Guest Column

NigerianNews

Sesan Bello
Journalist/Critical thinker
/Volunteer-Watchdog
London, GB

But how do we resolve the zoning issue? Simple! Zoning is undemocratic, anti-progress and will evidently promote ethnocentric rather than patriotic sensibilities. We must do away with it now and for ever, or, till when our political elites get matured enough to differentiate between a national call to service and ethnic interest.

The Politics of Zoning Vs The Politics of Compensation
by Sesan Bello

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The North should forget about  the presidency, Jonathan must not contest, ACF will tear Nigeria apart,  South South will set the nation on fire, This is the song on the lips of many politically conscious Nigerians today, and even the politically unconscious too. It is however in old lyrics and old tune and from our old  music classes. As a politically conscious thinker myself,  I have only managed to compose mine cautiously in tandem arrangement with the constitutional provision that every Nigerian has the right to vote and be voted in any election, as enshrined in “the book”.

In all sense of reasoning, PDP must have helped Nigeria suspend hitherto, the much feared but majority-blindly-favoured break-up of our beloved country which had been drummed up, largely, during the military old days. In all honesty, there is no better way to keep a country federated into a tumultuous country like ours one than giving the constituents an TRANSPARENT equal sense of belonging. One great, cap-doffing step it is, for the constitution-writing committee of Peoples Democratic Party who, having their thinking cap on, enshrined the zoning formula in the party's constitution. The initiative even helped PDP cajole the public to believe that their though, from the beginning, were with us and focussed on our expectations while in actual fact, the party's true position is far from that.

While one might want to reason, like many other school of thoughts, that the North should be held responsible for the decay in our country today - after-all -  they occupied strategic military/political positions  as-well-as having favourable numeric strength within the rank and file  over other ethnic groups in the past different military regimes that brought us to where we are today, that may not be completely true.

Firstly, cowardice, as often exhibited by the Southerners  both  inside the military circle and beyond was one of many factors that gave the Northerners the freedom to do whatever they were pleased with as has been  established and proved in national discourses like this. I am sure not many people would have forgotten late Babafemi Ogundipe, a Brigadier General who absconded himself from the topmost military/political appointment just because a private soldier refused to carry his order? That was totally ridiculous. Yet it counted as one of many good examples of the Southerners' traits of “wanting to go up to heaven but never wanting to die”.

Partly responsible for the power domination also was this: during military enlistment exercises in the old Nigeria, while the Northerners enlisted themselves in droves, including the  physically challenged also making attempts, the southerners took to different (mostly academic) career paths. Never-the-less, that is paying off today as evident in the socio-economic status of their states. It is thus a valid argument to say that there are more retired military personnels (now powerful politicians) from the north than there are from the south. It is also valid if one says that there are more  technocrats or university graduates from the south than there are from the north.

What is not valid is this: Over two decades from our fifty years national existence would be consigned to history of economic regression - not even waste - if one looks at it very well; there was total misrule by the military that we lost our glory and respect in the comity of nations and almost lost our enviable position within the African continent. This, in converse relation to the popular belief, however, will be grossly unreasonable of anyone, should it be blamed on the North or on any former head of state from the region. The blame should rather go to the military institution – which in Africa, or anywhere in the world, is better referenced as  “the realm of the feral beasts”.  When it gets involved in power politically, it grabs it absolutely; corrupts it absolutely and turns things upside down. It is not the making of the people in the military, it is the nature of the establishment. No one should blame that on any personality. Evidences abound around the world that the most useful of them will only interfere briefly with “power” when things are going wrong, make amends and fall out again; they are not to govern; it is never their calling or else there will be disaster. Nigeria is an example.

Every personality involved in the past military misrule therefore, planning to come back  to participate in a democratic setting should not be judged on how he had ruled before but how quickly and genuinely he had been able to empathise later with his people with respect to his misdemeanors, and how sincerely he had come to terms with his past mistakes and show remorse for them.  In other words, both the North and the South have worked dignifiedly for what they enjoy today, if in a twist of event the North's military power translates to political power, I don't suppose we should have problem with that; all over the world, such naturally haphazard human development evidently exists, it shouldn't change anything. Besides, there is already a balance of equation in that regard. 

