called, this government can make history if it heeds the voices of the Nigerian people and takes a second look at this present structure to reposition Nigeria on the path of progress and stability. This “feeding bottle” federalism isn’t just working anymore. I am not a fan of President Jonathan, he could have had ulterior motives for convening a national conference at the heat of the divisions that characterised the build-up to the 2015 general elections but that conference was the high point of his administration. For reason of distrust, the APC disowned the conference and withheld participation but most of the perennial questions that continue to threaten our unity were answered at that conference by consensus, and not by voting.

The Buhari government thrashed the conference report and vowed never to have anything to do with it because, to them, it is a product of the enemy’s political chess game. Decision makers may not necessarily agree with all the contents, but it’s not a sign of weakness for this government to have a second look at that report for greater good.

On this national question, there’s obvious disquiet in the ruling party at the top echelons. In the beginning, agitations for restructuring were dismissed as the ranting of disgruntled elements in the opposition; then came Alhaji Atiku Abubakar who was quickly labelled the enemy within because of his age-long ambition to occupy the top seat. For those who can read in-between the lines, Atiku is simply capitalising on the indecisiveness of this government on the national question. Though not an Atiku supporter, I know people in power will not like to hear this but I dare say that it is unsafe for this ruling party to dismiss him with a wave of hand, as Atiku is a grassroots politician who has been in the saddle for a long time. Besides, there are many more discontented bigwigs in the ruling party whose deadening silence is more harmful than Atiku’s voice. My major worry is that Atiku is stylishly becoming an object of discourse for 2019 presidential bid. Like any other Nigerian, he has every constitutional right to vie for the presidency but if I remember correctly, the former Vice President was the one who stepped down for MKO Abiola in 1992/93 to pave the way for the Abiola/Kingibe/SDP ticket, he later became deputy to President Obasanjo from 1999 to 2007 and since then he has consistently vied for the seat. If Atiku still remains an issue around the Presidency in 2019 (26 years after), then how progressive is this our democracy? When then shall we begin to face forward?

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I don’t know how anyone would describe the place of Bola Tinubu in this government but his silence on any national issue is more likely to unsettle the powers that be. He has been very selective in his speeches but he spoke recently at an event and his views went viral. Tinubu is a very smart and proactive politician who will always protect his political empire; his speechwriter must be very creative with the way he crafted a statement credited to Tinubu on the national question recently. I quote him: “We must listen to what is being said so that we can determine what is really meant”. For those who can decipher, that statement is pregnant, it carefully protects Tinubu for not keeping quiet when his voice should be heard and it says a lot about what to expect in 2018/19 for those who can see beyond the surface. Can this government also dismiss Tinubu as the enemy within?

There is obvious discontent in the top echelons of the ruling party and I dare say that the soul of the almighty alliance is wobbling. Leaders of thought of different political leanings in the South-West have risen from different gatherings to say that what they ask for is devolution of powers to the states and local governments, whatever name it is called. From the South-East to the South-South, everyone is saying the same thing in different languages.

Before now, there have been accusations that the north was averse to devolution of powers to the states but I watched a conference of the northern political class recently; in attendance were northern leaders of thought and state governors. The headline on Channels Television read, “Restructuring Nigeria: Northern leaders call for devolution of powers to states”. Spokesman for the group in a post-conference interview said it clearly that there was system imbalance and the north was also asking for power devolution to states. System imbalance is not limited to wealth distribution even though it is usually the focal point of discontent. Sometimes, I think about the imbalance in the mainstream media caused by the low level of education and literacy level in the north. Control of the print and electronic media is somehow concentrated in the South-West, South-South and South-East while the north struggles to find her voice. In the First Republic when we operated regional government, all three regions promoted viable print and electronic media to sell their programmes. Opening up the polity to healthy competition will surely promote all round development. I’m glad the north is beginning to come to this realisation.

The APC government should desist from saying that our unity is settled, far from it. The national question is primarily about our forced unity without agreement and that is the reason for the endless agitations that makes it difficult for the government to settle down for governance. The more we avoid answering the national question, the more we postpone the doomsday. It is better to debate a question without settling it than to settle a question without debating it, the latter is dangerous.

Oluwadare Jnr., a public policy analyst, wrote in from Lagos via [email protected]

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