SIR: Going by what is happening now, Nigeria can be presumed to be moving towards a precipice. In real terms, Nigeria can and will emerge more focused, more realistic at the end of these two national shake-ups. What are these abnormal issues? They are the Supreme Court final judgments on some State chief executives, and the wild protests sponsored by six southwest states. The first seems to have fizzled out, while the second is ongoing.
The Supreme Court, the last call of all our judicial gymnastics had given one judgment, and were about to deliver judgment in a number of other cases involving governorship positions in the country. Alas, what the country saw and experienced literally had no precedence in post-colonial Nigeria. A whole group consisting of important, educated and well exposed people took to the streets round the whole country, proclaiming that the apex court had offended them and therefore should be disbanded. They did not mind if the whole country went down with the court.
They did not stop at that, they organized assault groups, disturbing the relative peace at the nation’s capital, promising hell and brimstone if the Supreme Court did not reverse itself in the Imo governorship dispute. The public was not deceived however. Their intention was simple. It was a calculated blackmail meant to force a supposed suppliant court to enter to their fancy the impending decisions on other four of five governorship contests which were to be delivered in a day or two to their charade. In a civilized, ordered society, the spectacle is unacceptable. Prior to this untoward show, the media, notably television and newspapers owned or sympathetic to them almost ran amok, just falling short of declaring a civil war.
Twenty four to 48 hours later, what happened to the decision of the Supreme Court on five governorship cases were announced, and alas, there was no magic, and all went as speculated by a discerning public. Then the air went cool, the country was saved from being consumed. Then the judiciary again became the “hope of the common man”, not the “tool of the executive”.
The country was saved from sliding to the deep! Now one may ask, for how long shall Nigeria continue to live with this kind of ethnic hysteria?
Many of us can recall what happened in Zamfara, Rivers and one other state. A particular party suffered the disqualification of all its elected members – governors, national assembly members, state legislators, councilors and above all, its soul. The world around us did not collapse. The losers and their party went about their business, biting their fingers but not threatening to bring the nation down, nor threatening the lives of innocent judges.
Considering the configuration of our nation state, was there a mistake made in 1914? Do the many nationalities that inhabit Nigeria have much in common? Is it not stressful continuing to accommodate each other? How can we smoothen our rough edges? Looking round the world, nearly all federal systems of government have their in-built challenges. Most end up being confederations, allowing each unit to operate in circumstances peculiar to their culture, their background and their orientation. The ultimate result of this is harmony and smooth administration. What we are operating in Nigeria is a bastardised system, patching here and there when you have a group who are at peace with the judiciary when they win a suit and at war with the world when they lose out watch out!
The country is not coherent; we could as well be two, three four countries forced to live together. Sadly we have no viable alternative. Shame!
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Deji Fasuan (MON, JP), Ado Ekiti.
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