“Peace does not mean an absence of conflicts”; says Dalai Lama XIV. “Differences will always be there. Peace means solving these differences through peaceful means; through dialogue, education, knowledge; and through humane ways.”
For the first time since 1999 when Nigeria returned to democracy, the country is so divided that it is very difficult to hear anything above the cacophonous tribal din. But surprise, surprise! In the midst of the various centrifugal forces, various alliances are being forged and hate vending is gradually giving way to unctuous rhetoric about the need for dialogue across the various divides.
At a stage, it seemed the entire country was one sprawling ungoverned space peopled by atavistic natives baying for blood. One concerned Nigerian, Aminu Sa’ad Beli was so exasperated that he counselled that instead of fighting a senseless war, Nigeria could be peacefully dismembered as has happened in other countries.
Former President Obasanjo has been a recurring decimal in our various attempts at charting a way forward. Sultan Sa’ad Abubakar and Ooni Adeyeye Ogunwusi, together with other prominent traditional rulers have also made highly publicised efforts to douse the flames of division. The Northern elite have been reaching out. Both the Arewa Consultative Forum and the Northern Elders’ Forum have endorsed restructuring as a way forward. For the first time in a long while, it seems the political elite in Nigeria have realised that the logical destination of the current unitary structure is dismemberment. So, after all these years of campaign to have a more equitable, less suffocating system, it appears there’s no stopping an idea whose time has come.
I think the centripetal pull of the elite across geographical divides and political persuasions can be described as instinctive self-preservation. Come to think of it, if Nigeria breaks, there will be new Turks in each manor. The current ‘chiefs’ will most probably be reduced to low-level ‘Indians’. The impulsive, highly critical and energetic young population may elect one of their millennial generation to steer the ship of state. Old politicians will become dinosaurs.
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