Richard Buckminster Fuller (1895-1983) an American writer, philosopher, and futurist said in one of his quotes: “It is now highly feasible to take care of everybody on Earth at a higher standard of living than any have ever known. It no longer has to be you or me. Selfishness is unnecessary. War is obsolete. It is a matter of converting our high technology from WEAPONRY to LIVINGRY.”
Buckminister’s premise is presumably hinged on the fact that as humans develop in knowledge, techology, science and everything with it, this improved state of consciousness will or should translate into a better society. as the saying goes, “if you know better, you do better”.
Nigeria’s story seems to be one of knowing better very slowly, else, how can in this age of global civilization, the purported giant of Africa continues to witness anti-developmental social, political and economic realities. the paradoxes of wealth and poverty, patriotism and parochial loyalty, leisure in chaos, etc. Like every other nation on earth, Nigeria is not without its own share of problems, yet we must ponder on Nigeria in the face of the huge potential it possess.
Even though events in the past and more recent years have polarized the nation in lines of tribe/ethnicity, religion, and ‘shallow’ party affiliation, yet the reality of the problems that bedevils the country does not know tribe or religion, these problems are spread across the country even if not directly, at least in similitude.
Though the issues that define the Nigerian problem are diverse, like corruption, insecurity, nepotism, poor education and healthcare, etc, this almost random musing will focus on the nature of insecurity the country witnesses on various fronts. And not to forget that all the problems can be tied to corruption.
Usually, when nations on the development trajectory face security challenges, they are external in nature. But Nigeria has continually faced internal security challenges in different formats with a little bit of external influence.
For example, who knew that after amnesty appeared to have solved the issue of the Niger Delta militants and the vandilisation of pipelines, that there would be a time in Nigeria when bomb blast became breakfast, served in churches and mosques, schools, marketplace, government institutions and even the mighty barracks, turning the streets and cities into minefields? It will be recalled when in 2010 there was news of attack on Bauchi prison by a then unpopular sect called Boko Haram, the news was so novel to Nigerians and it was almost unanimously dismissed immediately by everyone as something that will never happen again.
Alas, fast forward to more than a decade after that attack in 2010, Nigerians have lost count of terror attacks in the country, with thousands losing their lives all across the country in the presence of successive administrations who worked and watched helplessly as non-state actors unleased terror.
Through a stroke of PR genius, the name was changed sometime in 2021 from terrorists to bandits, a more subtle name with increased fatality.
Apart from the issue of lack of political will, sabotage within the security forces, external or foreign influence, religious and ethnic sympathy towards the terrorists by the locals; one of the main reasons why this has lasted long is because of the legend of the Sambisa forest and the way Boko Haram or state propaganda turned it into a fortress of some sort, maybe more fortified than Fort Knox. Government and security forces spoke of Sambisa as if it was not in Nigeria. Maybe it is not, but clearly the thorns from this thick or sparce forest has spread across the country, piercing everything and everyone because it has taken root and is refusing to go.
In theory it is believed that no none-state actor can literary fight a state successfully, yet it begs for answers why terrorism/banditry and other related issues have lasted this long in Nigeria to the scale at which they have been experienced. Banditry, unknown gunmen, terrorism, etc.
But can non-state actors fight for the state/government? The Russian Wagner group example in Ukraine and other African countries will say yes, and also the thuggery in Lagos as witnessed during the 2023 general elections.
But there are thugs all over Nigeria, why does there seem to be a special focus of thuggery in Lagos? The answer is not farfetched, thuggery appears to be formalized in Lagos, more like an institution, having a life of its own. Thugs bully and oppress people, motorists, LASTMA officials, police, no one is speared and during elections, their key “stakeholdership” clause is activated and they unleash terror on voters. People support them on special days until they become victims themselves on ordinary days.
This is one of the reasons the now dreaded Monday sit-at-homes in the east and the unknown gunmen syndrome was able to find a foothold in the region. When sit-at-home began, people bought into the narrative that IPOB and its other affiliated groups were fighting for the people of the region against prolonged injustice at the federal level.
Trouble began when the enforcers of the sit-at-home unleashed violence on citizens who had become tired of the fruitless exercise and sought to use their fundamental human right of freedom of movement. Overtime it became a norm that Monday was part of the weekend, from Onitsha to Aba, the once bubbling cities and markets became deserted fields while everyone stayed indoors languishing in idleness, to the extent that when governments in the region called on the people to shun the sit-at-home orders, it was to no avail as IPOB and friends appeared to have more will and action than the constitutional governments in place.
What we have is a system where elites and aspiring elites run to Abuja, pick their share of the national cake, acquire choice properties in highbrow areas
How can these problems troubling the country be mitigated? The solution is simple
- Leaders must have even the minutest political will to tackle issues barring primordial considerations and employ state resources for the good of all.
- Poverty eradication must be seriously and strategically pursued. For example, all the security issues sighted above thrive because people are poor and therefore become ready tools as bandits, thugs and unknown gunmen. Solve the poverty issue on a wide scale, not the individual or small group nature we have now where individuals struggle to public office just to drive poverty from their family lineage while unknowingly driving it more into the community.
- There needs to be national reorientation as Nigerians across all divide find it hard in differentiating between patriotism and loyalty.
- It also boils down to leadership. Leaders should be ready to sacrifice,not their lives, but the supposed self-gratifying pleasures of power.
And like Buckminster said, Nigeria should begin to convert all it’s WEAPONRY to LIVINGRY.
emigrate36@yahoo.com
