₦airaland Forum

Oh, Nigeria! My dear country, the self-purported giant of Africa that never was.

My dear nation is 61 years old, yet no stable electricity, no running water, and a lack of stable infrastructure. Nigeria is a shithole. Trump wasn’t wrong. Nigeria is a fucking shithole. In every sense of the word.

These are not the best of times to be a Nigerian. The country we apparently call home contends with rampant domestic insecurity and a worsening economic crisis, thousands of young people are increasingly voting with their feet, both legally and illegally.

Following a series of unfortunate incidents over the past few years, however, there is now a newfound paranoia about what happens to us in the outside world when we do make it past the Seme border. For the first time in the country’s history, there is a real sense that Nigerians are trapped between the proverbial devil and deep blue sea – threatened by poverty, violence and insecurity at home, but facing being hostility abroad too.

The country’s political class is at a total disconnect with the majority of the population. We have a median population age of just about 18 years, versus a political class filled almost exclusively with over-60s and over-70s people. This situation could be described as a minority rule. We live in a feudalist state where the leaders do not represent the majority visually, culturally, ideologically or even functionally, but rather represent their own narrow interests without any care for the majority population.

The man currently ruling Aso Rock makes no apologies for how little time he has for our nonsense these days. Who could fail to notice the tone of the State House press release when pressed just a little bit to sign the electoral amendment bill ahead of the deadline? "Oh, shut up, you plebians,". The disrespect we are currently subjected to as citizens is appalling. That disrespect is even getting common among our African contemporaries.

The situation is exacerbated by the fact that Nigeria has a strong case for being the world's least secure country in the world. It also has an unsustainable population growth rate and a rotten educational system that is ill-suited for most Nigerian youths. Against this inhospitable scenery, hundreds of thousands of young people continue to flee Nigeria each year, resigned to the harsh reality of living with an emergency consciousness in an increasingly harsh and unwelcomed diaspora, whether in Jakarta or Nairobi.

Right now, we are caught between a society that is disintegrating at the seams, a government that sees us as obstacles to be overcome, and a world that may no longer want us.

What have we done about it? Well, for starters, most Nigerians are docile, cowardly and dishonest people who blame God/Satan for the state of the country even though we walked with their two feet to the polling station to vote for geriatric mannequins to be president. In 2015 and 2019, many Nigerians voted for Buhari but yet we still blame the devil. Why? Lack of self-awareness and resistance to taking accountability.

Guess what? We are also the poverty capital of the world overtaking India in 2017. At least we are number one in something…Right? We have an I age as fraudsters due to drug dealers and cultists making a name for themselves in countries such as Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Mexico, Brazil to name a few. That isn’t very good optics for the largest nation in Africa. India, Germany, China, the US and Brazil are all powerhouses and have something to show for their size. With us? Nothing.

What are we good for?

We haven’t figured out a way to get out of our cycle and it’s 2022. We may be stuck that way.

I figured it out.

We need the fifth REPUBLIC. We are currently in the 4th republic governed by a 23-year-old constitution that is simply outdated and unfair to most citizens.

A constitution is a body of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is acknowledged to be governed.

Nigerians have yet to establish what we are as a nation. We don’t know what we want. I can tell you how.

Separation of religion and state

Politics and religion should never be mixed together. It’s a toxic, machiavellian combination that is guaranteed to cause state failure due to its biased and corrosive nature. There’s no room for Sharia in our constitution. We need to introduce secularism that removes religion from political economic and social institutions in Nigeria for a stable nation.

A perfect political system?

Ladies and Gentlemen, I introduce to you the Proportional representation system(PR). PR characterizes electoral systems in which divisions in an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. Implementing a PR system means that Nigeria will become a multi-party state. This ensures that ethnoreligious tensions will be alleviated greatly and ethnic minorities are fairly represented. It's not a perfect system but it will improve our chances for prosperity and stability. PR decentralizes power so, it will make the presidency less attractive to wannabe despots and authoritarians.

Decentralization.

Decentralization is the transfer of authority and responsibility for public functions from the central government to subordinate or quasi-independent government organizations. Decentralization is necessary for a multi-ethnic state. No ifs, no buts. Having a centralized government in a multi-ethnic nation means chances of disgruntled citizens who think they aren’t represented fairly. This increases the chances of ethnic tensions and therefore chances of social instability.

Conclusion

Building a nation is difficult but is achievable. It’s hard work, we just need a clear direction on where to start and I believe creating a new republic is the way forward.

https://alise.substack.com/p/enter-the-5th-republic?utm_source=url
Follow on Twitter: twitter.com/alisekazah

We need to go our different ways. The problems are insurmountable.

Nigeria does not need a new constitution at the moment. We need new citizens that can change the course of the country, and constitutional change will be addressed at that point.

The constitution, flag or anthem can change, but the people will always remain the same. Impatience, greed, corruption, fraud…. Will always run in our veins.

The people need to be reorientation in some way that everybody starts appreciating values.

Split the country in 20 parts, same ideology would continue in our division. We genetically and morally polluted!

That's the only solution to Nigeria unity, anything other than that is just postponing the evil day

jerseyboy:
We need to go our different ways. The problems are insurmountable.

