Kalu Leadership Series:Nigeria Crises; We Should Speak, We Should Not? By Dr Orji Uzor Kalu

                                                                                                                                                                          SINCE the current crises that have hit the nation went haywire there have been a persistent accusation that many Nigerians who were supposed to have spoken on the state of the nation have kept studied silence.

 

The question now is: who should speak and who should not? In my thinking, it is not every person that always has the desire to speak on critical national issues. Some choose not to speak for personal reasons, which does not necessarily border on cow­ardice or lethargy. Some others who have something to say may not know how to say it.

 

On the whole, I find it worrisome that some top Nigerian leaders have chosen to keep quiet, while the nation burns. What is happening today is unprecedented in the annals of this great nation.

 

My worry is that we have forgotten so soon the past: what Nigeria went through to be where it is today. When the crisis in the 60s that led to the Nigerian Civil War started many never fathomed it would snowball into a huge conflagration that was later to consume millions of innocent lives and set the nation several years back. Have we recovered from the civil war? Yes, the war has ended, but the scars are still fresh.

 

When the clouds were gathering at that time those who were expected to speak out in condemnation of the atrocities that were taking place chose to maintain studied silence, pretending that what was happening was normal. By the time they realized the reality the nation had been thrown into commotion and an­archy. People started running helter-skelter. But it was too late.

 

Sadly, this same scenario is playing out today as the nation experiences one of its roughest times since it returned to civilian rule. Many highly-placed Nigerians have refused to speak out against the selective killings and brigandage taking place, par­ticularly in the north of the country. What else do we need to see before we stand up to be counted? Only last week an innocent woman was brutally beheaded by irate Islamic fundamentalists in Kano. What of the bombing of oil installations in the Niger Delta Region, which has led to the loss of over 600,000 barrels of crude daily?

 

Those who should speak up have rather chosen to play the ostrich – burying their heads in the sand and turning their faces away from the sordid and barbaric incidents that have character­ized life in Nigeria at present. Worst of all, they have refused to caution their people, even when they had the opportunity and influence to do so.

 

It is undeniably true that those who decided not to speak out in the 60s had erroneously thought that, if anything should hap­pen, they would be safe. But contrary to their selfish disposition and belief they were the hardest hit. While some of them were brutally killed others had their properties destroyed. Each per­son suffered one loss or another.

 

For those who do not know: when hostility breaks out, no­body is spared: everybody is vulnerable. The Nigerian Civil War has left an indelible scar on the psyche of all those who witnessed it, and a signpost of our collective inertia. It is then baffling that, despite the calamities that befell us from this mis­take, many of us still promote ethnic, religious and political ani­mosities to further divide us and, probably, feather their nests.

 

I remember vividly what the then President Goodluck Jon­athan said some time ago – during his presidency – when he visited the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero, to commiserate with him over the coordinated bomb attacks that sent over 200 persons to their untimely graves, that those who perpetrated the killings in the land were no spirits but human beings. There is no doubt, therefore, that Jonathan hit the nail on the head.

 

Nevertheless, what has left me in a quandary is why these evil men and women, who live among us, have not yet been caught in spite of the concerted efforts by the security agencies to do so. The harder they tried the more casualties that are recorded. What then could be responsible for this sudden turn of events?

 

It is unfortunate that the present state of things in our dear country was foretold several years ago, but nobody pay heed to it. In our usual style, we played it down and trudged on with lackadaisical mien. Many must have thought, as they did in the 60s, that the developments would not affect them. Tell me, is there any Nigerian who is not affected one way or another by the ongoing crises that have hit our social fabric? If some people have not been materially affected, at least they must have felt some psychological discomfort.

 

The level of insecurity across the country is breath-taking. There is no place that can be adjudged to be safer than the other, including Abuja – the nation’s capital. If it is not bombing by Boko Haram today, it is the indiscriminate shooting of innocent people by a group of unidentified ‘gunmen’. In fact, the killings have taken even the most absurd patterns.

 

As I predicted in my first article for the New Year that the year is emboweled in the womb of uncertainties, current events have since vindicated me. My prediction that the situation could get worse before it gets normal is also coming true. Without sounding alarmist, something in me tells me that worse days lay ahead going by the attitude of our leaders.

 

The developments could worsen unless government takes unusual measures to re-establish sanity.

 

Just as we had thought that the menace of Boko Haram had died down somewhat, another group of agitators in the name of Niger Delta Avengers emerged. Where is this nation heading for? Do they want all of us to be dead before something is done to restore the years eaten by locusts?

 

Those behind the current insecurity in the country do so defi­nitely for their selfish interests – to protect their fiefdoms and preserve their ill-gotten wealth. There is nothing about their ac­tions that show any patriotism. Even their utterances belie all what they claim to stand for.

 

Life has become perilous in our clime, yet many people still feel all is well. Do they want to do something only after they had been killed? Is it not better to work for the peace, progress and unity of Nigeria now than to spend time and money con­taining the upheavals that would arise?

 

For 6 working days three weeks ago, the nation was dragged to the cold by striking workers over the removal of fuel subsidy. The losses incurred had been estimated at N50 billion. Who would pay for the losses? The nation of course! After all, when two elephants fight is it not the grass that suffers? The grass here is the masses that have been at the receiving end of the misdeeds of the political leadership.

