By Victor Ecoma

ALLOW me space to respond to the interview granted Prof. Ango Abdullahi in your newspaper of February 28, 2022 page 13. I find the interview intriguing and wish to observe as follows: The unity of Nigeria, progress, size, diversity, human and material resources are assets to all of us Nigerians, whether Hausa, Igbo, Fulani, Yoruba, Ibibio, etc. It is essentially so to all Blacks around the globe and Africa in particular. All Nigerians must realise or be made to realise this God-given envious template that most other great nations pay tribute to. Nigeria as a modern nation state politically came into existence in 1914. Prior to that date, the various ethnic groups and tribes had coexisted within the same geographical space and had interacted through trade, agriculture and cultural exchanges, including wars. The earliest human occupation of the geographical space presently called Nigeria dates back to 500 BC of Nok civilisation in Kaduna State followed by others as revealed by archaeological evidence.

The concept of break-up, therefore, is practically meaningless because we would still be geographically bonded and will still need bilateral co-operations on many issues, and as it is presently with our neighbours.

Look at Ukraine: it is her immediate neighbours that are helping out. Break-up will serve no interest to any group no matter their perceived interests or advantages. In a break-up situation all interests will never meet. Great nations have an attribute of size, population and diversity, and even at that they still need other nations to forge ahead. Small countries will always remain small in many ways.

• Why I’m opposed to powershift — Ango Abdullahi

The United Kingdom was formed in 1707 as Great Britain in the coming together of four countries – England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. This gave Britain a tremendous advantage of size, power and sphere of influence in continental Europe and globally.

Those who think that Nigeria is sliding into disintegration are oblivious of field studies which show that Nigerians are happier living together, trading and doing businesses as one nation. This is expressed in our national lives in so many ways, in the workplace, market places, festivals and celebrations, inter-marriages, mass-media views, including the tumultuous political space. Research has shown that most countries in the world are ethnically heterogeneous; those that appear homogeneous have pockets of heterogeneity due to factors such as migration, conquest and colonialism. In such countries, people coexist peacefully and have fashioned ways to do so. America is great and popular because of its diverse culture and are still grappling with problems of race evident in the actions of police and the judicial system. They are not yearning for break-up but rather they are addressing their problems. 

The Nigerian problem of ethnicity must be understood in its socio-political and economic contexts and addressed in order to accommodate all groups. Sometimes ethnicity is played up for political or economic reasons to the disadvantage of other groups. Ethnic diversity remains a source of strength, positive group interaction and coexistence, and in many nations multiple ethnic groups and races live together in reasonable harmony.

The peculiarity of all ethnic groups is that they want to participate in the common group, feel a sense of belonging and acceptance of by all members in the common group. There is nothing wrong being a Hausa, Fulani, Yoruba or Igbo, ethnicity can be expressed in a peaceful multiculturalism in which all groups seek ways to understand themselves, live together and interact which does not have to depend on ‘sameness’ but on respect for diversity. In a multicultural society each group’s identity is recognised, they are allowed to contribute and as well learn from the larger group.

Globally, ethnic conflicts arise from political, economic, religious and cultural factors due to perceived sense of injustice or unequal distribution of resources, discrimination and domination by one group. All these suppress diversity if the dominant group in many ways wants to dominate; it creates rooms for agitation of ethnic autonomy, separatism and self- determination. Mark Roosevelt said: “If we wish to live in harmony and equality with people of other races, we should not maintain paternalistic statues that depict others in subordinate roles”. Lee Kuan Yew said: “We were more determined to build a multiracial society that would give equality to all citizens, regardless of race, language or religion. It was an article of faith which guided our policies”. In his 929 page book, From Third World To First, the word ‘balance’ was used severally as a watch-word in his national policies aimed at ensuring stability and eliminating agitation.

Religion is very good and has its social values which help in maintaining social order. Religion is like ethnicity and language. It is associated with social divisions in societies and nations. It can unite and it can divide people; it can be manipulated to cause change or resist domination. Religious leaders and politicians sometimes exploit religion for various purposes.

