INASMUCH as I’ve told President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to  be a true statesman of honour and integrity and avoid the (devilish, dangerous and unpatriotic) lure of going for another term as Nigeria’s President and emulate General Abdulsalami Abubakar who had all the powers and resources available to stay in power for long but honourably and responsibly chose to avoid such lure and its negative consequences  and stayed in power as Head of State of the same country Nigeria for only 12 months (June 1998-May 1999), I personally don’t see anything wrong in Nigeria peacefully splitting into any possible numbers of separate states as happened with countries like former Union of Soviet Socialist Republic, USSR, or former Czechoslovakia or former Yugoslavia, etc.

After all, present day Pakistan and India were at one time under one country, while Zambia and Zimbabwe were under one country, but today all have gone their different ways as separate independent states and heaven never fell and none is regretting separating from the other(s).

It is only those who are unduly looting the treasury of Nigeria that are pretentiously shouting against its splitting into separate states and using the instruments of coercion available to them and their co-travellers to go against any voice in support of separation because they’re all afraid any such peaceful development will not be bloody but will rather remove their cancerous lips from Nigeria’s breast that they have been ruthlessly sucking while Nigeria groans in severe pains over the endless sucking of its breast by these suckers. Japan, Norway, Finland, etc, have no oil, yet they are among the world strong economies. They became ingenious and not lazy and indolent and turned what would have been adverse natural environment of theirs into great resources and economic strength. Japan, surrounded by nothing  other than stones, mountains and deep ocean water without any  oil under or within their environment, turned their adversity into fortune and became the world’s greatest maker of ocean vessels, motor vehicle manufacturers, electronics and electrical devices giant, and, of course, a stable democracy and economy. The same goes for Norway which is known for Nokia phone making and stock-fish export. I can count on and on. So, those who erroneously feel they or others will not survive without oil are simply deluding themselves. The only survival approach is being ingenious and hardworking. Did the Northern part of Nigeria not at one time or the other depend on hides and skin, ground nuts, tin ore and cotton as its economic main stay and not only survived but became strong economically? So was former Western region with cocoa, and the Eastern region with palm produce. Did Okpara or Awolowo or Ahmadu Bello use petroleum resources to transform their respective regions? Emphatic no!

Necessity is the mother of invention. If necessity did not arise for the then Biafrans the ingenuity that came from them in technology, such as in manufacture of instruments of mass destruction (Ogbunigwe), armoured personnel carriers and other military equipment, refining of both oil palm and petroleum, eating of certain plants or leaves, etc, wouldn’t have been made.

Just as the White man came with his Bible and the centre could no longer hold and we became no longer at ease (apologies to the iconic Chinua Achebe), the White man again perforated a part of our land in the late 1950s and some black liquid gushed out in the name of oil and we lost our ingenious brains, became indolent and corrupt, divisive and elusive, pretentious and hateful of one another and Nigeria’s moving train of progress and development got thus derailed and we have not been able to live harmoniously with one another, but merely pretending to be one.

Let’s look at the following inflammatory war of words as credited to leader of Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force, Alhaji Mujahid Dokubo-Asari and quoted by the media: “There will be no peace, not only in the Niger Delta, but everywhere, if Goodluck Jonathan is not president by 2015.

“I want to refresh your memories with comments made by these Northerners, who had in the time past threatened war and break-up of Nigeria.

“In 2010, one Lawal Kaita said and I quote: ‘Anything short of a Northern President is tantamount to stealing our Presidency. Jonathan has to go and he will go. Even if he uses the incumbency power to get his nomination on the platform of the PDP, he would be frustrated out…The North is determined, if that happens, to make the country ungovernable for President Goodluck Jonathan or any other Southerner who finds his way to the seat of power on the platform of the PDP against the principle of the party’s zoning policy’.

“Today insurgent groups, in furtherance to Kaita’s call are wreaking havoc, attacking military barracks and seizing weapons, but we will not sit and watch. Kaita made this statement, nobody arrested or called for the arrest of this fellow, today he is walking free.

“Buhari made this statement in 2011, he was never arrested and nobody ever called for his arrest. In other countries, former leaders are being tried, but here, a man who overthrew a legitimate government continues to threaten us with blood and nothing has happened. I am not afraid of arrest. I am saying it bold and clear without mincing words, that the consequences of my arrest, Nigeria will be history.

“The last time Obasanjo arrested me, my arrest reduced Nigeria oil production to 700,000 barrels per day.  This time, it will reduce it to zero barrels, and we will match violence with violence, intrigues with intrigues. We are ready for them. Goodluck Jonathan will complete his tenure of two terms, whether they like it or not. I am daring them to arrest me if they can. If they don’t, they are cowards and shame on them.”

If not for the oil, all these shaking words and violent ‘religious’ activities of Boko Haram in the north, as well as the restive militant youth activities in the Niger Delta belt of Nigeria wouldn’t have erupted.

The oil in the Niger Delta should rather not be a curse and burden to the country and something that generates acrimony, envy, pride and bad within the country’s citizenry, but should ginger inspiration and drive to others under whole soil or land there’s no oil to become ingenious and turn their own considered adverse environment into riches and happiness.

If the former regions could be transformed and sustained by their agricultural natural endowments that were not oil, and are even still there with many more other later-day found agricultural and solid mineral resources, why can’t the present day various state governments team up under the present regional or geo-political groupings and use the agricultural and solid mineral endowments of their immediate physical environments to become rich, like Japan and Norway that turned adversity to richness.

It is possible to do; it only requires the genuine patriotism and political to do, and not just the usual tea party and jamboree of southeast governors’ meeting, south south governors’ whatever, northern governors’ forum, western governors’ assembly, etc.

Since we cannot let Nigeria operate the presidential system of government as the United Sates of America that it copied it from operates the system and we cannot (as the case is now and seems intractable) turn our adversities to our various advantages and good and truly be one nation, one people, under one God and living in harmony and love among one another, why then are these unnecessary fears of Nigeria peacefully going the way of the former Soviet Union or the fear of alternatively operating a true Confederation or true federal system of government.

Let us follow that old Soviet or Czechoslovakia way. I believe it will be better for us and save us the unnecessary bad blood, acrimony, hue and cry of marginalization, dominance, and infighting among us, as well as quench the irresponsible, insensible and insensitive blood letting that has remained increasing and frightening in the country in recent times.

Pretending that all is well with us and that we are one is to me rather self delusion, deceptive and dangerous. That is the truth, and the earlier the better.

By: Abuchi Anueyiagu, 08033205799, [email protected]