When you live in an old, broken and leaking house, you spend a fortune on maintenance and still endure a miserable, uninspiring life under its roof. When a truck comes along and accidentally knocks down the old house, you have a chance to build a new, better house.
That’s exactly what is happening to Nigeria today. The country was built on a faulty foundation by British colonizers who only wanted to strip it of its natural resources and make it dependent on British factories for expensive imports. To make sure the country never really came together to realize its full potential, they played on the ethnic, regional and religious sentiments of the people to keep them perpetually at odds with one another. It is called “Divide and Rule.” At “independence” in 1960, the British handed over to those they considered best suited to carry on this evil secret agenda.
For many years, the country has erected a superstructure of toxic value systems on this weak foundation. It is marked by ethnic, religious and regional prejudices.. Plus the related evils of cronyism, nepotism, quota systems and total disregard for merit and contribution. President Muhammadu Buhari became the culmination and finest example of this.
Consumed by a secret, sectional self-serving and provincial worldview, he set about tearing down the little that was left of Nigerian nationhood to bolster his imaginary power base. He justified appointment from a very narrow demographic to key civil and security positions in a highly heterogeneous society. He justified the denial of appointments and projects to people from areas that did not massively vote for him and his party as a natural corollary of their electoral choice!
When people from his ethnic stock were accused of systemic violence and land grabbing against poor farming communities in the middle belt, he looked the other way. Despite always promising to investigate the incidents, it soon became clear that no one would be arrested or tried for this particular offense under this president.
The only person standing trial for “terrorism” in Nigeria today is Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. His crime is that he called for a referendum to enable the people of southeast Nigeria decide whether they want to stay in Nigeria or not. Most lawyers would say that constitutionally, Kanu is within his rights to so demand. He has not killed, kidnapped or harmed anyone. Meanwhile, not a single killer herdsman, Boko Haram or ISWAP fighter, bandit, kidnapper or “unknown gunman” is standing public trial in any court of law within Nigeria. Those who are caught are routinely rehabilitated, paid and released or even absorbed into the Nigerian armed forces.
By totally destroying the economic, ethical, moral, political, social and spiritual fabrics of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari has unwittingly opened the eyes of Nigerians to the folly of their old ways. Nigerians now realize, for the first time ever, that they must hold hands together to build a new Nigeria founded on love, service, charity, merit, mutual respect, common vision, equity and justice to all no matter their creed or tongue.
Nigerians finally realize that what matters most is what they can do for their country, not what they can take from their country, where they come from or the faith they profess. One man and one political party clearly embody and animate this new spirit in the February 2023 elections. But it took the reckless and mindless pillaging of Nigeria by Buhari, his lieutenants and his party for Nigerians to resolve to turn a new leaf. Shakespeare was right. “Sweet are the uses of adversity…”
Victor Anazonwu, a journalist, brand strategist, author and corporate trainer, writes from Lagos
