Answer to the Question of Terrorism in Nigeria
The answer to the question of terrorism can be summed up in the analogy of the boat and the ship, and in relation to the conversation between the emperor and the pirate. Answering the Emperors questions, especially about what he does with the sea. He says, “because I do what I do with a boat, I am called a pirate, and because you do the same with a ship, you are called an Emperor”.
The temptation of burning the barn to get rid of the rats is high. Burning the barn which is like setting the country Nigeria ablaze cannot and should not be adopted as an option. However, the question as to what next if all the means devised to rid the barns off the rats failed? What about a situation also, where the rats themselves are a major threat to the unity and survival of the country? Finding a way out of this political quagmire, leaves us with the indispensability of a collateral damage and the imperative of risk management, especially, in a country like ours, where a revolution is long overdue. There is no gainsaying the fact that, Nigerians are resilient and were adjudged the most-happy people in the world. These virtues, are what the politicians and the so-called leaders have taken for granted, having misconstrued them as docility and stupidity. Whatever the case may be, the problems of Nigeria, of which leadership is critical, ignorance can be described as the root cause. Because the knowledge that one acquires and not applied, makes one not different from an illiterate or ignorant. Majority of Nigerians who are citizens by birth, are unlearned in matters of nationalism, and the causation of why most citizens are not intentional or deliberate in matters of patriotism.
Nationalism is basically a sense of pride, identity, and loyalty toward a nation. It also emphasizes a shared culture, language, history, and values. It plays a huge role in nations building, because, it helps unite people around a shared purpose and identity. It does foster cohesion, motivate collective action and gives people a sense of belonging within a country. As a good follow-up to the question of nationalism is citizenship. This is more of a legal status. You belong to a nation by law with rights and responsibilities. Patriotism on the otherhand, is more about a personal, emotional attachment and love for your country. The pertinent question to ask, is about why democracy is working in those countries from whom we copied the system of government such as the United States and the United Kingdom, with the dividend of the system accruing to their citizens, whereas, the experience is completely different here with us. The answer cannot be far-fetched, and is connected to the important place of nationalism, where in the equation, without the former, you cannot get to the latter. So, you can be a citizen of a particular country without necessarily feeling strong patriotic emotions and vice-versa.
However, when people don’t have a solid understanding of nationalism, it can lead to harmful consequences. For instance, it leads to feeling of extreme form of division like xenophobia or ethnic conflicts, people are critically thinking of what binds them together. It can also bring complacency. If people don’t know their history or shared goals, they may not engage in democracy or personal reforms. This can stunt the progress and unity of the country. Why the case of some of the advanced democracies is different includes the fact that nationalism and patriotism tend to be more balanced and informed by civic education, encouraging global outlooks. In contrast, with so many African countries, nationalism often emerged from anti-colonial struggles. In citizenship, awareness is still evolving, shaped by post-colonial legacies, governance, and civic education. Both regions need strong citizenship awareness to keep patriotism positive and inclusive. With the mentioned above, of the major building blocks of developments in any society or nations, and using them as our score card, we can assess where we are currently, where we need to be, and how to get there. Sentiments and jokes apart, with the kind of leaders we currently have occupying all the three arms of government, including the Executive, Legislature, and Judiciary, Nigeria is on a life support. There is no doubting the belief that Nigeria can be fixed in a short period of just 4 years by a nationalistic, patriotic, and visionary leader. His preoccupation would be from the outset, to specialize and focus primarily on the major and not the minor. Of all the Presidents that the country has had since the return of democracy in 1999, Bola Ahmed Tinubu is the most regional and tribalistic leader and to this end, deserves not to be trusted with the responsibility of steering the ship of the country. What should be the major focus of any sincere and God-fearing leader is the restructuring of the country Nigeria peacefully and amicably, including the jettisoning of the 1999 constitution which was hurriedly handed over to the country by the military to preserve their structures.
The best way to go therefore, is the way of the patriots. Had President Bola Ahmed Tinubu considered the proposals of the patriots, headed by the former Commonwealth Secretary-General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, and not allowed himself to be distracted by those lofty and ostentatious projects, such as the Lagos-Calabar coastal way, even though that is a big avenue or way of defrauding the country. Had President Bola Ahmed Tinubu left the bad for the good, the good for the better, and the better for the great, definitely, his name would have been on its way of being written in gold, as the ideal president and the builder of the modern Nigeria. Fellow Nigerians, do not be fooled and forget not, that, State Police is a major provision of restructuring. However, with the incontrovertible evidences that the country is in dire need of deliverance from insecurity in the forms of terrorism, banditry, and criminality in different forms and shades, suffice to say also, that, launching the state police agenda alone and on its own, is dead on arrival, as well as a recipe for anarchy and dismembering the country violently. The major problem of Nigeria and the obstacle on her way to surviving the looming disaster of unimaginable, and unprecedented magnitude is President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of Nigeria. Nigerians therefore, have a choice to make even before the already rigged 2027 general elections, and it is that of either, kicking him out, to keep Nigeria safe, united, and secure, or keeping him and losing our beloved country to insensitivity and foolishness. Truth be told, nationalism cannot be entrenched where a major section of the country has been crying foul over marginalization since after the civil war of 1967 to 1970. Belonging as someone puts it, is a funny thing. “People don’t feel like they belong, because they are told that they belong. Belonging is among the things that must necessarily go without saying, because you cannot belong and not know it”.
The answer to the question of terrorism can be summed up in the analogy of the boat and the ship, and in relation to the conversation between the emperor and the pirate. Answering the Emperors questions, especially about what he does with the sea. He says, “because I do what I do with a boat, I am called a pirate, and because you do the same with a ship, you are called an Emperor”. However, in reality, slaves and Emperors are equal if they can both accept the roles destiny has assigned them, and do the best within those roles, especially toward their fellow humans.
In closing, the lingering and escalating problems of insurgency and banditry will forever remain insurmountable, until those who are directly and indirectly benefiting from the criminal enterprise, including the sponsors, both within and outside the country, are identified, arraigned and prosecuted, a dream that may never be realized in Nigeria of today. The state visit of Nigeria’s president and the first lady to the United Kingdom, fits in for description as immoral extravagance and insensitive show of shame especially, because it happened at a time when Nigeria was under a siege of insecurity and challenged from several fronts. It also amounted to faking feeling good. It is also a stubborn refusal to blossom where one has been planted and choosing to flourish with hereditary honors. Nigerians cannot survive another 4 years with Tinubu and the APC. The long-awaited change is now or never. The journey to 2027 is turning the resilience of Nigerians to resistance. Revolution in Nigeria is NOW!
God bless Nigeria.
By Samuel Tunji Adeyanju
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