DO WE STILL HAVE GOOD MEN IN
NIGERIA?
I am maniacally bewielded and tempted to ask DO WE STILL HAVE GOOD MEN
IN NIGERIA? or can we simply say that evil triumph in Nigeria because the good
men just seat and do nothing? Thus just as the world has remained in constant struggle for peace, so also is
Nigeria in constant struggle for peace since inception as an independent state
in 1960.
Recently news emerging from every
part of the nation are threats of breakup and every parts of the nation is riddled with this
threats. It seems to be that the history of Nigeria is written in blood, in
particular is the 20th century specifically in the 1990s(1960-1999), a period
where we witnessed massive killings ranging from massacre, assassination,
murder, civil war, genocide etc. Thousands of human lives (Nigerians)
were wasted, maimed, millions displaced and rendered homeless, properties worth billions of dollars
destroyed which inevitably distorted our progress and development as a Nation.
It is in this light, that peace
loving Nigerians , experts and mankind waited with anxiety for the 2000s (21st
century) hoping to be a century of National Peace and development. But
unfortunately the last 15 years Nigerians are yet to witness that peace they
sought after, however the drumbeat of separation as a Nation and
underdevelopment seems to be reaching the crescendo instead of abating. What is
more pathetic is the sense of bombing cacophony of gunfire at one time in the
south south, north east, north west which has seen armless civilians killed and
millions rendered homeless and created
refugee camps such as Malkohi camp, Makeshift camp, Dalori camp, Biu camp etc and other temporary shelters provided in other parts of
the country. However this displaced and millions of people languishing in
refugee camps and other temporary camps across the country are indeed lucky and
should be thankful to God except if their present condition makes them envy the
dead.
What is however discomforting is
the extreme difficulty of political scientist, diplomats etc in the country to find a long lasting
solution or offer explanation to this growing menace in the country which is
halting our development as a Nation. Thus even though some experts have blamed
the foregoing trend on porous territorial border, the DO OR DIE ambition of political leaders , the shoot at
sight of protesters against the government of the day for any anti-people
policy, which I feel is responsible for the inability of the teeming youths to protest
on certain policies that concerns them as citizens and youths of this great
Nation.
We must ask ourselves critical
questions as a Nation, for instance could it be that some Nigerians can only
enrich themselves when people are killed, or maimed through terrorist attack,
bombing etc. or could it be that arms companies tend to test their new weapon
by sponsoring conflicts and crisis especially in Nigeria and indeed Africa?
Development never come to any
Nation that experience series of bombing , murder, killings of protesters or
kidnapping etc. Unfortunately what halted our development immediately after
independence is gradually returning to this our present time. Many would ask
could it be that the various National conference we had failed, and had no
impact to the well being of our Nation?
The Oputa Panel we all thought was conveyed to correct all the wrongs of the
1990s could it be described as a failed attempt?
or could it just be that the same people that
created this problem in the 1990s are still very much relevant and still same
people in the helms of affairs in our political landscape? I guess your answer
is as good as mine and in moving forward we must answer this question
truthfully without sentiments.
Nigeria is currently into 4 wars in my view, the
corruption war , Boko Haram war, the
Biafra agitation and just recently the Tompolo fight. what to me is ironical in
the Tompolo fight is that, since it started
2 bombings of our oil pipeline at a period when oil prices is going down day by
day and the naira to a dollar keeps increasing hmmmmm!!!
We must tackle this issues head-on
if we must move forward and progress. Just as the prophetic declaration of my
mentor the eminent, eloquent and erudite LATE CHIEF GANI FAWEHINMI (SAN) said at
the oputa panel "my lordship if we must develop as a Nation and move
forward, we must seat down and discuss
if we must remain together as a Nation".Yet shabby conference were still organized with a "NO
GO AREA" and youths not represented could only best be described as FRAUD and
ROBBERY of the youths of this Nation.
Thus the roadmap to National peace
is not by wasting resources organizing conferences, signing Impotent MOUs
and attending uninvited peacekeeping meeting, rather more efforts should
be geared towards National fight against poverty, Youth inclusiveness in
governance, create jobs for the army of unemployed
and of course as my Professor(D.A.
Omenma) will say narrow the gap between the island of the affluence and the sea
of the poor. Because as they say an hungry man is an angry man. it is therefore
in the interest of National peace that eradication of poverty through the
redistribution of National Resources is advised and necessary . This to me is
imperative because as John F Kennedy asserts : if the poor cannot sleep because
they are hungry, then also the rich cannot sleep because the poor are awake.
Comr George Moore
Youth Advocate and Social
Commentator.