 

Today, fuel sells for N145 and the heavens have not fallen. Even some greedy marketers still sell the product for as much as N200 in some parts of the country. Who should be blamed for this evil of profiteering? It has become a pastime for some armchair critics to blame the government for everything that goes awry. But in the present circumstance we should blame the greed that rules the lives of many of us. Why can’t people subject themselves to the law, so that we can move this nation forward? When government makes policies and they are fla­grantly flouted, then it becomes an open invitation to anarchy. By selling fuel at the prescribed price of N145 we aid planning and contribute our quota to national development.

 

As I have always opined, I do not know too much about the politics of oil subsidy. But all I know is that some persons were feeding fat from what belongs to all of us. Great nations such as the United States, Britain, France, Germany and, even, China were built through the collective enterprise of their people – who did not mind to sacrifice their lives for their nations to survive. Yes, here our forbears did the same when they fought for and gained independence in 1960. And that was where the whole thing ended. If a seed is planted and not watered, sooner than later it withers away. For it to grow into a big tree or shrub, it must be watered and nurtured.

 

In the same way, the seed of our independence was sowed in 1960, but nothing much has been done to nurture it. What we have spent the past 55 and half years doing is to squabble over little things that ordinarily should not distract us. For 30 months we fought a civil war, while the remainder of the years was used to experiment on the entrenchment of a sustainable democratic culture that has remained an illusion.

 

The inability to attain this sustainable democratic culture is blameable on the ethno-religious inclinations of some of our leaders. There is no way we can build a formidable, united na­tion without doing away with ethnicity, clannishness, parochial­ism, religious bigotry, corruption and self-centredness. The rea­son for promoting patriotism in any nation is to kill the morbid self desires that run counter to national ethos.

 

It is very sad that our nation has been in the throes of insecu­rity for many decades now. I was mind-boggled by the report in the media last week that the police and the army lost some men to many of the robberies, sectarian conflicts and political crises that rock our nation. Is this not frightening? It is when we take into consideration the people they have left behind to mourn them that we will appreciate the enormity of the situation. What about the enormous resources expended in the training of these fallen officers? What efforts are being made to stop the sense­less killings and enhance the careers of the remaining officers?

 

These are salient questions government should proffer an­swers to if we are to get over the present imbroglio. It is not enough to recruit persons into the forces. What is important is ensuring they are protected as they work to protect others.

 

Nevertheless, we need to do proper soul-searching in order to begin to build a truly united and egalitarian Nigeria. Let us presume that the past 55 years had been wasted, and then begin a new march toward real peace and reconciliation. God has en­dowed us with enough resources to sustain us for a long time. All that we need is to manage them judiciously to benefit all of the people.

 

The idea of one person expropriating what belongs to a mil­lion people is a bug we must kill urgently if we are to get over our present inertia. Last week the government published how much that was recovered from looters. Those who siphoned our common patrimony should bear in mind that there is no peace for an evil man until he turns away from his evil ways.

 

Let me ask: how many people who looted the treasury lived to enjoy and exhaust it? Never! The more wealth you accumu­late, the more worries you bring upon yourself. Wealth is meant to be used for the common good and not to create division, con­fusion and crises among us.

 

Sadly, many of the crises bedevilling our nation today were caused by some persons for their self-aggrandizement. What do they stand to gain if they destroyed everybody and were left alone in this world? Life would become a bore for them. The joy of one’s existence is full when one leads a righteous life that brings joy to others. Living together in peace and love is the only way we can build a progressive and prosperous nation.

 

Let me use this medium to add my voice to the national call on those causing trouble in the land to allow peace to reign. We do not gain anything by mauling innocent souls. How many lives has the nation lost since the New Year started? In fact, there is no day that passes that there are no reports of one killing or another across the country. The prelude to the killings started on Christmas Day five years ago when over 43 worshippers of the St. Theresa’s Catholic Church, Suleija, were dispatched to their untimely graves by a suicide bomber. To worsen matters, the mastermind of the heinous crime, one Kabiru Sokoto, escaped from police custody. The ease with which such a prime suspect escaped raises questions about the sincerity of some of our security agents to work for the devel­opment of our nation.

 

I wish to urge the federal government to evolve strategies to address these sad and bothersome developments before they escalate. If things continue the way they are going it will not be long before anarchy sets in. No responsible government will fold its arms and watch miscreants take over the land. It is also important for the government to find out why some Nigeri­ans have resorted to violence as the preferred means to settle personal scores. I believe there are many non-violent tactics any aggrieved persons or groups could adopt to register their resentment over any matter they feel strongly about. Bomb­ing oil installations, mass protests, killing and maiming inno­cent citizens are not only criminal and retrogressive, but a sin against God.

 

Let me remind those who kill in the name of politics, reli­gion or economy that no sin shall go unpunished. They should not forget that he who kills by the sword also dies by the sword. This life is ephemeral.

 

I admonish the government to urgently establish schemes that will deal with the growing poverty in the land. It is poverty that has made some of our youths susceptible to manipulation by the political class. Check it out: all the violent crimes com­mitted in Nigeria involve a sizeable number of youths. This is why the government should intensify effort in solving the twin-problem of youth employment and general empower­ment. There is no contestation that the nation will breathe air of relief once a large chunk of our youths is gainfully engaged.

 

It may not be out of place to ask every Nigerian to start im­mediate prayer and fasting toward the restoration of peace, se­curity and togetherness in Nigeria, so that we will soon realise our God-given destiny of building one of the richest econo­mies in the world.