Opinion: How Nigeria’s peace fantasy can be realised

by Samuel Adesoji Ojediran

President-Jonathan5

 The terrorism by the boko haram sect shouldn’t be experienced if most members had not been brainwashed because of  lack of proper education.

Peace is what eluded Nigeria’s of today just like that of yesteryears. It is the lack of peace that is responsible for the several forms of restlessness in the country. But in as much the existence of Nigeria is non-negotiable, concerted efforts that will lead to a lasting and durable peace become expedient.

I am a little bit uneasy whenever I reflect on the level of peace that has been achieved over the year in this country. It is obvious that the kind of peace we boast of in Nigeria today is a deteriorating one. It is easy to apportion the whole blame to the stakeholders from the history of the country, yet they have their own contributions. At this junction, I need to clear the air that shifting blame, as it has never helped in the past, will not help today neither will it help in the future. It therefore behooves every peace loving Nigerian to take a walk from our antecedents and ill-suggested solutions of the past in search for a new horizon that will bring the much coveted peace.

The multi-ethnic nature of Nigeria is what is largely responsible for the volatile state our dear country and not religion in itself. It comprises more than 360 ethnic groups where the languages of only three major groups namely the Ibos, the Hausas and the Yorubas (where I belong) are constitutionally assigned the status of national languages. The struggle has continued unabated.  Contrary to the views of many that this cultural difference is or should be the bone of contention, I rather see it as a rich cultural heritage that should foster national development and attract international investors if well managed.

Clearly, it is the mismanagement of our rich cultural heritage that actually gave birth to the rest of the maladies of corruption, tribalism, sectarianism, etc

When people saddled with the responsibility of the affairs of the state are passionate in making selfish gains, the different forms of corruption of bribery, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, patronage, graft, embezzlement not only stare us in the face but try to become our national industry. I did say it in one of my ongoing projects that political corruption is of Nigerian nationality. Today, what threatens Nigeria’s nascent democracy is kleptocracy (kleptocracy is a rule by thieves). I am trying to show us how the mismanaged cultural heritage is directly or indirectly the cradle of all the other vices. For instance, imagine  a situation where a corrupt Yoruba man is brought to head the country, and all he does is to favor his tribal people and the area he comes from. Or, most accurately, when a man from one the various minor ethnic groups within the same state is assigned or elected to helm of affairs, we all know the tendency. It is also true that this is a major reason misappropriation, embezzlement and the likes by both political office holders and civil servants are on the increase and there is little or no development to show for it.

It all goes in a circle. Insurgencies and terrorism in the north, oil theft, militancy, rituals and kidnapping in the south as some of the troubles that daily dominate our media are what Nigerians have got to live with over the past years. We all know we are all in a life time except something is done to stem this national evil tide. Now, the next question we all need to answer is who is doing what?

The time to build ‘a nation where peace and justice shall rain’ as part of our national anthem suggests is now. I even wonder we all agree on the wordings of our national anthem and pledge.

The first of all blueprints to this much coveted peace is oneness togetherness. All of us must live as one and one family under God. What you practice or the faith you profess should not tear us apart any more. Rather, it should be a tool for nation building and peaceful coexistence. If we see ourselves as one and as being members of the same family, all the vices of corruption, ethnicity, favoritism, sectarianism will be laid to rest. It is in this sense that whoever is in charge of the affairs of government in whatever respect won’t do it to the expense of some and to the detriment of others. He won’t involve himself in a lobed sided kind of development that only favors the geo-political zone where he comes from. Similarly, the person there at the top should not be seen as a property of some set of people. When he embarks on projects such as education, it should be nationalistic in nature and parochial. The terrorism by the Boko Haram sect shouldn’t be experienced if most members had not been brainwashed because of lack of proper education.

Above all, true patriotism should be our watchdog. Nobody should want to die simply because he fills it is right to be or continue in power and wants to do everything and anything  to achieve it. However, anyone should be ready, if needs be, to die for the fatherland to survive. These  views that sum up my philosophy should be enshrined into every sphere of our life, be it the constitution, the judiciary, the executive, the legislature, the civil service. In this spirit of togetherness and brotherhood, we in no time achieve the Nigeria dream.

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Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.

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