NIGERIA AND THE DANGER OF ‘PLAN B’
So, regardless of whatever we may see on the surface (and I have said this before), what is fueling the crisis of division in the country today is not the criminal tendencies of some poor herders (who are no different from other opportunistic criminals across the country) but rather the mutual ethno-religious suspicions that have been allowed to fester because of the mismanagement of our diversity. When opportunistic zealots who use religion as a ladder to power get caught in the web of their own “moral vigilantist chauvinism” (apology to my friend, Leena Hoffman), the right thing to do is relieve them of national responsibility. But under this government, that is expecting too much. In fact, the more divisive a public official is, the more the inclination to keep such a character in office.
From the examples of many failed states, when ethnic or/and religious differences are magnified in a milieu where there is a preponderance of guns in the hands of young people with little or no formal education, it is usually better to redress both real and perceived grievances before they accumulate and fester. When those in charge of affairs are accused—even if wrongly—of promoting an agenda at variance with their oath of office, it is easy for unscrupulous politicians to manipulate feelings of relative deprivation, especially when benefits (including political as well as economic) decline and expectations increase. That is what is happening in Nigeria today.
I saw this problem coming very early in the life of this administration. In my intervention, I referenced a popular story which I said would serve the president and I will repeat it as my final word today. In one village was an all-knowing legend who had answers for every question and solutions to every problem. But also in this village was a small boy who took delight in confounding people and he was determined to demystify the legend. One morning, the small boy went to the old man with his hands clasped behind his back, holding a live chick. “I hope there is no problem my boy” the old man asked on sighting the boy. “No problem Sir”, replied the boy, “but I am here to put your knowledge to test. I am holding a chick in my hands and I want you to tell me whether it is alive or dead.”
The plan was that if the old man said it was alive he would squeeze the chick dead before presenting it and if he said it was dead, the boy would then present it alive. But the old man was wise to the plot. Smiling, he said: “whether the chick is alive or dead is a simple problem my son. The answer is in your hands.”
The message from the legend is simple to grasp in the context of what ails our country today. Whether we have a united Nigeria where citizens can maximize their potential regardless of where they come from or retreat to the Hobbesian state where citizens begin to look for ‘Plan B’ as a way of escape from self-inflicted tragedies, President Buhari is the master of our collective destiny: The answer is now in his hands!
To all my Muslim readers, Eid Mubarak! Olusegun Adeniyi, Abuja