Any Nigerian government that wishes to do well must do well on two fronts. The first? Managing the economy. The second? Managing the balance between our major ethno-religious groups.
This government, at best, has done no worse – on average – than previous governments on the first. Only that in an economy dealing with extraordinary challenges, average performance is – much more than it was before – grossly inadequate.
On the second, however, it is hard to qualify it, this government is the worst in recent times. Kai! It is the double whammy of an economy in free-fall, and a gross mismanagement of ethno-religious relations – particularly across the sensitive North/South, Christian/Muslim divides – that is the cause of our present predicament.
I know, there is not much the government can do about covid, yes, but there is a lot it can do to de-escalate tensions. However, from inception, it is a government that steadfastly holds to courses that even the short-sighted sees will stoke fires.
I tell you, if in exchange for this – for breaking the traditional rules of ethno-religious balance in Nigeria (such as Federal Character in public appointments, representation at the top levels of the nation’s Security hierarchy, avoiding public statements and postures that definitively show bias for/against any major ethno-religious group) – yes, if in exchange for all this, we were given stellar economic performance, job creation at unprecedented levels, inspirational handling of the crises of covid and insecurity, then puritanical meritocrats like me will swallow it.
But to kick away the one leg we were standing on, while simultaneously visiting us with the poverty-inducing corruption and ineptitude of yesteryears? This a master-class in how to radicalize discontent.
For leadership in a diverse society requires a LOT more than the technocratic ability to build roads and pay salaries. It requires a HIGH level of socio-cultural intelligence as well – to be comfortable with people from other tribes, to carry those from other religious groups along, to be respectful towards various cultural sensibilities, to create narratives that allow people from different sections to work together.
Indeed, Nigeria is too complex a society to be governed by one-sided people, capable only of single stories. To survive, this country must be led by those who are fluent in multiple cultures.
And, so, the solution to our present situation is simple. The government must be changed. For it is its own inflexibility, its own handling of issues, its own tunnel vision, that is empowering extremists in so many parts of the country, including mine.
In 6 years of this type of low performance on both the Economic and Ethno-Religious Management fronts, it has become mainstream to declare Nigeria hopeless. From the infamous 5% speech at Chatham House in 2015, to the current arguments whether a Federal Minister linked to extremist ideologies should stay on or resign, the government has consistently strengthened the hands and voices of the most extreme elements in our sub-cultures. Those who were before struggling to find reasonable arguments to back up their call to destroy the country are now spoilt for choice.
No, this is not a battle the Military can win, where for every terrorist it cuts down, government mishandling of sensitive issues manufactures two. No doubt, it is the government that needs to change. For Nigeria is not Buhari. And patriotism must always be to the country, and its manifest destiny, and not to these administrations that come and go. So too must opposition be to these administrations that come and go, and not the country, and its manifest destiny. For Buhari is not Nigeria. No. He is a tenure that can only last a maximum of 8 years – 6 of which are done already.
So, tell me, how is causing permanent damage to our own house a reasonable response to what is temporary? For no one from the South East has been Head of State since 1966. But in that time, a devastating war notwithstanding, its people have built shops and malls, car assembly plants and factories, airports and airlines, movie industries and globally recognized brands. Tell me, is the strategy now to threaten all this with flames in exchange for top positions in Nigeria’s politico-military bureaucracy? Because my understanding is that we want to keep what we have, but add to it. In which case, it is good to remember that a man who goes into a brawl with good teeth, and wishes to come out with victory and good teeth, cannot fight in the same way as one who has nothing at all to lose.
Not violence. The solution is not violence. It is politics. It is the politics of 2023. And 2027. And 2032. It is the politics of the Federal, State and Local Governments. It is the politics of the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary. It is the politics of the Civil Service and the Civic Space. It is the politics of the extended family and the community. It is the politics of the home and office. It is the politics of arts and culture. It is the politics of hearts and minds. It is the politics of influence and popular culture, of contesting in every space, with every medium, at every chance for a country where the African can live in dignity, to the fullness of his or her potential, in power and in peace.
Yes. To play this politics in these spaces again and again, untiringly, with a clear eye on your objective – that to empower a person or a tribe may intoxicate now, but the future belongs to those who empower ideas. Not just ideas, but ideas that any human being, race or nationality regardless, can – upon encountering – view with a deep respect. This is the objective. And from it we shall not be de-railed by the passing irritations of this present government.
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