I have heard people refer to this Great country in many terms, some remarkable and good while others are depending on the feelings of those passing the judgement/verdict,very disparaging. Passionately, I have heard people call Nigeria our little Jerusalem, a place of sanctuary, one that stands taller than its every challenge each and everytime. Yet, at other times, it is not uncommon to hear those at the wrong end of the country’s shortcoming refer to it as a geographical expression that parades nothing good but a collection of incongruent nationalities.
But of the many descriptions, one that tends to sit well in my heart always despite its tendency for misinterpretation is the assertion that Nigeria is barrack of some sorts. Don’t be in a haste to kill me for daring to say/admit that the barrack moniker thrills me. I am making the appeal here given the mental picture of depravity which we all have of the average Nigerian Barrack as made possible by those give the responsibility to keep our uniformed men and women well quartered. For their roles, our barracks tend to be citadels of the absurd, places fit only for animals of lower intelligence. Whereas our dear Country is, in more ways than one, similar to this barrack, it certainly not the one I have in mind. For all intents and purposes, my barracks is the one that is an eternal edifice; one that will outlive every uniform men and women. Indeed, the barrack I mean is the one every average soldier sums up as “soja comes, soja goes, and Barrack remains”. In this Nigerian Barrack, you and I live in and leave behind very intact or as Governor Wike puts it, Nigeria is a country whose unity is non-negotiable. We need every part of the country to succeed. Count Niger delta out of the plans of those who want to divide the Country.
Despite the debilitating odd that appears to push nay Sayers into venting their anger with calls for the fragmentation of Nigeria, the country will remain one barrack that will outlive all of us. Amalgamation of Nigeria is never in any way a mistake no matter how you are offended or thought of it. This is the point we must appreciate even as those that ought to know better are stoking the flames of discord just to heat up the polity. We must realize quickly that we have many things to loose in the event of break up. If nothing else, history is replete with examples. The case with South Sudan is very instructive. Evolving development in South Sudan, the world’s newest country, lai bare the fact that those who masterminded its birth were motivated more by selfish interest than patriotic fervor. The reasons are not far to seek because the actors are today, battling the same ghosts they fought against in the name of self-realization. Let me point out quickly here that this opinion of mine is not against those fighting for equity or fair play. It is about the need for all of us to be wary of politicians who disguise their selfish interests in patriotic colours while making calls that are motivated more by inordinate ambition.
Since this Great Country came into existence as one decades ago, history has it on records that genuine patriots have, in their numbers (and for infallible reasoning) harped on the need for all of us to continue working for the Country’s unity. In the First instance, they make the call convinced that God did not make any mistake in pulling together the different ethnic divides that make it up as one. To that extent, they were not and still not wrong in asking that we pull more the strings of unity than those that divide us. Therefore, it is not asking too much to expect that every well-meaning Nigerian and the country’s well wishers, politicians in particular, must think more of building on the beauty of those things that unite us rather than fan the embers of discord which tend to magnify and aggravate the discontent inherent in our divide. This is the point Governor Wike made in Sokoto when he recently reminded Nigerians most especially my brothers from South East that as part of the well deserved honour accorded those who paid the ultimate price for the unity of this Great Country, all of us must learn to understand that its unity is non-negotiable despite all the odds.
The import of the statement by Governor Wike is better appreciated when juxtaposed against recent statements and happenings coming from My South East especially from IPOB, MASSOB and other elites. In the past few months alone, a number of them are associated with comments which seem to suggest that they are working earnestly for the fragmentation of the country, sadly, for selfish reasons. For instance, before 2015 election a good for nothing politician from South East, in one of the interviews granted to one of the country’s leading tabloid was unequivocal in stating that Nigeria may collapse if Ex-President Goodluck Jonathan is allowed to contest the 2015 election or he didn’t not complete his term. Put differently, he is telling us that the continuous existence of this great country hinged on the ambition of one individual or ethnic region. To me, in actual fact, he was not speaking the minds of Nigeria. He is speaking because something has entered his pocket. This is a man who was on verge of joining his ancestors before Ex-President revive him with appointment and Federal Contracts.
If the truth must be told, he needs to be reminded that though every individual is entitled to his or her opinion, he or she must be mindful of the fact that no opinion should underscore the supremacy of the country over and above ambition of one individual or region. This is the point he must remember at all times because forgetting this point will undermine the sacrifices of people who paid the supreme price that the country may be one, it will equally amount to a disservice to their sacrifices. This is the point Governor Wike made clear in his statement at Sokoto. Onething Nigerians should know is that president and Governors will come and go, Nigeria remain because we will fare better as one.
Indeed, the need for all of us to work for the country’s continuous existence cannot be over-emphasized. First, we must not loose sight of the fact God himself did not make mistake in allowing the conglomerate called Nigeria. More fundamentally, we must be mindful of the lessons history has taught us. As much as we can recall, records of fragmented entities have no pages dedicated to the fulfillment of dreams. If evidences of history are anything to go by, the most obvious signs of fragmentation are stories of failed dreams and hopes. As it was in many of the continents so-called independent nations, so it is already manifesting in its newest nation. As it is the case with South Sudan, those that engineered its emergence are already at each other’s throat, fighting the same monster they wasted their time fighting to bring into existence. I see this scenario playing out in South East if Biafra comes. This is because an average anambrian does not see Ebonyi man as an Igbo man but as ‘onye Abakiliki’, even a man from Enugu as ‘onye Nsukka’, ‘onye wawa’. That oneness and love as one people is not there. How possible is it then for them to live as one people when the Biafra comes. Even in today’s Anambra State, if you are not from that state despite being an Igbo man, you are not allowed to contest for any elective post even in market politics.
Rather unconsciously in the case of South Sudan, they have made it abundantly clear that their reasons for fighting its creation have nothing to do with the collective aspiration of its people. It is clearer still that they were guided more by selfish interests rather than sincere nationalistic urge. In our case, are there signs that what we are fighting at the federal level are not replete in our different regions? The answer is clearly ‘no’.Even among IPOB and MASSOB and other groups fighting for the so called Biafra, have shared positions among themselves. Some called themselves GOVERNORs, Chief of Army Staff and what have you.
Clearly, we can tell from events unfolding right now in South Sudan that the people are being taken for a ride because they failed to be discerning. For that reason, they were not able to differentiate between the seeming patriotic fervor of the present political protagonists and their selfish interests. For that same reason, they succumbed to the actors’ guile manipulations. These realities are clearer now because as the saying goes, you can fool some people some time but you cannot full all the people all the time.

Paschal Candle, a public affairs analyst and a graduate of international studies and diplomacy University of Benin, writes from Abuja Nigeria.

Idiots everywhere you turn.