I had planned for a discussion of the debate over primaries today, revisiting my 2018 piece on “Primary palaver”. But then, Afenifere sneezed and it came down like thunder, causing the political earth to quake. What’s primary palaver in the face of an imminent threat to survival? What to worry about national election when the nation’s tomorrow is less than certain?
Chief Ayo Adebanjo spoke from, in his own telling, the “departure lounge” of life. A fighter for freedom and social justice all his life, at 93, he has demonstrated that his is a consistent voice in the battle for the soul of the nation. Before he moves from the departure lounge to the boarding gate, we better pay attention to his plea for sanity.
Afenifere’s press conference brought back a multitude of memories rushing for attention in the hippocampus. I am reminded of Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s targeted and focused interventions in national affairs with unassailable facts and figures only for his political opponents to start scampering for appropriate response. In 1982, in a letter to President Shagari, he predicted, with lucid analysis, a looming economic recession about to hit the nation. Rattled about what they considered to be a political attack, the NPN put its Chairman, Chief A.M.A. Akinloye, on a plane to London to offer its response, littered with name-calling and red herrings. A few months later, recession hit the nation. Truth out!
Chief Adebanjo’s press conference is a reminder of that truth-telling tradition. And in fairness to him, he has been worried about the future of the nation for quite a long time, but especially more desperately in the last six years, probably because he sensed that his time is spent. In March 2016, I met Chief Adebanjo at the Birthday Celebration of Chief Awolowo in Ikenne where The Awolowo Foundation had kindly invited me to participate in the program. Among other formidable participants were Governor Nasir El-Rufai, Governor Ibikunle Amosun, Professor Ladipo Adamolekun, and Mrs. Oby Ezekweseli.
At the post-lecture reception, Chief Adebanjo pulled me aside. He was worried about where the nation was headed. He wanted to have a talk with Asiwaju Bola Tinubu along with his friend and colleague, the later Chief Olanihun Ajayi. His message was that they would meet Tinubu at his place or wherever he chose. I delivered the message and Asiwaju insisted that he would go to meet them rather than them coming to him. I thought that was an Omoluabi response. I delivered his response back to Baba through the late Yinka Odumakin because I was on my way back to base. They eventually met and I was told it was a good discussion. Apparently, however, nothing has changed for the nation; the lice invading the national attire are stubborn and the blood on our finger nails therefore persists too. Hence this latest intervention from the Afenifere Leader.
Yet another memory that came rushing back to me from Afenifere’s press conference was the brouhaha over the so-called Third Term Agenda, a self-inflicted political crisis that rocked the nation at the tail end of the Obasanjo administration. Despite Obasanjo’s identity, Afenifere was in the forefront of the resistance against that self-regarding proposition. The title of our discussion today is a throwback to that period when I also titled one of my interventions “Those Who Must Speak NOW”. Today, however, what we need is more than speech. We need action and we need it NOW.
We need action because inaction is tantamount to giving up on the future of the country. Afenifere is not alone in reading the tea leaves of the current national trauma. Surely, we have an infrastructure revolution going on. Certainly, our roads and bridges are receiving attention, thanks to President Buhari’s focus and the unalloyed loyalty and dedication of his ministerial team to his vision. Many parts of the country, including mine, are benefitting from it. Sadly, however, a nation without a consensus on their identity and what binds them together cannot enjoy the fruits of infrastructural development for long. I was struck by a high profile reaction to the series that I started a few weeks ago focusing on the survival of democracy. A known quantity in the corporate world who has never shown any interest in partisan politics sent me a one-liner: ‘Shouldn’t the question be “Will Nigeria Survive?”‘ We deceive ourselves if we fail to see this as a pervasive sentiment across the country.
So, who are those that must act now before the Titanic of state hits the iceberg as feared in Chief Adebanjo’s timely warning?
Top on my list is Afenifere itself. I will explain. As mentioned above, over the years, even before independence, the group has proved itself an organization with patriotic zeal. In the struggle for independence, its political wing, the Action Group, advanced the cause of federalism and good governance more than any other political party in the history of Nigeria. Its leaders, from Obafemi Awolowo to Adekunle Ajasin, Abraham Adesanya, Ruben Fasoranti, and now Ayo Adebanjo, have demonstrated courage and consistency in their outlook about what this country needs to make progress. But it takes more than one to tango. And who’s better placed to advance the cause and mobilize others than the one who sees what others may fail to see?
Borrowing the sagacious reasoning of a thoroughbred Yoruba, Aare Egbe Omo Yoruba, Dr. Durojaiye Akindutire, “eniti o gbe aro wa naa ni o gbe e pada”. Meaning: Whoever initiates a brilliant idea must be in the forefront of the struggle for its execution. Therefore, bringing up the proposal to move the nation forward in the right direction obligates Afenifere to champion the discourse that is required to make it happen. How might that go?
Everything that Afenifere identifies as requirement for moving forward is reasonable. But as far as I know, majority, if not all zonal groups also subscribe to some fashion of it or another. Afenifere is against secession. So is Arewa Consultative Forum. So is Ohaneze Ndigbo. So is Middle Belt Forum. So is Niger Delta Congress. This means that the major organizations claiming to represent major nationality groups are for a United Nigeria. Of course, every such group also has its resisters from IPOB to Odudua Republic. But if Afenifere is right, the resisters are simply frustrated by the paralysis that has stalled restructuring efforts.
If my reading of the situation is right, Afenifere has a task to perform. Leave out politicians in the legislature or executive for now. But reach out to all parallel organizations across the zones. Do not assume that one group or another is against your thoughtful proposals. Initiate discussions with sister organizations on the way forward. Be ready for compromises. The legislature and the executive represent the various zones and nationalities. They will be hard pressed to ignore an agreement that comes from a meeting of minds by the various zonal and nationality groups.
For an even more effective jaw-jawing, do not leave out religious groups. CAN does not want the break-up of the country. It has membership across the zones. Neither does the SCIA under His Eminence Sultan of Sokoto. Or the Inter-religious Council which he also leads. Traditional Rulers are also stakeholders with an abiding interest in the sovereignty of the country. In other words, these non-partisan, non-political interest groups that cut across our default lines are potential partners in the progressive stabilization of the country. They all must act now before it is too late. Afenifere must see them as partners.
Why am I persuaded this approach will work? Because we have tried every other approach except this. I stand to be corrected. But beside the arrows and bullets of words and insults flying across the zones, I have not seen a move towards a constructive approach that takes advantage of our common humanity and moral and spiritual investment in Project Nigeria. It is high time we tried. And if at first you don’t succeed, try again. Then, Baba Adebanjo can go in peace but certainly not before his appointed time.
Elders are our national insurance against self-destruction.
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