BEVERLY HILLS, March 15, (THEWILL) – February and March are decidedly months for elections circles in the country. Coincidentally, they have become engaging months for Nigerians talking to one another in the face of worsening insecurity in the country.
During those months, Nigerians in the Diaspora and at home converged on the frightening state of insecurity in the country and proffered solutions in no holds barred virtual meetings.
On Saturday, March 6, the Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile Ife, in Southwest Nigeria hosted another gathering. The occasion was the virtual 2021 Obafemi Awolowo Annual Lecture, held to mark the 122nd birthday anniversary of the former Premier of the Western Region and sage, Chief Awolowo. In attendance were The Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar 11 as Royal Father of the day, Nobel Laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka as Chairman and former Nigeria Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Mr Emeka Ayaokwu as Special Guest. Other guests were the former Emir of Kano, Alhaji Sanusi Lamido Sanusi; Former private secretary to Awolowo, Mr Odia Ofeimun and foremost Nigerian thinker, poet and author, delivered a lecture on the theme; “Whither Nigeria.”
The following day, Sunday, March 7, over 3,000 Nigerians participated in a webinar titled; A Conversation With Matthew Hassan Kukah, the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto. It was hosted by Profession Oluwatoyin Falola, a Professor of History at Texas State University at Austin in the United States of America.
Earlier on February 27, Nigerians in the Diaspora spoke at a virtual conference organized by the immediate past European President of the Nigerian Diaspora Association, Mr. Kenneth Gbandi, with a theme: Conference of All Diaspora Parties on the State of Security Situation in Nigeria. Mr Gbandi is currently the Deputy National Chairman of the Diaspora branch of the African Democratic Congress, ADC.
THEWILL monitored the events.
A common thread running through the interventions is the state of the country, what is to be done and how.
At the 2021 Obafemi Awolowo Annual Lecture, panelists and key speakers agreed on the urgent need to build a united and progressive Nigeria through massive education and a restructured constitution.
Anyaoku, who bemoaned the heightened insecurity and poverty and mutual distrust called on the National Assembly to organise an all-inclusive national dialogue, taking into account previous national conferences to produce a consensus constitution, as according to him, only a restructured constitution would guarantee political stability and economic development.
“There is no section or ethnic group in Nigeria that does not stand to gain from belonging to one country. “It is in the common interest of all the ethnic groups and component parts to sustain the oneness, for progress of the country,” he said.
For the Sultan of Sokoto, government needs to be more proactive and decisive in tackling national challenges.
He said: “We can solve our problems without a stick. No problem is beyond dialogue.”
Ofeimun in his paper said Boko Haram, Indigenous People of Biafra, herdsmen/ farmers conflict were fueling secession pressures.
“We need to discuss what belongs to us as a people. This is a country that is worth defending and we should all defend it. We need to free ethnic nationalities so that Nigeria can be free,” he said and called for restructuring.
“There is a way of managing Nigeria such that every child will go to school. We must put all the cards on the table and discuss Nigeria. We need a less dominant centre. If we go by this, we are moving towards having a country.”
Former Emir of Kano, Alhaji Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, disputed the general view that the country’s problems were caused by ethnicity or religion, rather than economic and governance.
Chairman of the virtual meeting, Prof Soyinka drew the participant’s attention to the fact that there was a national consensus on restructuring that would make room for decentralization and devolution of powers and greater autonomy for the state.
The webinar featuring Bishop Kukah, attracted prominent Nigeria journalists such as Mr. Dapo Olorunyomi, Publisher of Premium Times; Author, Professor Larry Diamond; Open Society Initiative for West Africa, OSIWA, Director, Mrs Ayisha Osori, who is also CEO of Nigerian Women Trust Fund, NWTF, two youth academicians from Oxfor and Baliol; Ms Ndidi Akara and Papa Nrumah, all of whom directed questions at Bishop Kukah.
Responding to the questions, Kukah, said, among many things: “To create a good society, you don’t treat unequal people equally and you don’t treat equal people unequally because if you have a society where just being a woman penalises you, or just belonging to a different religion penalises you or just being of a different social class penalises you, then you don’t have the hope of pulling together the resources, mental ability and otherwise that people have.
“So, for me, in the final analysis is how do you create an environment where everybody thrives according to their abilities? That is the responsibilities of those who create and manage the state because not everybody is going to be a civil servant, not everybody is looking for a job from government, people just want to be able to do the things they need to do.”
