VISIONS FROM THE #ENDSARS PROTESTS: The Giant of Africa Walking A Tightrope Between A Better Country And A Country Plunged Into A Hundred Years of Endless Wars. (I)
By Lucky Okoedion
Whereas it is commendable that the protest spirit of the Nigerian youths have been rescued from the jaws of frivolities like Big Brother Naija and celebrity gossip, and the long locked up youthful energy is now being channeled towards the liberation of the nation from leadership failure, yet the task of ‘rebooting’, getting rid of ‘viruses’ and ‘upgrading’ the ‘software’ of this nation also requires some strategy apart from protests.
As a matter of fact, the process is so delicate that a hundred percent rage-filled waves of protests would do more harm than good to the nation. Apart from the common sense fact that such undisciplined protests cannot lead to any social change, the peculiarity of the Nigerian nation is another factor. There are nations that mere protests can transform. But the case of Nigeria is different because it is not yet a nation in the true sense of it. It is a group of over three hundred (300) ethnic nationalities that have not yet accepted to be grouped together into a single entity called Nigeria.
When protests get really red-hot and violent in a ‘nation’ like Nigeria in an unprecedented manner as much as to lead to the collapse of the government, it will not lead to the liberation of the people from bad leadership, it will rather lead to a default factory setting. Even the protesters will not know or understand when they will find themselves divided along ethnic and religious lines. Once there is a paralysed federal and state governments in a country like Nigeria, it will automatically become a case of “to thy tents, oh Israel”. Once that bad leadership which is the perceived “common enemy” is out of the way, the protesters will immediately turn against each other as they begin to fight for control of the resources in their local communities. This is because we have hitherto failed in nation building, and the current Buhari administration has led to the further division of the nation due to his alleged ethnic bigotry.
The point is that in Nigeria, a revolution through protests may not lead to the desired reforms, given our extremely unique diversity. We may end up in an endless horror. There are over 300 ethnic groups who speak different languages. Ethnic groups that don’t consider themselves as Ethnic groups but as Ethnic nationalities. Only a carefully managed peaceful restructuring can lead to a positive change in Nigeria. The nation cannot even survive another full blown civil war.
TO BE CONTINUED…
Lucky Okoedion is a believer of a new Nigeria where true democracy and effective governance is practiced. He writes from Benin City. And can be reached on +2347038820118 .
