Outside the Box by Alex Otti<\/p>\n
\u201cBombs kill terrorists, Books kill terrorism.<\/p>\n
Missiles kill extremists, Mindfulness kills extremism.<\/p>\n
Guns kill supremacists, Goodness kills supremacy.<\/p>\n
Law restrains cruel people, Love reforms cruelty.<\/p>\n
Sarin cripples the malicious, Service cures malice.<\/p>\n
C4 impairs the prejudiced, Curiosity treats prejudice.<\/p>\n
Violence can be revolution no more.<\/p>\n
For all degradation kindness is the cure.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2015 Abhijit Naskar.<\/p>\n
\u2018To jaw jaw is always better than to war war\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2013 Winston Churchill<\/p>\n
Nigeria has always been a country that seems to move from one
\nexistential challenge to another. Sadly, these challenges are mostly
\nself-inflicted and man-made, and they are often completely avoidable.<\/p>\n
From the Amalgamation in 1914, which people blame for the continued woes
\nof Nigeria, the struggle for independence and its eventual grant in 1960
\nand the declaration of a Republic in 1963, it has always been one
\nconflict or another. Some of the notable events are the military
\nincursion in politics in 1966, the declaration of civil war in 1967,
\nwhich ended in 1970. There was also the civilian rule from 1979 to 1983,
\nseveral coups in between till 1999 when civilian rule was finally
\nrestored. In the wake of all these, it has been one contentious issue
\nafter another. Other than the civil war era, no period had been more
\nchallenging to the corporate existence of Nigeria, than now. Boko Haram
\nstarted like a joke in 2002 in relatively far away Maiduguri. Not many
\npeople paid serious attention to the crisis until it became a full
\nfledged conflagration engulfing states in the North East. The sect has
\nwreaked havoc on the otherwise hapless citizens and thousands have been
\nkilled and many more have been injured and displaced. They claim to be
\nfighting to dethrone the government and institute an Islamic State in
\nthe country.<\/p>\n
While that imbroglio was on, herders armed with AK47 have been causing
\nmayhem in the North Central and Southern parts of the country. They
\nenter the bushes in the excuse of grazing their cows and not only sack
\nfarmers but are also known to kidnap, kill, rape, and alienate their
\nvictims from their lands. There have been allegations of complicity by
\nthe security officers as the perpetrators of these crimes are hardly
\napprehended or prosecuted. As if these were not bad enough, banditry and
\ninsurgency have grown in occurrence and have frankly, assumed a life of
\ntheir own. Traveling by road has become one of the deadliest risks for
\nanyone to take in many parts of the country. There are numerous stories
\nof this category of criminals taking over highways and killing, maiming
\nand kidnapping victims at will for ransom. The unresolved issue of the
\nChibok girls who were abducted in 2014, remains a major turning point in
\nterrorism and criminality in the country. In the mid-2000s, kidnapping
\nwas introduced in the country by the Niger Delta militants. After the
\namnesty and rehabilitation programme by the government, this vocation
\ndied down, only to assume a very dangerous dimension lately.<\/p>\n
In the South East, other than isolated cases of banditry and other
\ncrimes, the rising incidence of attacks by \u201cunknown gunmen\u201d seems to
\nhave overshadowed every other crime. The hotbed of these attacks has
\nbeen Imo State, with Ebonyi, Abia and Anambra States rapidly following.
\nThese gunmen attack police stations, correctional facilities, INEC
\noffices and other government agencies, killing, maiming and sacking
\nworkers and releasing prisoners. They have even attacked a few private
\nproperties, setting them ablaze in their rage. Because no one has been
\napprehended, it has not been easy to identify the motive or objectives
\nfor the attack nor the identity of the attackers themselves. The
\nmilitary and other security agencies have stepped in and the tales from
\nthe South East about how people are brutally treated and sometimes
\nkilled without any tangible reason by security agencies have made people
\nbegin to avoid the area.<\/p>\n
While insecurity has dominated our current national discourse, another
\nchallenge seems to be taking over from another flank. This is the
\nconsequential ethnic conflagration in different parts of the country. It
\nmust be stated that ethnic disagreements are as old as the country
\nitself. The Civil war itself had an ethnic coloration and the human toll
\nwas recorded among a particular part of the country. However, the
\ncountry has managed to remain together in spite of these harrowing
\nconflicts. The rhetoric coming from the different major ethnic groups
\nseems to suggest that everyone wants to go on their own separate way.
