Who says Nigeria’s unity is non-negotiable

BY ADEBAYO ABUBAKAR

Recently, in the build up to his 80th birthday, former military Head of State, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, (IBB) in an interview on Arise TV said, there are some things about this country, that have been settled;  and according to him, Nigerian Unity is one of them. He stated that, “Nigerians”, before independence agreed to live together as one indivisible entity, come what may. (Although I am not sure, if my, the Òkun-Yoruba of the present day Kogi State was represented at the meeting where the agreement was purportedly struck, I’m bound by the agreement.)

IBB’s statement, to me, purports that all the component units of the Nigerian federation, has lost their right to renegotiate their terms of membership (emphasis mine) if the estate.

This (non-negotiability) has been the chorus, whenever any Nigerian politician is boxed to the corner, on an matter that threatens any of their exclusive socio-economic privileges.

It has become so platitudinous that, whenever I listen to those political fraudsters, mouthing the mantra, I chuckle and begin to wonder; what then is negotiable, if the Nigerian Unity is not? Is it the Nigerian Peace, or the human dignity of the Nigerian man that is (fast being eroded by the harsh socioeconomic reality, resulting from bad governance) l? Is it the principles of justice and equity, that form the egalitarian basis of a 21st century society, that seem to have no place in the way the country’s affairs are conducted?

What is unity, when and where there is no peace? Where is peace, where there is no justice and equity?

For the avoidance of doubt, there is nothing in the life of a nation that is not negotiable. Nothing, I repeat; nothing in our national life that is not negotiable.

This much was echoed by former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, at a book launch recently, where he said, there is nothing non-negotiable about the Nigerian Unity.

He said; “I find it amusing when people declare Nigeria’s unity as fixed and non-negotiable, while doing everything in their power to destroy that fragile unity.”

Whoever says Nigerian Unity is non-negotiable, must first and foremost let us understand his own definition of the word unity, at least, in the context of Nigeria as an heterogeneous nation.

In the UK for instance, a union of about 500 years, did not start to exist without the Republic of Ireland.

Ireland, as a matter of fact, was part of the Kingdom, until 1919, when it proclaimed its independence on the 24th of April, 1916; and declared it, 21st of January, 1919.

They never started the Union with Scottish and Welsh parliaments. But today, due to the exigencies of the need to re-negotiate terms of unity, these concessions were granted to make every group feel more secured in the union. And today, nobody feels more British than the other, unlike here where some people feel more Nigerian than the rest of us, and treat the us like spoil of war that should be shared.

The British never started with some of the recent concessions given to Northern Ireland today. They, at different junctures in their journey as a nation, discovered or realise that, for them to remain united, the basis for their co-existence as a nation has to be renegotiated or reworked; and that, they did, without much ado.

Few years ago, the Scots wanted independence and pronto, a referendum was organised but the agitation was defeated at the poll; and that settled it, at least for now. Scotland remains in the Union, without foreclosing a revisit in future, if the need arises.

So, who again, says “Nigerian Unity” is non-negotiable, when it appears some Nigerians, a very minute fraction of the population for that matter, are more Nigerian than the rest of us?

In the face of acute and chronic injustices and chronic lopsidedness of distribution of opportunities that has been elevated to a status of officialdom, why should we not come to a roundtable and renegotiate the deal?

Come on..! It is an old song that has lost its appeal in the ears of the listeners!

We can remain a United and one indivisible nation, but certainly, not on the basis of the interest of the socioeconomic vampires, who currently parade themselves as political elites, in whose hands our socioeconomic destinies lie.

We can remain one, but not at the expense of our rights to life. Not at the expense of our human dignity. Not at the expense of our livelihood. Not on the current basis of terms, dictated by owners of oil wells, DisCos, and arresters of our national development. Not on the basis of the dictates of some retired military billionaires and their political stooges.

Nigeria as a nation, needs to be reworked; retooled; and recalibrated, to cater for the needs of millions of children who “out of school”; millions who hawk inside traffic in Lagos and other major cities around the country; millions of “Mairuwas”, who exists at the mercies of our collective oppressors; millions of retirees, who exist at the mercies of private jet-owning political class; thousands of spare parts dealers; thousands AK-47 or stick-bearing herders roaming the bush with herds of cattle, which owners reside in Maitama, Lekki, Asokoro, and other such places in Nigeria; millions of Okada, taxi and tricycle operators; thousands of vulcanisers, welders, salonists, and the list goes on and on.

We no longer need a Nigeria that works, only, for those who polluted the atmosphere of the city of Kano last Friday, with private jets and chartered flights, gracing the occasion of Yusuf Buhari’s wedding. As a matter of fact, that version of Nigeria has long become outdated; and must be confined to the dustbin of history.

We need a Nigeria where bandits, kidnappers, corrupt public and civil servants would find their illicit trades and practices unattractive. That is what we need.

We need a Nigeria, which unity is rooted in mutual trust and respect among the people of the different groups that make it up.

Adebayo Abubakar Writes from Ilorin.