The cure for a bleeding nation

BY EVARISTUS AFAM EKWEM

The local and international image of the nation is in tatters. The script is nothing new to the attentive mind. American and European assaults can be tolerated but not those from our fellow former third world countries. Nigeria, who did this to us? The fighters of corruption are always travelling to receive treatment abroad while the health sector remains a place for those who have no reason to dream for better care. Certified corruption is never investigated for those at the apex of leadership echelons. Looters on the foreign scene are chased for while embezzlers within are celebrated. This past week has been a week of hypocrisy at its peak. Is there a way out or a cure for this malady?

For us to walk past the catalogue of challenges we have at present, we must interrogate the Nigerian knowledge production. Africa, prior to colonialism, witnessed great places of intellect like the Universities at Sankore and Timbuktu (icons of Afrikology). There existed four-degree levels: The primary degree level at Qur’an school introduces her pupils to the Holy Qur’an, Arabic language and Basic Sciences. At the secondary level, the students were introduced to grammar, commentaries on the Qur’an, the hadiths, prophetic narration, jurisprudence, mathematics, physics, chemistry, trade, Islamic business code and ethics. The superior degree was taught by professors for nearly ten years and thereafter the graduating students were admitted as tenured professors.

I decided to offer this background as an aid to my Muslim brothers who are in the habit of doing the right thing. And I call on all the northern politicians to go into a soul-searching moment and resolve the terrible poverty accumulation in the north. Prior to colonialists’ arrival in Africa, politicians on the African soil sent major debatable questions to the aforementioned circle of scholars for guidance. Today, who do the Northern politicians run to? I leave every northern politician to recuse himself and probe his/her conscience. I urge all to push for re-introduction of history to our academic curriculum. 

Juxtapose the above scenario to the era of colonialists. The above system of education was largely destroyed, partly informed by the belief that Africans were inferior to the Europeans.  Thus, they occupied positions at the top while the Africans fought to occupy bottom positions. The educational curriculum of the colonialist was never designed nor determined by Africans.  The warrant chiefs were handpicked often without consultation with the traditional leaders. The fruits of such handpicking are still with us today. Therefore, we have universities in Nigeria but there are no Nigerian universities.

For how long must we continue to suffer local and international abuses? Is the time not yet ripe to interrogate and settle once and for all the source of the conflict which largely is unethical behaviour? Some hinge the problem on poor governance. And as we all know, governance is derived from the Greek word Kybernan, which means to pilot, steer or direct the affairs of others. This is why we use the acronym SERDAL (steering, effectiveness, resourcing, democracy, accountability and legitimacy) in analysing the basic function of governance. 

The notion that some lives matter less than others is the root of what is wrong with our world, especially, Nigeria. Can our leaders inspire trust by being trustworthy? Can they put service before self-interest? Our approach to what Nigerians are suffering outside is lean, thin and narrow. It appears that the government is engaged in institutional propagandism. You are told that something is being done about the scandalous treatment of Nigerians abroad and the incessant occurrence tells us that nothing is being done. The worst thing in consultation is to consult and at the same time ignore the results of the consultation. Power has become so valuable that self-interested Nigerian politicians will no more forfeit power than a private sector entrepreneur would pass by a profit opportunity. APC and PDP should come together and save what is left of our country Nigeria by building bridges that are seen to be coherent and cohesive. The labels are gradually eroding our basic national ethos. I ask all Nigerians to keep their eyes on the ball. Stop being misled by a few individuals committing the sin of the eleventh commandment (Thou shall not be caught). Those will be handled when we put our house in order. Let us build a nation where all will be loved, cared for and held dear. 

Evaristus Afam Ekwem, OCD, founder, mentoringlives.org, is a governance expert and doctoral candidate at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa – Nairobi, Kenya.