{A Key Note Address Delivered at the One-Day Sensitization/ Orientation Peace/ Security Programme Organized by the International Peace Academy in partnership with the Abia State Government @ The Dr. Michael Okpara Auditorium, Umuahia, on 2nd Dec, 2021.)
INTRODUCTION
All protocols duly observed, I wish to thank God for the grace to be here today. As the Bible says, we’re it not for His mercy we would have all been consumed. These are perilous days but God’s grace and mercy have kept us alive. I wish to thank the International Peace Academy and Crisis management for inviting me to chair this event and also to deliver this key note address. I salute the Abia State Government for partnering with the academy to organize this very important event.
HUMAN DYNAMICS
The Almighty God, The Creator of Heaven and Earth and all that dwells therein, first made man in HIS Image and then put him in communities with different languages and cultures consisting Ethnic Nationalities. These ethnic Nations then merge in many instances to form Countries or what you may call Mega Nations. First is that man has been designed to live in communities even within an ethnic Nation..And when people live in communities, they interact with each other, and these interactions may cause frictions, and without adequate ‘oiling’, these frictions may cause heat, which can turn uncomfortable and bring disagreements. It is to ‘oil’ these interactions that communities set rules of interactions and create boundaries and buffer zones and other measures to ensure that the interactions produce more ‘light’ than ‘heat’ It is the light that brings development in the community. When Farmers and Cattle herders interactions in a community produce much heat because some are not respecting the rules, then neither the farmer nor the herder can do meaningful business and poverty takes over , preventing grass-root development.
The interactions between ethnic nations are understandably more complicated. Because of different languages and culture and some times different religious beliefs, different world views emerge. Because of these differences, human beings see things and interpret the world from those coloured prisms and often this leads to misunderstanding, suspicion and dis agreements. It is for this reason that Countries or mega- Nations write constitutions to spell out terms of the relationship and define meanings and concepts in an effort to narrow differences and bring in more commonalities.
BROKEN CO-EXISTENCE
So very often, there are breaks in the peaceful coexistence of Communities and Nations. Some of the causes of this break include
. Non adherence to the terms of relationship
. Non enforcement of the terms of the relationship
. Blurred or uncertain terms of relationship
. Skewed Benefits of the relationship
. Loss of mutual benefit in the relationship
. Lack of uniting vision
. Discriminations, Marginalization and mistreatment
. Pervading Poverty in the Community, ethnic Nation or Country
. Increased greed and wickedness by gate keepers and leaders
. Lack of Effective leadership/ Failed leadership.
THE NIGERIAN CONUNDRUM
The Colonial British Government brought the different ethnic Nationalities into first the Southern and Northern Protectorates and the Colony of Lagos. In 1914, they merged all together for administrative convenience to form the Country – Nigeria. Later, the Country was organized into three Regions- East, West and North and later Midwest region was carved out mostly from the West.
Our First Republic political leaders focused on seeking independence from the Colonial masters. They got Regional independence in 1956-1959 and full National Independence in 1960. The 320 or so ethnic Nationalities were wielded together into a country. The 1959 Independence Constitution and the 1963 Republican Constitution spelt out the terms of relationship between the Federating units.
In 1966, this constitution was unilaterally changed by the Military who largely perpetuated them selves in power from 1966 till 1999( with short civilian intervention in 1979-1983). The 1999 constitution is completely unrelated to the 1959 or 1963 constitutions which were written by the founders of Independent Nigeria. This is the PRIMARY reason for the broken relationship and has contributed to the Nigerian conundrum.
Second is that after Independence and the formation of a Country, we needed to now build a mega -Nation. Again just after 5 years of this effort, the military again intervened and began forcing alien relationship using military tactics. This has further broken the relationship making it no longer mutually beneficial and satisfactory to all stakeholders.
Thirdly, Nigeria’s political leadership stock seems to have been in short supply as the quality remains suspect. Nigeria seems to have lacked sufficient quantities of political leadership that have the right competences, the right character and the right courage to begin to undo the wrongs inflicted on Nigeria by the military.Well may be because those with military background seem to have monopolized top Nigerian political leadership over these years, no one has taken the bold steps needed to reconfigure our Country and build a truly United Nation. Added to this leadership failure , we seem to have bred many predators who pretend to be leaders. Because of their actions and inactions which seemed to pander to selfish and group interests with scant regard to the needs of the average Nigerians or the common good, the infractions, cleavages and inequities seem to be widening at community, sub ethnic and ethnic Nationality levels and worse so at the National levels . The emerging feelings of injustice, inequity and unfair play have combined with pervading poverty and endemic corruption to bring our Nation to a state of social disequilibrium manifesting as severe insecurity across the Nation.
WAY FORWARD
Communities and Nations rise and fall on the quality of their leadership. Yes the Nigerian situation may not have been entirely caused by the present crop of leadership, it is their challenge to halt further drifting of Nigeria into disunity, disquiet and possible self- destruct.
And that is why we are leading the NEW NIGERIA GROUP to birth a new Nigeria in 2023 that WILL WORK FOR ALL. It is because this old and expiring Nigeria no longer works for many, just working for a few that there is disquiet and lack of peace in our Country Nigeria. To do this, we must install a crop of ENLIGHTENED, DE-TRIBALIZED, VISIONARY, COMPETENT,HONEST AND COURAGEOUS LEADERSHIP that will do the needful to change the narrative. This leadership will rejig our national structure and systems., Restore Justice, equity and fair play in the Nation and lead a cultural value reorientation turning Nigeria into into a globally competitive Nation, that is at PEACE with itself. That is our call for today. And our plea is that all gathered here today must come aboard.
CONCLUSION
Special Guest of Honour, Guest Speakers, distinguished guests, and all who have come here to join forces with the International Peace Academy, I wish to conclude by emphasizing that Peaceful coexistence in a multi ethnic, multi religious Nation like ours, can not be achieved by wishes and platitudes, nor can it by rhetoric. It is by taking action. The call today is that we all must join hands to ensure we enthrone peaceful coexistence by loving our neighbors as ourselves as the Bible enjoins us and ensuring that we do justice to all and sundry. I wish us all a successful conference. Thank you all. God bless
- Mazi Dr. Sam I. Ohuabunwa, OFR, MON, NPOM, is the Convener, New Nigeria Group.