By Segun Gbadegesin

From Aristotelian theory of physics and modern theory of spiritualism, we may infer a theory of social and political life with insecurity as its signpost. Its central thesis is that insecurity is a function of the vacuum created by weak leadership, inadequate structures and policies that neglect the welfare of citizens, especially the youth. Simplistic in its formulation, its appeal is its explanatory import.

In one of his most interesting theories, the Master of Those Who Know, observe that there cannot be an empty space in nature because for every such potential void, there is matter to fill it up. Nature abhors a vacuum. We know, of course, that later theorists refute this theory. But Aristotle’s proposition soon took on a life of its own and it has since become a popular idiom in psychology, spiritualism, business and yes, politics.

Consider spiritualism. If we have a tripartite nature comprising body, soul, and spirit as many worldviews, including our traditional offerings suggest, then all three need to be catered to. And since we tend to prioritize the spiritual for various reasons, including personal worries about the unknown, it is not a surprise that we have grown a thriving industry to serve this need.

But where and when moderation takes a flight, and we sense a void that is not satisfied by existing spiritual agencies, that void will be filled up quickly with the emergence of extremist and fake tendencies. Thus, cults and violent jihadists. A free society with a liberal posture to the expression of spiritual values, but limited interest in the development of the mind, is therefore susceptible to this destructive urge.

That our society has little to no interest in the development of the mind is not a creepy observation. Our colonial and first republic experience was far more positive in the matter of a laser focus on education. The federal and regional budgets devoted a healthy attention to education and this translated into great achievements which also guaranteed us an efficient civil service, productive private enterprise and responsible governance structures.

Now, turn to every HDI in the last 20 years and you’d be sorry for the children that we are bringing up. The 2020 figure of 0.539 which classifies us as one of the lowest in the world was the highest since 2003. This gives us a good idea of what has been the lot of our children. Without opportunities of a normal life, a void is created and nature abhors a void. Something somehow must fill the void. Cultism beckons. They answer.

This is really what feeds into every cycle of angst in social life and we seem to have no grip on how to get out of it. The minds that we refuse to develop and equip with sellable productive skills will be available for destructive ventures. Ancestral wisdom teaches us as much: the child that we refuse to train will end up auctioning off the house that we build. While we are proud of our undistracted focus on infrastructural development, hoodlums with their minds set on making quick bucks of the expensive gadgets are busy formulating their plans. It’s already happening.

One face of insecurity, its root cause, is the society’s abandonment of its social responsibility of educating the youth functionally and qualitatively and instead leaving them to fend for themselves. The other face is society’s neglect of its responsibility to provide adequate security for members. It’s a no brainier. If you refuse to do your part to develop your children so they can live responsibly and contribute positively to social life, then at least be sure you secure yourself firmly so your peace is not shattered by those you refuse to train. This we refuse to do. So, what do we really expect?

I know. Someone will be quick to tell me that there is crime in every society, including the most advanced. And it includes crimes committed by the most developed minds. True indeed! What makes the difference between ours and such societies is that they have a well-developed security and crime-bursting system while we fail on both scores. The rate of unsolved crimes in such societies is negligible compared to ours. And because of our lack, the vacuum thus created is easily filled. How?

With a weak intelligence and crime bursting system, corrupt officials are quick to fill the void, creating a graft industry that feeds on the innocent and denies them of justice. This also has its repercussions as frustrated citizens handicapped in the system seek other means. Jungle justice is born out of such frustration. It is easily predictable.

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Bandits, kidnappers and killer herdsmen flaunt their AK-47s unchallenged. They invade farms, schools and residential neighborhoods, cowing their victims into submission. This may trigger a response from daredevil avengers with a mission, thus filling the vacuum. And they may be joined by hoodlums who have nothing to lose. It’s happening before our very eyes and we are at a loss. But we created the void.

Our response thus far has been to create more official terror as a counter to what we consider to be illegal sources of the terror inflicted on citizens. It has not worked because even in this effort, we create huge vacuum. We pump funds into the weapons industry for use of police and soldiers but a fraction of such funds get used for the purpose.

To avoid the anarchy of the state of nature, in which the vacuum created by an absence of a competent authority is filled by warring groups competing for scarce resources, we created government represented by the state. We reject monarchical institutions in favor of a democratic republic that is expected to cater for the social, economic, and security needs of all. But we know that the spirit of anarchy that exists in the state of nature still lurks around the state. With competent leadership, the threat of anarchy remains subdued. However, with weak leadership, a vacuum is created, and anarchical tendencies quickly rally to fill the void. This is happening.

National unity is our buzz word. We invoke it at every opportunity as evidence of our patriotic zeal. We deplore ethnic and tribal sympathies. Surprisingly, we fail to recognize that while the latter are the first sentiments we are oriented into and they don’t need much help to be operationalized, supranationalism beyond ethnic nationalism requires hard work with a leadership that is above board. That is, a leadership that is seen as playing the role of a supranationalist without being a closet ethnic nationalist. When this is missing, a vacuum is created in national life and ethnicity quickly moves in. This is happening.

How does a progressive government respond to this phenomenon? The success of progressivism in the last years of colonialism and the first few years of independence in this country is a pointer in the right direction for an answer to this question. Progressivism is people-centered, placing them above structures and materials. Their welfare is prioritized and the development of their mind is number one on its agenda. A progressive government that abandons this model is so only in name.

In terms of policies, we have failed the generation of youths roaming round our cities. Take education as an example. We are granting more and more university licenses even though millions of our youths are rejected admission and we have no other avenues for them to advance. We are not even providing the budget needed to make these universities operate optimally. And we are training students to become worthless graduates who cannot complete in the marketplace of skills.

Yet we neglect to invest in youths’ acquisition of middle level skills that can trigger development in the technological-information age. The federal government can lead efforts in technological education with the establishment of technical schools as we used to have in the first republic. If we do, we would absorb from the streets high school graduates with no prospects of university admission, whose eyes are now so deviously set on cultism and other crimes. We will fill the void with useful and productive ventures.

Just a thought!