GYANG, IKECHUKWU AND ADEKUNLE--BALKANIZING NIGERIA
In recent times the Nigerian polity has continued in its usual stride, with both leadership and the led. Mere cosmetic measures, short termed solutions to long term problems designed with a view to averting stampedes and convulsions.
Right from the dawn of the structure called Nigeria in 1914, it seems clearly that our elite or leaders have scarcely thought of their mission in terms of employing power to the satisfaction of the citizen's needs.
Both leaders and led at a loss and it is not so much of who at the moment is the leader but a case of a situation getting progressively worse with each group, that we are forced to look at the past with nostalgia.
We have saddled upon ourselves a history tainted in intra-elitist cleavages and ethnic parapoism, with each power bloc cementing its own cleavages. With each passing day, despite the best of efforts by the people I term 'peacemakers' it seems it is too little water in the deseart.
Energy, time and resources have been concentrated in preserving the class. We have resorted to rhetorical incantations of the rule of law, respect of human rights and free and fair elections, while in reality it is a depreciating quality of life. Whether five or eighteen thousand naira per month, living or minimum wage, truth is that little is being achieved.
The possibility of genuine democratization is not only lost because we lack the will to radicalize the material foundations of our society but because we live a life of fallacy.
The balkanization of Nigeria is torn in between so much...we are just tagging along. In the last 50 years we have seen the Berlin wall crash, the USSR fall... a black U.S president, just to mention a few. And we have continued to be witnesses to a stagnant system crawling in circles, and leaving herself with expectation fatigue. Similar to a pregnant woman without an expected delivery date...While these are beyond the issues, they remain the substance of the problems...
“Honestly, I have never seen this kind of thing before; everybody in the affected communities, both the men, women and children are kidnappers. This is serious; what I have seen is disturbing, it is an organized communal business where all of them play a role and whoever refuses to be part of it is eliminated by the kidnappers”. Those were the words of Major General Sarkinyaki Bello when he visited Mexico, no I mean Abia.
The ball is not just in Abia, but Imo, Enugu, Anambra, Akwa Ibom and others have not only become catchment areas but are doing better in the business of kidnap.
As we balkanize, I ask my people especially friends of goodluck, where is the luck, we bought 4 executive jets, we are borrowing left, right and centre, we are slaves to the subsidy cabal that have shown beyond reasonable doubt that they still run the show with the way they effectively brought Abuja to its knees for almost a week. We continue paying our legislators and political office holders 'bazaar salary', while paying for peace through ex-militants when in essence we are sowing war.
We are almost certainly either a sick nation or a sick people, maybe a sick people inhabiting an equally sick nation. Through all its earning, allocation, ecological, vat, royalty, and wetin call, Akwa Ibom has made more money that Ghana, and yet very little to show for it.
The continued balkanization of Nigeria on all fronts, the cyber civil war amongst Nigerians in Diaspora, or is it the looting of funds or disappearance of same with scandals on ethnic divide at the Nigerian embassy in USA.
Just musing, when we divide, how will the Ijebus and Egbas cope with Lagos, or where will the Tivs and Idomas be in the scheme of things in their end. Perhaps the dangerous peace between the Ijaws and Istekiris that will keep them as part of Biafra, or how will the Efiks, Anangs, Ibibio cope with the onslaught of those Nyamiris.
How about the myth of the North, the religious middle belt, the geographical middle belt and the belt between the Muslim North and Christian North, is there a Fulani Christian minority?
We all enjoy the noise of our today's young artistes, from Timaya, D'Banj and the comedy of the Basketmouths, Ali Babas, and co. Nollywood has entered many woods in the world bringing fame and fortune to the practitioners using a fundamental language of art.
Our leaders have stolen us blind. In our short-sightedness, we see our differences, and sure they are there but we have never sought to remedy it, even if pretentiously, so in the fundamental spirit of corruption they continue to balkanize us. Militants and thieves in the South, Boko Haram and a biting lack of development and poverty in the North...where will all these lead us?
Over 50 years of being a nation, we still cannot come under an umbrella to ask for a good life, shelter, good roads or hospitals. They steal 'our' money, refill potholes, build big mansions and share a tiny part of the money and we hail them. We beat to death common criminals and give traditional titles to cpr (certified pen robbers).
When we wake up, we realize that, Jonathan the president whether Ebele, ewele or Azikwe is Christian, and David Mark is too Ekweremadu is, so also is the Chief of Army staff and who else, while others lament that the police chief is Abubakar, and that other man is Ibrahim, poverty, and want ravishes the land. Boko Haram kills, kidnappers pick, and robbers on a free spree, all wrecking havoc irrespective of tribe, creed or faith.
When Musa was Gyang's friend and Ikechukwu appreciated Adekunle, there were still differences and those mutual suspicions, but there was a semblance of meritocracy and functionality. Do they deserve it; are they working, can they, and they will, were the real issues!
Nigeria is splitting, it is not dividing, we are leaking in various holes, towards various leanings and we still are lacking in leadership that has any model to solve our mirage of problems. Are we not the problem itself, time will tell?
Written By Prince Charles Dickson