There are useful vehicles with which to engage religion more positively through influential inter-faith enlightenment and opinion-molding. A more progressive adventure is to use religion as a means of social solidarity to weld people together across divides rather than as a destructive tool.

People wear different hats. It will be a gross miscalculation in Nigeria to pretend that ethnicity and religion do not matter in navigating our diversity and search for harmonious co-existence. Those who argue that merit should be the only criterion for who becomes the president of the country are right, but they may never find any ethnic, religious group or geopolitical zone lacking in merit.

They also may not find a president who does not belong to an ethnic or religious group which calls for binary deconstruction that allows us to use other vital criteria such as ‘balance’ for ensuring unity and stability, equity in power sharing as opposed to domination by majority, inclusiveness as opposed to exclusion; these are all useful reinforcements vital for nation building. Ex-president Obasanjo remarked, that any family, state or country without equity and equality won’t have stability.

Power shift: This refers to what could be termed “rotation of presidency” between the North and the South of Nigeria; and by implication among the six geopolitical zones. It is a sort of power sharing formula. Power tussles for the presidency is a highly contested issue in the polity, some group want rotation of presidency between North and South enshrined in the constitution some others do not want it.

Those opposed to rotation feel that it is undemocratic, that democracy is a principle of majority rule as such the majority should always determine who becomes the Nigerian president. All groups including those opposed to the rotation of presidency being enshrined in the constitution believe in the concept of it is “our turn” in the political equation. In every state in Nigeria and among the senatorial districts people agitate for power on the basis of whose turn it was and whose turn it should be to produce the next governor, and this goes right down to councillorship positions. One wonders how ‘rotation’ is a gradable antonym to ‘zoning’ or ‘our turn’, and what is the malady enshrining rotation of the presidency in the constitution if in practical terms people demand for “our turn” in all political positions in the country. It implies that diversity does not approve of domination by any one group by whatever criterion that confers advantage to majority against the minority.

Sometimes in appraising democratic practices people loose sight of the history of advanced democracies. Britain and France fought the hundred years wars because of power succession to the French throne dominated by Britain. The 17th century English revolution sowed the seed of modern political democracy in Britain which also emphasized equality in political representations. Besides, lessons can also be taken from the planetary system in which the earth rotates on its axis providing equal distribution of day and night across the globe such that every location benefits and humans have time to work and time to sleep. These are useful lessons critical to nation building in creating trust, confidence, enhancing unity and shared national aspirations.

In 2023 as power shifts to southern Nigeria after 8 years of residing in the north, the southeast is the only geographical zone in the south that has not taken a shot at the presidency since 1999. Among the ethnic conglomerates the emergence of a Nigerian president of Igbo origin is imperative as a stabilizer of the multi-layered agitations founded on the concept of ‘marginalization’ predating the Nigerian civil war.

This will be the Nigerian brand of Pax Britannica, a post war full reintegration of Igbos in the geopolitical and economic mainstream of Nigeria, and a tribute to Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe’s pioneering efforts in ending colonial rule and his personal precept of indissoluble existence of one Nigeria. The civil war may have ended militarily but sociologically the ghosts of those who died in the war are still looming restlessly in search of a befitting burial premised on a united Nigeria, where no one is marginalized on the basis of ethnicity, religion, language or culture. A Nigerian president of Igbo extraction will rest the matter.

About the President: As a scholar I will not want to sing President Buhari’s praises on the pages of newspaper. I joined APC because of my convictions about his stewardship. He has done very well by share strength of character in dealing with the asymmetric economic and political forces acting locally, nationally and globally which even the United States have no control of. Quite frankly, the take off point from 2015 could have been worst in many fronts if not for his stellar character. The world knows and has paid him a deserving tribute while still in office. What I do not know is whether there is a researched compilation of his achievements from 2015 to present.