As we trudge towards 2014, the critical question every Nigerian ought to ponder conscientiously include whether we should step into that epoch transformed beyond President Goodluck Jonathan’s imagination as a new nation with new structures, new aspirations, new thinking and, therefore, a brand new constitution. Or shall we enter the era as discordant as we are today, encumbered and impaired by colonial and neo-colonial cobwebs, which make us not only a perennial volcano but also a hapless, incorrigible laughing stock of the African continent?
I know that Pastor Enoch Adeboye is passionate about praying for Nigeria, and we are quite appreciative, but for how long will the man of God continue to do so for a nation that cannot foresee trouble or its source and pre-empt it? I raised this point because, considering the Boko Haram security challenge facing us today, no one seems to bother as to whether, in all sincerity, looking at Nigeria’s standing but informal army of Almajiris, which Bishop Matthew Kukah estimated (The Nation, 1/5/2011) at between 12-15 million from where Maitatsine obviously recruited his members in 1983 and from where Mohammed Yussuf and Abubarkar Shekau recruited their followers, and from where ambitious politicians also recruit thugs and all– whether it will be well with Nigeria as we enter 2014—whether seeing elements of MASSOB milling around and bidding their time, and seeing the OPC in sidon dey look posture it will still be well with Nigeria tomorrow.
Although these other groups are yet to wear the toga of real militants, can it be said that they pose no imminent danger, considering the fact that a new government may emerge tomorrow to provoke and push them to the wall like in the case of Boko Haram whose leader Yussuf was controversially murdered by security men?
If in actual fact these groups do pose some threat, must we wait until we are overtaken by the imperative of another amnesty situation before we engage them in talks? Why must we be in the habit of shouting ‘hold’ only when the shot has left the gun? Why won’t we for once make hay while the sun shines? Like the Almajiri, which we are told is part of the people’s culture in the North, are MASSOB and OPC et al people’s culture? Certainly not. Then, why not start the inexorable national conference gradually by opening a dialogue window for such groups as a necessary prelude to a holistic national confab? If we could not decisively rein in the Niger Delta militants, is it the MASSOB, OPC et al that we will be able to rein in when push comes to shove?
Early last June, the US State Department put attractive price tags on a number of leading terrorists, including the Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau, but up to now these elements are still at large. Understandably, the highest price tag of $7million was placed on Abubakar Shekau, who recently posted a message on the internet calling on Muslims around the world to join the struggle to create an Islamic state in Nigeria. Although Shekau’s message appeared to be directed to the outside world, his real target was and still remains Nigerians, especially those in the northern states together with their large population of Almajiris and other Islamic fundamentalist groups, who tend to be easily moved, excited and influenced by the negative heroism and heroics of any religious lunatic fringe in the area, especially those embroiled already in a running confrontation with government. Therefore, given the fact that religion, as Marx observed, is the opium of the people, if there be any time in Nigeria that the activities of members of the Almajiri institution, as well as those that groom, indoctrinate or mentor them, should be closely watched and tackled this is it. But instead of doing this, the Federal Government seems rather to be enamoured of overindulging or pampering the North by investing scanty resources in building schools and other facilities for a denominational institution which is not only outside both the exclusive and concurrent constitutional lists, but also economically unproductive and, therefore, deserving of nothing but discouragement.
Bishop Kukah only stopped short of calling for the abolition of the Almajiri when he rhetorically asked The Guardian’s reporter in a recent interview whether Nigerians have ever pondered why the North has become so combustible. Asked Dr. Kukah, “where did it come from? Is there any connection between Boko Haram and the other forms of violent protests that preceded it, whether it is Maitatsine or whatever? Can we explain why this Boko Haram is dominant in Maiduguri, Yobe and not Sokoto or Kebbi? …If these things were about religion and Muslims trying to expand the frontier of Islam, which type of a stupid man will be fighting inside his own house and hope to conquer other people? … I think we see Boko Haram as simply what government can and cannot do. Goodluck Jonathan is not a magician and he certainly does not have more than two eyes, yet a lot of the discussions have been narrowed down to him, merely to politics”. Kukah concluded that what we are witnessing today are the sins we committed during our transition. “We ought to have concluded discussion about constitution before we enacted a new government, but the Nigerian political elite largely made up of the other carpet baggers, who are also with the military, simply wanted the military to hand over very quickly the keys of the kingdom…”
Democracy, the Bishop said, is not just about the distribution of resources. It is not just about building roads, building houses and building hospitals; it is much more than that. Finally, he said that the indivisibility of Nigeria, in principle, was almost unquestionable, but also warned that “it is not something we could assume because it has to be met by a range of other factors—factors which, unexpectedly, were superbly summed up 34 years ago in about 83 words by a scion of the Caliphate and first executive President of Nigeria, Alhaji Shehu Shagari. According to him, “we accept the concept of federalism because under the Nigerian situation, only a federal set up could cope with the problem of ethnic and other differences. But we want to make the federal system work properly as truly federal system—that is to allow the various components of the federation true autonomy in their own ways to run their own affairs while at the same time regarding themselves as part of a team working for the general good of the nation.” I cannot agree more. In a true federal system created by national dialogue, a framework for Sharia practice without tears could be worked out for states that want it while the problem of Almajiri could be made to fall squarely on the second and third tiers of government with the federal government only giving subsidiary help, since the issue bothers completely on local culture.
• Nzeakah writes from Ota, Ogun State.
