Friday, 10 August 2012

Between anarchy and docile leadership


By Aliyu Musa

As I watched our sports men and women get trounced in the few events they took part at the 2012 London Olympics what kept resonating on my mind is the current chaotic state of things in Nigeria, which is heavily reflecting on the performance of the country in the games. This is, by far, Nigeria’s worst Olympics outing since 1952.

The rather disgraceful performance of our basketball team, our almost total absence in athletics (where we won several medals in the past), and our nonexistence in other games like boxing, weightlifting, and football and so on, are a reminder that our home front is in disarray.

Back home the bombing campaign by Jama’atu Ahlih Sunnah Lidawati wal Jihad or Boko Haram sect (or those purportedly carried out in their name) continues unabated. After several weeks of attacking Churches and killings Christian worshippers the modus operandi changed to targeting Mosques where monarchs missed death by a whisker. And now Sokoto, the capital of the Sheikh Shehu Uthman Dan Fodio caliphate, is the new battle front just as the group extends its influence to Kogi State.

The government is clearly not able to contain the sect, which in its most recent video dismissed any possibility of dialogue. And with utter derision it advised President Goodluck Jonathan to resign and also embrace Islam. This sect is, without doubt, now Nigeria’s number one headache. But as the country grapples with this reality it appears another trend that could compound our collective problem has begun.

In the restive Niger Delta region the Ogoni people, represented by Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP) President Goodluck Diigbo, chose no better time than now to declare their autonomy (whatever that means?). Although this declaration has since been dismissed as a joke by Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi, it still baffles one that the presidency is mute on the matter.

Governor Amaechi had argued that what Diigbo was hoping to achieve could not be achieved by means of a mere statement on radio or pages of newspapers. And that at best the man would escape into the bush if confronted with questions about his action.

Governor Amaechi could be right in his assertion that the Ogoni autonomy cannot be achieved in this manner. But the implication of this declaration to the unity of Nigeria is grave. The Ogoni people, no doubt, have paid a huge price for hosting oil companies in their communities. Asserting their right as citizens of Nigeria is not a privilege that politicians should keep toying with; it is a right and there’s not alternative to it.

Since the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) released its Ogoniland oil assessment report on August 4, 2011 revealing the extent of damage and threat to human health in the area and recommending clean up steps very little has been done to address the issues. Government officials blame this failure on a number of factors including fuel subsidy protests. But this is a country where the most absurd excuses are given for every manifest letdown on the part of government.

Today tired of a seeming endless wait MOSOP opted to enforce the right of its members by declaring self government, which Dr Diigbo said will help them secure their rights, meet their needs and interest and bring to an end what he called internal colonialism. How they intend achieving this, however, remains to be seen.

While one sympathises with Ogoni people the trouble with this move is that it will further anarchy in the country; anyone could just wake up one morning and declare their independence from the country or threaten to break it into fragments if lawmakers, invoking their constitutional power, dare to threaten a president who’s their kinsman with impeachment (as their Ijaw neighbours are currently doing). This is more so given that violent insurgence is now used as a means of bargaining for an invite to a dialogue table.

But the most alarming thing is the country’s leaders are so docile that anything could happen under their watch. Apart from Governor Amaechi’s rather sarcastic response to the Ogoni declaration of independence nothing more has been heard. The president is yet to utter a word although he has since replied Boko Haram that he won’t resign.

Unless the Ogoni issue is urgently treated it will linger and compound Nigeria’s problems. Implementing the UNEP recommendation is one way to begin. Other measures could then be taken to forestall potential plots to disorganise or balkanise the country. Given the call for a sovereign national a serious consideration might not be a bad idea.
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1 comment:

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30 October 2012 at 03:03

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