According to him, “The challenge is for us to create a conducive environment and this is why I worry about this government because the government has not created a narrative that points in a direction that we should be going. We don’t expect the President to do everything, we are not expecting angels, but it is that a nation has to survive on a vision about where we are going and how we are going to get there”.
He noted that if Nigerians want to get out of the current systemic challenges, it means they have to subscribe to some values that are necessary for building a good society and stop the present situation of “your begging bowl is bigger than my own. It is not going to happen in 2023, we have to think of it in a long term.”
At the Diaspora event, attended by over 500 participants, officers of the international branches of ADC and YES parties were noticeably present. Speakers were varied. They included Mr Clement Mosindi, a security expert based in Israel for the past sixteen years; Nigerian retired Colonel Hassan Lambo; Mr Tony Nnandi; Secretary, Nigeria United Group for Self-Determination; Mr Chidi Nwaomi, a retired officer from the British Army and Lady Dupe Ajayi-Gbadebo.
“This is a unique event as far as I know and as long as I have been in the diaspora because it is the first time an event of this nature is happening, where branches of political parties in the diaspora decided to put partisanship aside and identified with what affects every Nigerian, “ said Collins Nweke who co-moderated the session with Gbandi.
For Gbandi, “every observer of the Nigerian situation since the civil war can see that kidnapping, herdsmen attack have become prominent in Nigeria, and the inability of the government to manage the affairs has worsened the security situation since the civil war. by the emigration of Nigerians. Anybody not aware of this is insincere. Even attempts by those of us in the diaspora to intervene are been threatened like Chief Abuda who was recently kidnapped and killed in Edo State.
For the ADC, “we believe Nigeria belongs to all of us and it is time to come together and speak up and forge a way out to avoid another war.”
According to security expert, Mosindi, it is time to “call a spade a spade,” because, in his view, Nigeria is dealing with international terrorism and not banditry and insurgency, as the authorities would have us believe”.
He said: “Since Boko Haram launched its war in 2019, it has not relented. In 2012 it pledged allegiance to Al Qadir, in 2016 to ISIS, so all these years it has been blending with international terrorists. So when Boko Haram is fighting ISIS has to assist. They have come in the guise of herdsmen and bandits from across Nigerian border. All of them are emboldened by the faulty security architecture in the country. Our borders are porous. Borders are the first line of defense for any country. We have to acknowledge that fact and seek help.”
For him, the solution would be to police our borders in strategic alliance with neighbouring countries, namely Chad, Niger, Mali and Cameroun. Security agencies have to be properly equipped and their officers trained and retrained for currency and effectiveness in intelligence gathering; security issues should never be politicized, the authorities need to articulate the security position clearly to be able to galvanise the citizenry behind it and seek international help.
Thinking along the same lines, Nnadi said if the past was properly looked into, it would become obvious that the decent into terrorism has been brewing since 2007 when 12 states in Northern Nigeria declared Sharia law in clear violation of the secular nature of the country as defined by the Constitution, and then Boko Haram in 2009 and then the affiliation of the terror group with ISIS and then the government’s reluctance to rein in the herdsmen menace and then President Buhari’s invitation open door policy to free passage into the country and then Governor Bala Mohammed justifying killer herdsmen’s possession of AK-47 and now Sheik Gumi negotiating with bandits and calling for amnesty for them.
“So the sovereignty dispute has to be resolved before the 2023 general elections.”
For retired Colonel Lambo, the worsening insecurity can be resolved quickly with equipment and logistics support for the security agencies and their welfare together with proper training. Manpower should be increased and a military industrial complex set up to assist in producing light weapons, bullets and a variant of AK-47He suggested the setting up of a security trust fund., which should be funded by the private and public interests ranging from those in the corporate would to public service.”
“Two years ago, I granted an interview to Channels TV that if we don’t solve the herdsmen challenge, we would get into problem. Here is where we are today,” he said.
From within and without, Nigerians of all walks of life have taken the bold step to start talking with each other, which a form of dialogue that holds the prospects of a light in the dark tunnel currently blocking the country’s progress.
“We can solve our problems without a stick. No problem is beyond dialogue, “ said Sultan Abubakar at the Obafemi Awolowo 122 birthday anniversary.
About the Author
Amos Esele is the Deputy Editor of THEWILL Newspaper. He has over two decades of experience on the job.
