FLASH BACK
Last week, we continued our discourse on the Nigeria’s dire need for restructuring: The urgency of now (4). This week, we continue our thematic analysis on the urgent need for Nigeria to restructure before it is too late.
One of God’s anointed servants and a revered preacher of the word of God, Pastor W.F. Kumuyi, in an interview granted to Daily Sun Newspaper, on Tuesday, July 12, 2016, gave us his wise counsel, when asked his take on the call to restructure Nigeria, “… I think at this time now, we should listen to everybody… put everything on the table and without any selfish interest or ulterior motive, and then as a whole nation, we might have a kind of panel, to make a choice on what will move the nation forward and what will keep the nation as an entity. Restructuring should not lead us to a kind of division into fragments where a southerner will have to get visa before he can go to the North and northerners have to get visa before they can come to the South. I don’t think we should come that way. But as we put everything on the table and we dialogue, I believe we will reach the best solution.” Restructuring does not refer to balkanisation or dismemberment. It is the exact opposite.
Legal juggernaut and one of the influencers in the legal profession in Nigeria, Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, had this to say on the way forward for Nigeria, during an interview at the United States Consul General’s residence in Ikoyi, on the 4th of July, 2016: “Everybody is saying we are in a world where we have to discuss. Look at what happened in Britain, that is democracy in action. The centre in Nigeria is overbearing and selfish, that is why states are poor. What we are running now is dictatorship, we are being ruled by force, Nigeria does not belong to a particular individual but to all of us, the more reason we have to discuss and it is out of love, out of patriotism that we are saying let us discuss Nigeria…If we don’t do it now, our children will have problems in the future.” I agree with my egbon.
Paul K. Feyerabend (1924 – 1994) German philosopher, in his essay: “Against Method”, puts it succinctly, “Unanimity of opinion may be fitting for a church, for the frightened or greedy victims of some (ancient or modern) myth, or for the weak and willing followers of some tyrant. Variety of opinion is necessary for objective knowledge.”
If we are to make progress as a nation, the confidence of the people must be obtained and one of such ways is to give the people a voice and make the masses part of the remoulding process of the country. This is the solution to breaking the vicious cycle of going back and forth as a nation, with no meaningful progress. Or, as captured by Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (1870 – 1924), Russian revolutionary leader, “One step forward, two steps back…It happens in the lives of individuals, and it happens in the history of nations and in the development of parties.” Nigerians must take the bull by the horns and break away from this jinx, this fixation, this stereotype.
Nigerians must make conscious sacrifices for the unity of this nation to remain intact. We cannot continue to hold on to old beliefs and attitudes towards one another to the detriment of our nation and expect a new consciousness to develop within our people. We cannot build a unified country with segregated policies and mindsets.
Former Indian Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi (1917 – 1984), once said during a press conference in New Delhi, India, “You cannot shake hands with a clenched fist.”
In order to carry out the task of restructuring this country, it is necessary to organisationally unite all people who love this nation, irrespective of status, religious affiliation and ethnic background and bind them as a single rallying force. Winning over the masses and firmly rallying them organisationally is one of the vital forces that can propel the successful cohesion and remoulding Nigeria.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917 – 1963), former U.S. president, in his inaugural address as president of the United States said, “Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate.” This is the ideal time for our leaders to negotiate with the people on the way forward for Nigeria.
A People’s Committee should be set up to organise and mobilise the broad mass of the people in carrying out the wishes and aspirations of the generality of Nigerians. The People’s Committee should be established in all parts of the country, thereby laying the political basis and mass foundation for the solution of restructuring our Nigeria. The local People’s Committee are to be autonomous in exercising administrative powers in their respective localities to perform administrative work in political, economic, cultural and all other spheres. The People’s Committee are to be organised by electing members at the meetings of the representatives of residents, with the intention to unite strongly, the workers, peasants, intellectuals, clergy and every other group in the society.
If we must bring a sweeping victory to what the vast majority of Nigerians truly want for Nigeria, we must quickly train young personnel that will represent the new face of Nigeria. They would be drawn from workers, peasants and other toiling people. Steps must be taken to set up training centres across the country to improve their political qualifications to enhance their role and function so as to hasten the rebuilding process of Nigeria.
The trainings should emphasise on the following areas: Empathy, emotional awareness, building bonds, communication skills, self-assessment, self-regulation, creativity, leveraging diversity, leadership, change catalyst, conflict management, service orientation, collaboration and corporation, social etiquettes. These are the linchpins to a successful transformation, the restructuring of Nigeria.
The clamour for the restructuring of Nigeria is not against any group, tribe or section of the country, but against poverty, corruption, insecurity, injustice chaos, nepotism, tribalism, cronysm, oppression, repression, marginalisation and unitarism.
Thomas Jefferson (1743 – 1826), the third president of the United States has this to say during the heydays of slavery in America, “I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; and that his justice cannot sleep forever…An exchange of situation is among possible events; that it may become probable by supernatural interference.” The fact that some people presently occupy government in Nigeria does not necessarily mean they would remain so forever. Soldiers come and go, but the barracks remain.
Dale Carnegie, the architect of human capital development, once said, “If there is only one secret of success, it lies in the ability to get other persons’ point of view. And see things from that person’s angle as well as from yours. People who can put themselves in the place of other people, who can understand the workings of their mind, need not worry what the future holds in store for them.” For Nigerians to enjoy unity, peace and progress, each section of the country needs to think from the perspective of the other sections of the country. We need to put ourselves in the shoes of others. The idea that some lives matter less is the root of all that is wrong with Nigeria.
Nelson Mandela (1918 -2015), South African President and lawyer, in his book, “The Struggle is My Life” said, “To overthrow oppression has been sanctioned by humanity and is the highest aspiration of every free man.”
Nigeria does not need a palliative remedy to its unending woes but a total cure. Nigerians are already wearied out living in a state of uncertainty and despair since time immemorial. Restructuring this country would bring about the much needed lease on life that Nigerians earnestly crave for.
To be continued.