By Nkechi Odoma
Of recent, there have been meaningless cacophonies from some misguided Nigerians about the break-up of Nigeria. Their western collaborators, who earlier publicized a failed disintegration plot against the country, have handed over the baton of the propaganda to these lone separatists voices trumpeting Nigeria’s break-up.
These days, Nigerians are avoidably burdened with noises from pen pushers, ethnic jingoists, jailbirds, and even from self-anointed apostles or ministers of the gospel. The reasons adduced by these lone crusaders of the break-up of Nigeria mock the messages, much as the shadows propelling the cursed messages.
They have lost touch with the power and supremacy of God Almighty and so, they vibrate about Nigeria’s break-up with the pride of creators of the whole universe or nations. But they are just a tiny figment of the populations of tribes or nations they claim to hold briefs with polluted messages, tainted by their own degenerated selves.
Nigeria is gifted with many fake soothsayers and prophets. But every one of them dreads the temptation of claiming God has revealed to him in a vision the break-up of Nigeria or intention to descend on the 1914 amalgamation of the country by the British colonial lords.
The Almighty God does not plant enmity, confusion, greed, immorality and selfishness in people because He wants to break nations. He preaches peace and unity among peoples and nations. The narrative of Nigeria is simply and sadly reduced to a nation peopled by actors, who do not think outside the cage of tribe or religion or political leadership. And once these expectations are dashed, Nigeria deserves no chance to survive in whole, but in pieces in their vision.
But these campaigns have been cursed right from the outset and in effect, prophecies of the messengers of the disintegration of Nigeria have lost bearing and focus. It explains its unattractive and irreverent mutation from one dead end to the other, while millions of Nigerians have remained unperturbed. Experience postulates with undeniable ease that anything cursed is doomed to perish. This cause nosedived into the Lagos Lagoon long ago.
In the past, predictions about Nigeria’s disintegration and the events that would precipitate it have always dissipated faster than whirlwind. And the events rather than spark the disintegration fire, becomes colder than ice. The proponents of Nigeria’s break-up are hardened disloyal and unpatriotic citizens who do not harken to the voice of reason by assessing the country’s many malaise only from the angle of others rather than themselves.
In their cursed convictions, they are saints and others are sinners. They are perfect, while the rest are the unfortunate imperfections God has encased in the geographical expression called Nigeria. Therefore, you often hear ethnic warlords, whose sponsors rubbished Nigeria to the level it is now transfixed delicately on mud, mischievously declaring republics within Nigeria.
No section or tribe in Nigeria is afraid of separatism of any part or any kind. It is their inalienable right to self-determination. Also, every section of this country has the economic viability to survive and can robustly stand as an independent state. There are very poor countries around the world, like Haiti, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Cameroun and many others, yet they exist as nations.
But self-determination in Nigeria is deployed more as an instrument of blackmail of rival ethnicities or sections of Nigeria, the political leadership or political appointees. It’s the reason for its abhorrence and resistance by majority of Nigerians, including those the exponents claim to vocalize on their behest.
But ask those who herald the message of break-up of the country, hardly do you please your soul by hearing something near tangibility. Some of them claim it is because President Buhari is a Fulani northerner, who is ruling Nigeria, but cannot fix its ills such as corruption, collapsed economy, failed public institutions and he is ill himself. Then, you begin to wonder whether it is animal or really human blood that nourishes a brain with such warped thoughts.
Just last week, a public affairs commentator, (name withheld) vigorously canvassed for an Oduduwa republic for the Yoruba race of Nigeria. He expansively decried how Nigeria has embraced and resisted change from an over-burdened federalism at the expense of devolution of powers to federating units. He concluded that for 57 years, Nigeria has portrayed itself more as a failed state than a progressive nation and therefore, a fragmented Nigeria into republics is the solution.
One is tempted to ask his guarantee of success for the third option, if the first two options, which are easier and smoother, have failed. What is his proof that separatism is realizable and gateway to a prosperous Yoruba race?
And regrettably, his understanding of Nigeria as a failed state is “because nothing works in Nigeria.” But he failed to properly decode how and the shadows behind the inability of Nigeria to work as a nation. He lumps everybody together, including President Muhammedu Buhari (PMB) who is going through hell to re-fix Nigeria. He appreciates nobody’s efforts in the 57 years of Nigeria’s self-rule.
But in the mess, the Yorubas, his kinsmen have soiled hands, much as their Hausa/Fulanis or Igbo ethnic nationalities. And further down, he drums the discontentment and mutual distrust among these three major ethnic nationalities in Nigeria as another reason the center imminently exude signs that it can no longer hold as one piece.
But he has forgotten that no one has countered the postulation that every tribe in Nigeria has contributed to the ruination of this great nation, Nigeria in same measure. And that when Nigerians of different ethno-religious blocs informally converge in dark corners and conspire to pillage, loot and embezzle public funds, none of them complain about marginalization of any ethnicity or religion. They are always mutually united in this evil against their country. Why would a break-up be stirred by the artificial public animosities they intermittently push up? It’s a dead end. They enjoy the “game” Nigeria, anyhow they play it.
The Yorubas have ascended to every leadership position in Nigeria. They have also registered conspicuous presence in the mal-administration and looting of Nigeria. Former IGP, Mr. Tafa Balogun and former Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) boss, Chief Bode George are the few examples of his Yoruba kinsmen convicted in court over high profile cases of corruption. Many others like some former Service Chiefs of Yoruba descent and Femi Fani-Kayode are still battling such alleged corruption cases in court, while others have returned looted funds. Would an Oduduwa Republic breed new angels and saints as citizens and leaders to exist progressively?
It is evident that the noises about disintegration or break-up of Nigeria are spurred by selfish interests, laced in greed and the lust for the unabated looting of Nigeria, which Buhari has halted. It’s a clamour for unfair and illegal patronage with the “national cake”. But PMB cannot open the national treasury for them to mercilessly pillage Nigeria as obtainable in the past.
Only an eventually “actualized” Oduduwa republic or any other colony for that matter that would grant impunity to looters and thieves, who would further be canonized as saints and celebrated. No ethnic group is bigger than Nigeria. Nigeria belongs to all Nigerians and no one can either be intimidated or should raise the ethnic badge simply because he wants to be heard.
President Buhari and his competent lieutenants who are making genuine and selfless sacrifices to salvage Nigeria are the least to be easily coward, manipulated or frightened by ethnic warlords to succumb to evil designs against Nigeria.
Odoma, a nationalist writes from Abuja.