\nEthnic militias, which had been hitherto latent or non existent, have
\nfound their voices and new impetus. Some of them are claiming
\nresponsibility for attacks that they may know nothing about. Others are
\nbeing blamed for attacks which they may as well not be involved in.
\nPeople at different fora are talking tough and threatening hell and
\nbrimstone. It does not matter if they are influenced and motivated by
\nFake News and products of propaganda and disinformation.<\/p>\n
People no longer feel safe along the road or even in their homes. Some
\npeople are resorting to what a man of God referred to as \u2018Plan B as
\nairports are filled with countrymen and women, who want to \u2018check out\u2019
\nlike the Andrew of those days. There are palpable anger and fear in the
\nland!<\/p>\n
The reasons for the persisting anger can be understood from the
\ncontradictions in the polity. They can be categorised as political,
\nstructural and economic contradictions. On the political front is the
\nmanagement of our diversity. With a landmass of 923,000 square
\nkilometres, over 300 languages, different religions and unequal income
\ndistribution, Nigeria is a classical model of a diverse society.<\/p>\n
There is a strong and plausible argument that the present government has
\nnot managed our diversity properly resulting in lopsided appointments
\nand marginalisation and domination of some sections of the country. Even
\nthough there is no evidence that sections of the country that have
\ndominated political power have fared any better, for the sake of equity
\nand fairness, a deliberate rebalancing and sharing of power will
\ncertainly help to de-escalate the tension.<\/p>\n
Before the 2015 general election, the Government of President Goodluck
\nJonathan received the report of the Constitutional Conference which it
\nhad set up. The report could not progress to the National assembly to be
\npassed into law. That report attempted to suggest some form of
\nrestructuring that would have addressed some of the sore points of the
\n1999 constitution. Even though some of us disagree with the suggestion
\nof creating additional states, there was the strong point of enshrining
\nin the constitution, the equality of the component parts of the country.
\nWe had argued, and continue to argue, that legislating away the states
\nand its expensive structure would serve us better than the multiplicity
\nof states. We need to divide the country into a maximum of 6 regions,
\ngranting each of them autonomy and having them compete like was done in
\nthe past while taxes are paid to the centre.<\/p>\n
Some have advocated a return to the 1963 constitution which, we are
\ntold, worked relatively well for the nation. Whatever structure we
\nchoose, one thing that is agreed is that the 1999 constitution was not
\nthe people\u2019s constitution. We therefore align with the view that this
\nNational Assembly, which has the mandate of the people, should draw up a
\nnew constitution that would work for us. We deserve a constitution
\nwhich, when it says, \u201cWe, the People\u2026\u201d would not be denied by the
\npeople. Even if the National Assembly does not achieve any other thing
\nwithin the remaining two years available to it, it will do the nation a
\nlot of good by giving it a new, and truly the peoples\u2019 constitution. The
\nnew constitution should address federalism both in terms of its fiscal
\nand structural perspectives. It must replace a strong, almost unitary
\ncentre, which we currently operate, with a much trimmer, weaker but more
\nefficient, centre. Some of the key considerations should be how to make
\npolicing a regional affair, create a unicameral legislature with much
\nfewer members who would drastically reduce the drain, the current
\nstructure and size has constituted on the resources and move more power
\nand governance to the regions.<\/p>\n
Regions should be at liberty to create their own local governments as
\nthey deem fit. This is amongst several other recommendations we had made
\non this column in the past (refer to \u201cMassive Government, Miserable
\nPopulace\u201d April 24, 2021). We must state without any fear of
\ncontradiction, that one of the anger points in the polity is that the
\npolitical class seems to have cornered the wealth of the country for
\nthemselves to the detriment of the populace. We have held the view that
\npolitics should not be a profession. It is a misnomer for someone to
\nintroduce himself as a politician. In many cases, our \u201cpoliticians\u201d do
\nnot have any other jobs. They have seen politics as a place to make
\nmoney rather than where to contribute towards uplifting society with the
\nskills they have acquired elsewhere. Any wonder why the recycling just
\nfor the sake of being in the corridors of power. Reference is made of a
\nformer governor who accepted a transitional local government
