By Kunle Oyatomi
Even at 50 years when we austensibly celebrated “maturity”as a country, it is now clearer than crystal that we are into the vicious circle of instability all over again. And it is instructive that this instability surfaced right on the day that we were celebrating 50 years of independence!!
A deadly bomb went off meters away from Eagle Square, the venue of the celebration, killing at least 12 by the official count, and leaving scores seriously injured. We had started the second epoch of our journey with disaster.
Now, that disaster is leading to the making of another convulsive political chain of events. Which is unvailing a desperate power struggle that characterised several other convulsions we had suffered in past decades.
The aftermath of that event on October 1, 2010 at the Eagles Square is developing so inauspiciously, that those who could fathom the crises of 1964, 1966, and 1993 would be frightened by this current state of instability which bear all the hallmarks of difficulties of those years that almost tore the nation apart.
We had been lucky three times over, but we could be over stretching our luck if we under-rate the current crisis, because it is deadlier than anything we have had in the past.
No doubt, the bone of contention in all of our “national crises”is power; political power at the centre. What has not changed though is that the contention for power has never brought any reasonable transformation to the lives of our peoples; with each power game, the north and the south of this country have won and lost, the country has been the worse for it, and the only beneficiaries of the evil power play in Nigeria had been the key players and their minions.
The Nigerian people have suffered in the last 50 years on this account. And now, these power-mongers are at it again.
There is so much desperation on all sides of this struggle for power that if the elders and people of Nigeria don’t come together urgently and seriously to tame this unfolding crisis, we could be heading for disaster. What is clear to anybody who can think clearly is that Nigeria cannot continue for much longer with the current political arrangement.
This is more so because the attraction for power at the centre has become a mad obsession, which portends catastrophic consequencies.
Those involved are so desperate that you can perceive that their purpose is not for public service but for self enrichment as has been the case with virtually all those who had and are still struggling for the presidency of Nigeria.
The language for those engaged in the current struggle for power, north and south of the divide, is so inflamatory, most of them have thrown caution to the wind-exhibiting a “devil-may-care”stance that only murderous warriors flaunt. We have a collective duty to stop them before they stop Nigeria.
And the only way to do that is by dialogue. Like their counterparts in the Congo, Sudan, Somalia and other part of the world in crises, they will sooner or later come to realise that violence or war creates more problem that they seek to solve. At the end of the day, only dialogue – serious discussions – can bring peace and progress.
The power mongers, who are no better than war mongers should hold back a bit. Their desperation and lust are heating up an already hot Nigeria; and if it burns up, there will be no escape route for them either.
As much as we, the peoples of Nigeria desire peace and prosperity, it is also in the interest of those involved in this fight for Aso Rock to seek peace through dialogue.
We must talk. The political structure of Nigeria as it is today cannot stand the test of time. We need a fundamental restructuring that will reinvent that peace and progress which the federation had pre and post independence up until 1962, when we began to tamper with the structure that the British and our founding father agreed for the country.
Since then till now, we have never known peace and progress which stability of a true federation gave us from 1956 to 1962.
Now, more than ever before, we need a decisive National “talkshop”, if you are allergic to the word conference. Whether Sovereign or decisive, that dialogue is central to the continued existence of Nigeria as a National idea. Otherwise the country is increasingly looking like a property for grabs by the strongest.
We have come thus far not to understand that if this country miscarries eventually we will all be the losers. Any group or person thinking that it is possible to appropriate Nigeria’s wealth for their selfish interest, should think again.
We either agree to restructure or we will be fractured by the fission and fusion of our malfunctioning federation.
Two things are absolutely clear to any serious political thinker who has taken the pains to observe Nigeria in the last 50 year:
* We have failed completely in our attempt to create a Nation out of the nationalities bottled up in this country.
* Secondly the presidential system which we have adopted has not only thrown the federation into inertia, it is totally unsustainable and unhelpful for national unity.
As a result of the presidential system, power has become so concentrated in the centre that a battle-royal has been set off between the nationalities as to who controls that power, which is also the key to the nation’s resources. We are approaching the flash-point of this battle in 2011.
The game is getting bad tempered; already, the first blood has been spilled on October 1, 2010. It is all about power, and suddenly 1993 is pupping up again. If this presidential system will cost us Nigeria, why keep it? If not for the benefit of the thieving leadership, in whose interest is this system anyway?
Since power was concentrated on the presidency, Nigeria has been sinking faster into poverty and decay. Unity has all but improved. The state is failing and the people have become victims of a system that destroys their lives.
If we cannot proceed with the presidential system, as it is all so obvious, why not return to the parliamentary system we had at independence in which the federating units were self governing and significantly in control of their finances. Must we destroy ourselves with this presidential time bomb?
From those who are looking for excuses to hang their opponents, and those who are spoiling for impeachment of the president, to those who are angling to profit from the chaos that will follow their actions, let this message get across loud and clear that those who start an inferno are most likely to roast in it. The heat will be so all-consuming there will be only ashes left when it is all over.
The earlier we start to talk, the better.
A wonderful wright-up.............. He who has ears let him hear
No comments:
Post a Comment