FEATURE ARTICLE

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[email protected] Maryland, USA

SO MUCH BRUHAHA ABOUT TRIBALIZING THE NEXT NIGERIAN PRESIDENT

here are compelling reasons to revisit the current state of our body polity vis a vis the need to separate flagrant ethnic sentiments in our daily fanfare from idealistic, fact-driven pursuits that are more likely to redefine the trajectory of the Nigerian image and inject new meaning into the life of the average Nigerian.

It is a moral indictment of the Nigerian character that at a time in history when other nations have taken off economically and scientifically pulling resources together for the collective good of their people, Nigerians are holding on to a branch, ready to fall from a precipice because we are like a house divided against itself.

The recent clamor for an Igbo , Yoruba, or Hausa President by a segment of Nigerians can only be self-destructive as it continues to create a land-mine of doubt within the minds of other groups that make up the political and geographic ensemble known as Nigeria. By this method of approaching politics Nigerians will be no different from crabs in a bucket. For the sheer sake of servicing the ego, we allow the mind to tinker us in a direction which compromises the ideological balance necessary to foster harmony, understanding and growth.

The sabotage has somehow hidden its face in an attempt by society to depart from substance in search of shadows. The heterogeneity of any society is not a curse but an inherent beauty planted by nature. It is a fountain from which diverse cultures emerge and different ideas flow. It is a source of the different colored petals that flower our thoughts and aspirations. It is life beautified in different expressions. Nigeria has been such a fountain since 1914, at the time of the amalgamation by Lord Luggard.

Be that as it may, many schools of thought believe that the composing units of the Nigerian Federation are exponentially incompatible, incongruous and perhaps ungovernable. These pundits have provoked debates about the sanity or otherwise of continuing what has been severally referred to as a funny political experiment. The proponents of one Nigeria stand on the ground that heterogeneity is merely a concept that can be dramatized to productive accomplishments. The key question in this perspective is not the myriad of cultures or assemblage of opinions but who is on the driver's seat, his vision and dreams.

May I disagree that an Igbo man must be such a person at this time in the history of Nigeria? I sincerely believe that the man on the driver's seat could be any Nigerian regardless of his creed, culture, political persuasion or religious inclination. Being Igbo does not confer any esoteric or special qualities to the next Nigerian President. Nigerians have come a long way and the issues facing Nigeria today are being extrapolated and transposed to the black man as a whole, his genetics being called into question.

Politics is about dialogue and exchange of ideas in a civilized manner. Democracy is politics streamlined along the wishes of the people. Those desiring of leadership must show moral decorum in being servants of the people. Politics must not be about usurping power, nor questioning a constitutional mandate or even crying when one has lost an election or is removed from office. Unfortunately, it is a widely held view that Nigerians scramble into politics for secondary gain. So far in Nigeria, politics is about buying flashy cars, building mansions overseas, siphoning money from public treasury, gagging the press, maiming opponents and having the last laugh. In Nigerian politics, defeat is never glorious and achievement is not a virtue.

Come to think of it, the year 2003 draws nigh and Nigerians must begin to put it in prayer. The next President of Nigeria should be a man of vision, great moral strength and accommodation. A man who sees the beauty of this monolith, a protagonist of an all-inclusive, people-oriented government. A unifier who brings us to the same temple of worship even as we open the gates to out mosques and churches.

Give me one deserving name; be it Hausa, Fulani, Yoruba, Efik or Ijaw, I call on Nigerians to participate in this self-examination so that we can elect a president who will place the people first.