Suffice it to ask however that is the south just waking from its long slumber now and wants to reclaim back the political clout it had long lost to its Northern counterpart? No! no right-thinking person will subscribe to this insinuation as this new zoning discourse readily suggests. The argument is that the world is changing and Nigeria can not afford to be left behind. This global wind of change it was that had inspired some of us to volunteer to be the vanguard of that change in Nigeria. Championing this change cuts across ethnicity, class and religion. We want an end to the culture of corruption, neglect, ethnicism, nepotism, cabalism and favouritism.

Many years back, I also held the view that Nigeria could disintegrate if that makes my own part of it habitable for me but when the maxim “united we stand, divided we fall” resonated with me,  I soon found that my view was faulty and based on cheap, belligerent, anti-unity premise. Nigeria will be better off staying together than splitting into “weaker”constituents, as some people clamour now. A Nigerian is a Nigerian; no matter where he or she comes from, North, South, East or West; it does not matter whether Northerners or Southerners had put Nigeria in mess all these decades, what we need now is correction.  I owe this to critical thinking; any stake-holder in today's Nigeria who can think critically too will arrive at the same conclusion as me.

 The right questions we should be asking ourselves are: (1) Are we (Nigerians) happy, living for ever with the uncomplimentary “third-world-country” appellation and the belittling adjective “developing” which often holds true – as testament, for example, in the current rage and row over succession? (2) Do we (Nigerians) favour a perpetual abysmal manipulation of right over wrong, evil over good and poverty over affluence?

Much like these questions might have prompted some possible solution in you, I equally had the patriotic feeling of need to ponder critically again over the questions, and particularly the zoning issue and I discovered that though Nigeria is much rather replete with capable people; the long neglect we've got to grapple with will make leaving anything to chance, in choosing our next leader, a dangerously futile effort. Feeling seriously concerned as one of the many suffering ordinary Nigerians. I felt that the most important thing for us now is to hunt for that “set of people” to bail Nigeria out, whichever party they are.

I made up a shortlist of my own, containing people who are a few steps qualified beyond ordinary Nigerians due to their past life and work experience. They are highly experienced and highly intelligent people who have also either had a go at governance once or had participated fully in one. But most in this category, disappointedly, are neither wont to team-playership, fair dealing nor well groomed in the tenets of democracy.  Besides, their first go at governance was nothing to write home about which, like I pointed out earlier on, should not be blamed on them. But certainly, they cannot be what we want now because we can not leave anything for chance.

The most inspiring one that had enlivened hope is the one that had identified the need to, and had engaged with Nigerians in a dialogue over how they want their country to be governed. He had said and done so much for Nigerians to believe. If his party will allow him to practise what he preaches, I think that should be the one to look up to now till other candidates from other parties show their faces.

But how do we resolve the zoning issue? Simple! Zoning is undemocratic, anti-progress and will evidently promote ethnocentric rather than patriotic sensibilities. We must do away with it now and for ever, or, till when our political elites get matured enough to differentiate between a national call to service and ethnic interest.

In one of my past articles, I observed that “someday, we shall stumble onto our path of functional democracy out of conventions, despite all odds”. That time is now; that path that guarantees a different tomorrow is, like never before, in our conspicuous view. Though with many perilous paths that lead to the same old state of mismanagement, corruption, hunger and starvation also in view, finally setting our foot on the right path requires a little more harder push. So compatriots let's push!

To the people against the push, I implore you to wake up to the reality that committing so much into an election equally deserves high expectations. The billions to be spent in the coming election must be justified by bringing back permanent relief to the tax-payers, the entire Nigerians and particularly the people from whose geographic land the petro-dollars are coming. The kind of cooperation each and everyone of us gives to the push now will be a key to the survival of this country or a major reason for her  utter failure or even the final break-up to fragments tomorrow, and you know what? The book makers are waiting anxiously.