By Daniel Emeka Nwachuckwu
I share in the notion that men are higher animals especially because of our mental capacity. This brings me to the agreement that for a man to make sense of his situation and proffer solutions to his problems, he should take a critical look at his past, analyze his present (probably in comparison with his peers), taking a summary of both he can add to his zeal for improvement to prognosticate a bright or bleak future.
For the conveners of this conference to have chosen this theme, it goes to say there was a peaceful and secured Nigeria or at least a plan to have one, and having derailed, this conference has being convened to share ideas on how we may get back on track in this particular area of peace and security.
In my short discuss which is centered on our theme for today, I shall take a peek into certain moments in our past, we shall accept some hard truths of their implications and what we have become today, and again citing the theme of today’s gathering, (which is: “The Role of Youths Towards the Restoration of Peace and Secured Nigeria”) we shall see how modifications to our ways of handling related issues, building our social capacity and improving our tolerance levels can probably aid in restoring peace and a secured Nigeria for growth and prosperity.
In my humble opinion the lack of peace in Nigeria have found its root in:
1. Religious differences,
2. Ethnic dissimilarities and,
3. Social inequality – with subcategories as:
Socio-political and socio-economic inequalities.
There’s a saying that: “You can’t change what has already happened, so don’t waste your time thinking about it. Move on, let go and get over it.”
What role can I play as a youth to bring about sustained peace and a secured Nigeria. I probably should first examine certain roles played by the youths and/or leaders of the past. This could be an insight as to how we arrived at this situation where we now seek this vital, but elusive ingredient. Taking this peek into the past could also absolve the youths of today who have being so castigated, abused and alleged and sometimes described as the hands that fuel an insecure Nigeria.
Professor Wole Soyinka made an in-road into root number 1 above, by saying: “Religion in the history of this continent has been a disastrous venture, a disaster in many zones and continues to be even so today…”
This points to the way we have handled our religious consciousness in Africa, it has become a norm for us to kill and fight for our religion at all cost. The major religions we practice were all acquired as a form of enlightenment, but have rather turned us to a slave and master relationship where commonsense and our shared humanity is discarded at the slightest provocation.
Chief Obafemi Awolowo said: “Nigeria is not a nation but a mere geographical expression” he also said: “There are no ‘Nigerians’ in the sense as there are English, Welsh or French, the word ‘Nigerian’ is merely a distinctive appellation to distinguish those who live within the boundaries of Nigeria and those who do not” again he was quoted to have said: “Nigeria is only a geographical expression to which life was given by the diabolical amalgamation of 1914. That amalgamation will ever remain the most painful injury a british government inflicted on southern Nigeria”.
Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa once said: “the southern people who are swamping into this region daily in such large numbers are really intruders, we don’t want them and they are not welcome here in the north, since 1914 the British Government has been trying to make Nigeria into one country but the people are different in every way, including religion, custom, language and aspirations. We in the north take it that Nigerian unity is a British intention for the country they created, it is not for us”
Sir Ahmadu Bello described the amalgamation of Northern and Southern Protectorates as a “Great Mistake” and told Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe that we needed to “understand our differences rather than just “forget them”
And Lord Fredrrick Lugard also said: “the north and the south are like oil and water, they will never mix”
These days youths are quick to state the obvious, all the above could be well linked to our ethnic differences and/or religious and cultural dissimilarities. Yet, we are quick to forget that there are countries share relatively similar differences but have since integrated, still bearing in mind their differences but able to conquer intolerance and hate, they have now moved on to better for it.
Numerous peoples of the world between the 15-19th century have come together to forge difficult alliances but went on to prosper, that is a discussion for another day but I will give u some instances which u can research upon or verify later.
United Kingdom – Scotland, Wales and England
Tanzania – comprising Tangayinka and Zanzibar
Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Sharjah, Umm al-Quwain, Ras al-Khaimah, Fujairah and Kalba which now make up the United Arab Emirates
Netherlands were former separate provinces
13 originally independent states formed USA and others have also joined them
Spain is made up of Castille and Aragon
The peoples of Venice, Naples, Florence, Pisa, Genoa and Rome make up what we call Italy
Australia only became a federation in 1901
Canada was also formed by joining of independent provinces
North and South Vietnam formed Vietnam
East and West Germany came back to become
Germany
A lot more like the above created what we today call China, Russia, Bulgaria, Libya, Italy, Cyprus, Romania… in fact if not that India came together, there were about 506 distinctly governed peoples there. So I say to every youth, if those countries could work together despite differences and prosper, then Nigeria too can do it.
Our current methods of using the military might of the state to crush dissenting views, disagreements and other rights of our citizens is rather ineffective, for every one youth killed incarcerated for a course they believe in, the opium for more dissent is simply fed the more. Violence begets more violence.
Many of us were not around when this nation was formed, a lot
of you will not be around as we begin to manage the affairs of the nation ourselves, so to maintain peace we need to convince young people of the opportunities that exists by virtue of our size and diversity rather than to focus on our differences, we should rather champion courses like this that foster integration and understanding and enhance our capacities to acquired developmental knowledge, a time shall come when we are no enormous in number, which can be a blessing or a challenge, even now the world is leaning towards knowledge and scientific approach to solving problems not numbers, size and brawn.