As if. Nigeria men are cowards.

CoronaVirusPro:
Nigeria does not need a new constitution at the moment. We need new citizens that can change the course of the country, and constitutional change will be addressed at that point.

The constitution, flag or anthem can change, but the people will always remain the same. Impatience, greed, corruption, fraud…. Will always run in our veins.

The people need to be reorientation in some way that everybody starts appreciating values.

Split the country in 20 parts, same ideology would continue in our division. We genetically and morally polluted!

Seems you don't know what you are saying, how will the new citizen emerge when the nation itself is built on lies, oppression, lopsidedness and injustice.

Human only adapt to his environment as a society with rules and order would make its citizen responsible. When you have a society of weak institutions with nepotism and tribalism as norms, you should expect the people of that society to behave better.

A new constitution will correct the foundational mess and bring about patriotism from the people, as it stands today, even none of your elected representatives is patriotic to Nigeria course, all what everyone is craving for is how to cut his own share and move on

Ttalk:
Seems you don't know what you are saying, how will the new citizen emerge when the nation itself is built on lies, oppression, lopsidedness and injustice.

Human only adapt to his environment as a society with rules and order would make its citizen responsible. When you have a society of weak institutions with nepotism and tribalism as norms, you should expect the people of that society to behave better.

A new constitution will correct the foundational mess and bring about patriotism from the people, as it stands today, even none of your elected representatives is patriotic to Nigeria course, all what everyone is craving for is how to cut his own share and move on

Constitution won’t change human behavior. Can’t you see our international reputation? Is it the constitution that also tarnished our image or people?

Change starts from within, right from the family. If Nigeria splits today, same leaders who pilot affairs of Nigeria will still be the god fathers in respective countries, so what will the constitution change

Does the constitution address the ills I have listed, or will it address an average Nigeria to rethink? NO!

CoronaVirusPro:
Nigeria does not need a new constitution at the moment. We need new citizens that can change the course of the country, and constitutional change will be addressed at that point.

The constitution, flag or anthem can change, but the people will always remain the same. Impatience, greed, corruption, fraud…. Will always run in our veins.

The people need to be reorientation in some way that everybody starts appreciating values.

Split the country in 20 parts, same ideology would continue in our division. We genetically and morally polluted!

An obscurantist statement! No matter how good a driver is...if your vehicle is no good,you are going no where fast!

CoronaVirusPro:
Constitution won’t change human behavior. Can’t you see our international reputation? Is it the constitution that also tarnished our image or people?

Change starts from within, right from the family. If Nigeria splits today, same leaders who pilot affairs of Nigeria will still be the god fathers in respective countries, so what will the constitution change

Does the constitution address the ills I have listed, or will it address an average Nigeria to rethink? NO!

I don't agree with you. Have you seen any civilian that disobey military barrack rules where there's some level of discipline when to enter barrack, obey guard orders, national anthem and the rest. But every Nigerian breaks such rules elsewhere. That tells your when the rules and institutions are firm, citizen would key into it.

Man would have been living like animals if not for some forms of rules and when you see someone behaves in such manner that shows he hasn't been brought up to behave by rules. Every peaceful society is guided by we'll established institutions but ours is weak because of makers of such laws are not sincere.

Nigeria need it's own constitution drafted by Nigeria people, fundamentals questions need to be address for the country to progress. It's either we have it now or allow things to continue to deteriorate

Now tell me the cost of having a new constitution and I would tell you thousand of dangers for not having one.

Having a change of attitude doesn't stop the country from having new constitution as one cannot replace the other, it can only compliment the other

ebufa:
An obscurantist statement! No matter how good a driver is...if your vehicle is no good,you are going no where fast!

Thank you sir, like saying a pilot should acquire more skills to be able to fly a faulty plane, that's suicide

YOU ARE RIGHT.

NIGERIANS AND OUR NASS DON'T UNDERSTAND CONSTITUTION, BUHARI YAPS.

THAT'S WHY BMF-BOKOISWA IS PURSUING RIFA-RUGA ISLAMISATION FULANISATION AND ANARCHY

AND FC-FULANI CONFEDERATE WITH ZEAL AND WITHOUT CONSIDERATION FOR YORUBA, IGBO, TIVS, IJAWS, IBIBIOS ETCETERA.

THE FULANIS ARE RECKLESS AND DESPERATE NOW. THAT'S THE FOOD FOR THOUGHT.

We don't need this DECREE 24.

BUHARI jettisoned Jonathan's Draft and refused to review DECREE 24 in line with what NIGERIANS want. He is just patching DECREE 24 here and there like a badly torn tube.

We must return FULL AUTONOMY OF POLICING RESOURCING AND ELECTIONEERING AUTHORITIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES TO OUR 36 CONSTITUTIONAL STATES NOW NOW NOW.

GOVERNORS ARE THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE PERSONAE OF THEIR STATES AND THEIR EFFECTIVENESS AND PERFORMANCE MUST BE MEASURED BY THEIR WORK.

Ttalk:
Thank you sir, like saying a pilot should acquire more skills to be able to fly a faulty plane, that's suicide

gbam!! that particular obscurantist argument has loose bowels!