Nigeria in need of demosthenes

Shortly after inspecting the inside of my eyelids and still on the bed, my two children walked into my room. I knew they wanted to joust. “Who did you vote for in the elections between Jonathan and Buhari?” The boy asked.

I had answered that question before and guessed that they must have had snatches of communication on same subject at school. “Buhari,” I answered. “Why Buhari?” Both of them wanted to know. At their ages, I didn’t know anything about statesmanship and I didn’t want to bother tweens with the twaddle that you vote “against” a candidate and “for” another not necessarily because you like them.

Then came the poser: “are you enjoying Buhari.” Whatever that meant I did not know but I couldn’t answer and I kept quiet honorably. “Well, we love Jonathan.” They chorused.

I sprang to life, “it is your right to love Jonathan. He is a good man.

Just like Buhari, who I was entitled to vote for.”

Many in my position might have used that chance to proselytize young ones wrongly. To state flatly the need to support someone “in this house,” is grossly unfair. Evolving people must give people the chance to ask questions and not to criticize. Wanton criticism without balanced praise give a people a restricted vision of the mind.

The existential question that has to be asked is: what is the answer to Nigeria’s problems? The provision of thought leadership has to be a top priority; others call it ideological education, if Nigeria is to move forward.

Regrettably many political persons don’t care diddlysquat about the country and encourage youths to serve Molotov Cocktails just so they can be in elective office. That statesman in Kano recently advised northern clerics to stop building mosques and educate girls. The economy of the north, enlightenment and awareness of the youths and girls are important. The reason we have female suicide bombers is that these girls aren’t educated towards the discerning spirit of understanding that they can be useful to self, society and country. Responsibility for this lies with the dangerous religious clericalism of clerics.

Leading men in the north must begin to promote thought leadership to the people of that area to belie stereotypes that the north is a burden to other parts of Nigeria.

Humanity refers to all of us and not just some of us. Humanity to some Nigerians, owing to their histrionics, seems to apply to only some of us.

It was Pope Francis (2016) who said and I believe it to be true that “Freedom is not always about doing what you want. In fact, it is the gift of being able to choose the right way.” Every civilized society must continually maintain its strict rules if it must remain civilized. Nigeria can only move forward if everyone becomes open-minded progressives, progressives who know the importance of hard work and its rewards. Progressives know the importance of fighting together for success as opposed to ring-fencing people, which leads to failure.

True nationalists fight shy of titles, they believe in the quality of their goals not the quantity of their goods and promote a pluralistic society.

What brings about growth is the seriousness of purpose, their aggressive style of governance, to make our society free from stereotypes.

People’s enthusiasm for development wanes only in places where the national philosophy is that of bland bigotry. It is hard to appeal to such people to secure a majority for polices deigned for progress. Universities, places for research and learning have turned to places where regionalism and tribalism reigns. If you were a northerner (and vice versa), born in the South, educated in a particular university, rose to occupy a professorial chair, you couldn’t become a Vice Chancellor unless you went back to your home-zone. Nepotism in the academia, a place where minds should be enlarged to increase vanishing points, a theatre set up for healthy jousts, to battle for ideas, to contest between opposed philosophies has now turned to centers of jingoism. It’s no wonder that the Martin Luther Kings are absent here.

Ethnic, political and religious turbulence in Kaduna over time has led to the death of many people. The state has been hijacked by yes-men bold enough to kill people in
Southern Kaduna. No strategy is in place to deradicalise the minds of people who aspire in the footsteps of felons by the provision of thought leadership and the apprehension of felons who should be confined to the ‘basement.’ Why hasn’t there ever been a security tab on dangerous people, on notorious groups? This lack of security paves the way for them to emerge out of the shadows to cause mayhem.

Thought leadership might have nipped the Boko Haram crisis in the bud before it reared. It is the only thing that will make many youths of Rivers States, active participants in the economy of the state and not the situation where it has been subordinated to the Igbo, Akwa Ibom people and the Hausa. These (Rivers youths) then settle for entitlements without a love for industry (no disrespect). It is the only thing that can attract investors to the Niger Delta.

Thought leadership would see the separation of religion from state affairs. It would see the end of the discriminatory castes systems in Edo (Akoko Edo Local Council of Edo State) and the community of people in Idunu Ahaba, in Delta State where human beings are treated as flunkeys. Thought leadership would make politicians reinvent their parties to return to power when they lose elections and not de-camp to winning parties.

This practice smacks of a hoax and insincerity giving the writer the impression that political parties in Nigeria aren’t strong parties; they only live on government patronage.

This is the reason most politicians, except for a handful in this fourth republic, lose relevance after their tour of duty. And most, except for government patronage, would not win a ward election outside their mega party if they submit as a candidate for an unknown political party. Thought leadership must be provided by leaders with integrity and with openness of character and not by plain folks of the land. It will speak to our hearts to build our country.‬ Who else can provide this but Demosthenes and Platos who “speak softly and carry a big stick.” (Apologies to Theodore Roosevelt.”)

Abah, writes from Port Harcourt.