General Yakubu Gowon said: “suffice it to say that putting all consideration to the test, political, economic as well as social, the basis of [Nigeria’s] unity is not there”.
Colonel Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu said: “It is better we move slightly apart and survive than move together and perish in collision”. He also said: “Nigeria is a stooge of Europe. Her independence was and is a lie. Nigeria committed many crimes against her nationals which in the end made nonsense of her claim to unity. Nigeria persecuted and slaughtered her minorities; Nigerian justice was a farce; her elections, her census, her politics – her everything was corrupt. Qualification, merit and experience were discounted in public service. In one area of Nigeria, for instance, they preferred to turn a Nurse who had worked for 5 years into a Doctor rather than employ a qualified Doctor from another part of Nigeria; barely literate clerks were made permanent secretaries; a university Vice-Chancellor was sacked because he belonged to the wrong tribe.”
All these words are accurate words as spoken by the people mentioned and were probably the truthful opinions of the speakers, some are not alive today those alive are not present here.
This brings us to the attitude even you and I am most culpable of, which is; the social inequalities of either socio-political or socio-economic differences which has made us commit so many grave mistakes, if it is not a religious difference or an ethnic one, then a Nigerian may be disenfranchised and discriminated or made insecure based on the political difference or social status and worst still, we add nepotism and cronyism as if it were a norm.
According to the current administration in Nigeria, a major plank of their manifesto is the fight against corruption and insecurity. There are probably improvement in both areas right now and we expect more as they do their job. Recent happenings in Cote d’Ivoire, Gambia and the build up to the Ghana elections invokes fear for the peace, security and stability of our sub-region. The role of H/E. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR is the peaceful transition of power in The Gambia is commendable.
What I think we should do, particularly in Nigeria is to:
1. Let our humanity and commonsense come first before we take actions at every point in a daily lives. Those of you who follow regional issues, especially the recent elections in The Gambia and the reluctance of the outgoing president to relinquish power will agree with me that it affected us in one way or the other, at least it made some of our Presidents risk their lives to travel for negotiations, the ECOWAS Youth Council-EYC is proud to played a the required role on behalf of the youths in applying pressure until commonsense prevailed, and I thank all the media houses that supported us in broadcasting our messages, especially the West Africa Democracy Radio in Dakar Senegal, Changed news online and The Column online newspaper.
2. Youths should participate in information gathering and sharing of reliable information to security operatives.
3. Raise our consciousness levels and be more aware of our surroundings, strange people, objects, movements and gatherings.
4. As a youth look for something decent to do to earn a living, the population of our peoples, the size of our nation and most importantly, regional block frameworks such as ECOWAS has provided much more for us to explore and to be useful to Nigeria, we must encourage ourselves and get ready be part of political and economic leadership, as youths a stakeholders in Nigeria, we can constructively criticize leadership, but we must also seek to be in positions of authority to effect the positive modifications that we desire, I am proud about the #NotTooYoungToRule initiative in their quest to reduce certain restrictions to youth participation in our leadership process.
5. We must build our capacity to be good followers and listeners, we must learn the good attributes of our elders and statesmen, complaining about non-performing leaders is never enough, we should also take a look at the gullible followers amongst our ranks, especially as we follow our religions and political leaders in their respective ideologies. Leaders, captains of industries and royal fathers should co-opt and corroborate credible youth bodies who share in the ideals of Nation building, peace and secured Nigeria and by extension West Africa, the ECOWAS Youth Council-EYC is the central regional body in that regard. I shall not forget to thank Hon. Nasiru Adhama the SA to Mr. President on Youths and Students Affairs for his promised support.
6. And very importantly, we must seek knowledge, obey constituted authority and try to understand certain policies before we scream to high heavens how badly they might affect us, when probably in the real sense we would have profited in the long run.
The list is endless of how the imperialists have instigated indigenous peoples to hate their own leaders and later oust them from leadership positions just because the leader dared to stand against their exploitation.
We have spent valuable time and years talking about how Nigerians can be peace loving, how we have enormous potentials, how we can be self-sufficient, our refineries lie in ruins, our steel plants lay there dilapidated, our students are shut out of their campuses, our roads are death traps, our railways function like horse carriages, our villages are theatres of carnage, genocidal attacks and rape, interior farmlands remain epitomes human abattoirs, gallows for beheading and bloodbaths.
The same youths that have been so maligned in this part of the world are the ones who organize this conferences, round tables and summits like this one to mitigate these issues to sensitize our peers and communities, just days ago so-called political leaders gathered to discuss political activities, or do I say they gathered to accuse and counter accuse their political parties and political differences.
We can talk about peace and a secured Nigeria from the fishing town of baga to the clear water beaches of Elegushi, or from the arable plains of sokoto to the ibaka deep sea port, but until we the youths find meaningful things to do with our talents, jobs to do with our skills and feature in the picture of day to day leadership in every strata of the Nigerian economy, this ingredient may elude us forever.
As a youth, the role I have chosen to undertake is to build a bridge and salvage the moment and not to burn the tiny treads that stick this sun battered canopy (Nigeria) that i live under...if of course it is still possible!
May God give us the ability to change the things we can, the fortitude to the things we cannot change, and the wisdom to distinguish between the things we can change and the things we cannot change, Amen!
Oh! If I may ask, what role have you chosen?
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