\nchairmanship role from a sitting governor recently. We must make
\npolitical offices unattractive to job seekers in favour of accomplished
\nsolution and service providers.<\/p>\n
The economic angle to the anger is what we consider the most potent in
\nthis essay. A fortnight ago, we discussed unemployment and insisted that
\nthe very high level of unemployment is significantly responsible for the
\ninsurgency in the country. The argument is that a country that has more
\nthan 33% unemployment rate as against the allowable 4% rate, is
\npreparing a large army for recruitment into crime. This figure is
\nexacerbated by close to 90m Nigerians who are trapped and living in
\npoverty. These are people who must find a way to feed and survive,
\nwhatever it takes. It is the responsibility of government at all levels
\nto ensure that these numbers are reduced to the barest minimum, and we
\nmade recommendations in the column under reference.<\/p>\n
While the government is looking at these, it must also not lose sight of
\nthe more than 16m out-of-school children in the country. These are
\npotential time bombs that will invariably detonate in a few years\u2019 time
\nand will be available to enroll in less than noble callings with
\ndastardly consequences. Meanwhile, inflation is roaring at about 20% and
\nexchange rate pressure is not abating.<\/p>\n
There is also the issue of revenue generation and allocation which
\nstraddles the political and the economic. To the extent that we do not
\ngenerate enough revenue and the fact that we enmesh ourselves in debt,
\nspending what we do not have, we will continue to have a growing pool of
\nangry people. The anger begins to boil over when we realise that over
\n70% of our fiscal allocation goes to servicing less than 1% of the
\npopulace who are in government while less than 30% goes to the rest of
\nus. Even if they do not understand the numbers, the ordinary people see
\nthe lifestyle of those that are supposed to represent them. They knew
\nwhat they looked like when they were canvassing for votes and 4 years
\ndown the line, they can compare and contrast. They can tell when their
\nmoney is no longer complete. They can tell when the roads, water,
\nelectricity and other amenities promised them are not delivered! Even
\nwhen it looks like they cannot do anything about it, they can at least
\nknow who is responsible for their state and would be justifiably angry.<\/p>\n
Given the level of anger in the land what should government be doing at
\nthis time? One of the things not to do is to do nothing. Just like John
\nF. Kennedy said, \u201cthe mere absence of war is not peace\u201d. People may have
\nendured all these in the past, but it does not indicate that they are
\nhappy. This, to my mind, is an opportunity for those in power to quickly
\nengage the populace and listen to them. This is the whole essence of
\ndemocracy. Even when people are seeking self determination, which, by
\nthe way is their fundamental right, the government of the day should not
\nbe tired of engaging them. Quebec in Canada has been seeking self
\ndetermination for decades. Twice, Canada had held a referendum for them
\nand twice, majority of the people have voted to remain as part of
\nCanada.<\/p>\n
It is clear evidence that agitation for a referendum does not mean that
\nit would gain majority vote. Today, the major ethnic nationalities in
\nthe country are yearning for one form of autonomy or another. Government
\nmust understand this in the context of the anger in the land supported
\nby hunger and violence. We encourage the government to robustly engage
\nthe leaders of these groups and discuss genuinely and frankly. We
\nbelieve we can always find common grounds to coexist. This is definitely
\nnot the time to talk tough or beat the drums of war. The truth is that
\nno part of this country can fight a war that would leave it better than
\nit was. The beneficiaries would be the Russians who make AK47 and other
\ncountries that would jostle to sell weapons to all the sides. The losers
\nwould be the people who have no \u2018Plan B\u2019 and would exist in the theatre
\nof war and the country, which is not producing much, not to talk of
\nammunition. At the end of the destruction and carnage, the survivors, if
\nany, would still gather at the negotiation table to discuss. So why not
\nhold that discussion now? Should you be in doubt, ask Rwanda, still
\ndoubting, contact Somalia!<\/p>\n
Outside the Box by Alex Otti \u201cBombs kill terrorists, Books kill terrorism. Missiles kill extremists, Mindfulness kills extremism. Guns kill supremacists, Goodness kills supremacy. Law restrains cruel people, Love reforms…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":81796,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-81795","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-opinions"],"yoast_head":"\n