AGITATIONS FOR SECESSION IN NIGERIA: AUGURIES OF A TICKING TIME BOMB
AGITATIONS
FOR SECESSION IN NIGERIA: AUGURIES OF A TICKING TIME BOMB
AGITATIONS
FOR SECESSION IN NIGERIA: AUGURIES OF A TICKING TIME BOMB
The
propagation of hateful and divisive rhetoric via the (social) media, terrorism,
militancy, reinforced
threats from Arewa Youths (in the North), agitators for Oduduwa Republic (in
the South West), the Niger Delta Avengers (who agitate
for Niger Delta Republic), The Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign
State of Biafra (led by Ralph Uwazuruike), Indigenous People of Biafra (a
younger generation, impatient with what they see as the snail pace at which
MASSOB has been moving) led by Nnamdi Kanu all loom large on the
socio-political horizon of Nigeria. The last three are stroking different chords
in galvanizing a new symphony for the actualization of the Biafran dream
through secession.
Secession is the act of a group’s withdrawal
from the membership of an alliance or political union with whom such a group
shares territorial connectedness. Crawford puts it succinctly when he notes
that secession is the process by which a
group seeks to separate itself from the state
to which it belongs, and to create a new state on part of the territory of that
state.[1] Agitation
for secession is beginning to have physical manifestations out of the potent imagination
of the agitators. The unveiling of a multi-million naira cenotaph built in memory
of dead Biafran heroes, launching of a new Biafra motorcycle plate number and International
passport by MASSOB, the announcement of a 25-stage plan by which the group
hopes to peacefully actualize its aim as well as the resistance against the
recent Operation Python dance in the East underscores this point. Arms and
other dangerous weapons like machetes, petrol and beer bottles have been
intercepted by the police during demonstrations with casualties resulting from
such. Demonstration in celebration of Biafra day and to demand for Nnamdi Kanu’s
release turned bloody in South East states where over 40 people, including a
soldier were reportedly killed and over fifty people were arrested. [2] It
doesn’t take a soothsayer to tell that the combination of these little
demonstrations will one day escalate to a mickle destruction, if unchecked. As
the saying goes, the human mind once stretched to another limit never returns
to its initial state.
This bring to mind the apt dictum of
James Ajibola Idowu Ige, SAN (a renowned politician and lawyer) who, in the
year 1994, gave a poetic and prophetic rendition of Nigeria’s two faces thus: “ On the radiant but anxious face, you can
read quite clearly that the various peoples of Nigeria can and do want to stay
together and move forward together in
unity, peace and progress if they are allowed to take decisions about their
future calmly and without being harassed; the other face is squirming
frantically, and the bloodshot eyes which stare so fearfully from that face
seem to say that those eyes would rather bleak and scatter the peoples of
Nigeria than allow them to decide their own future.”
A walk down the aisle of history
would reveal that agitations for secession are not new phenomena in Nigeria. Prior
to independence, the Yoruba-dominated Action Group threatened secession if
Lagos was maintained as the Federal Capital Territory. [3] In 1960, the
north openly threatened secession unless it was guaranteed that a moiety of the
seats in the federal parliament would be allocated to it. All these remained
threats until May 1967, when the former Eastern Region of Nigeria formally
seceded thus resulting in almost three years of a devastating war which is
referred to by the Igbo as a genocide perpetrated by
the North (Hausa-Fulani) and supported by the south-west.[4] The period of war was notorious for the
starvation of the besieged South Eastern region that led to more deaths than
the actual fighting itself. The images of malnourished and stricken children
became a cause celebre in the
international media. No doubt, this had an indelible imprint on the Nigerian
state even fifty years after.
As
gleaned above, independence from colonial rule set Nigeria on a rollercoaster
ride of chaos, instability and destruction in which ethnicism, nepotism,
thuggery and political brinkmanship were the order of the day thus creating a
very fertile ground for secessionist agitation. In fact, the Igbo, like every other nationality in Nigeria still claim
to be forcefully annexed (under colonial imperialism) into Nigeria which is
felt by some people as just a mere geographical expression[5]. Sadly, till today (fifty years after the war)
virtually all circumstances that led to the horrid images painted above have
remained. There are still complaints of marginalization and hindered
development of the South-East. The presidency
has eluded the Igbo since the 1966 coup (the closest ever since was when Alex
Ekwuemen was vice president in the second republic). The core Igbo south east
zone has the least number of states (five). The lopsided appointments by the
President Buhari against the south-east have also been perceived as deep rooted
hatred for the Igbo nation. In addition,
the anti-corruption fight of this present administration is perceived as a move
to portray a particular ethnic group as corrupt. Moreover, the present economic
policies of banning the importation of some items is been view as a plot
against Igbo economic interest. The political economy theory is to the effect that the presence of natural resources (oil, in this case) in a
region this may breed the quest for secession to promote indigenous control of
natural resources.[6] This view appears to be another reason to spur
on the agitations.
J.S
Mill’s National Self Determination theory is to the effect that in
multinational states; there can be no feeling of sympathy, commonality and ergo
no representative government. In consonance with this theory, the flames of
secessionist agitations have been fuelled by paucity of rectitude in governance
and the triumph of injustice, fear of domination, political, economic, ethnic, cultural
and religious tensions, violence and divisions,
kidnapping and high rate of thievery, economic sabotage through pipeline vandalism,
militancy and most recently terrorism, repeated and repeatable agitations over
electoral processes, bloodshed and the
asymmetrical distribution of power among the various ethnic and geopolitical
groups inter
alia.
As
a result, Mill, in his self-determination theory, concludes that the boundaries
of a state should be in line with the boundaries of a nation.[7] However, the Action Group’s request for
voluntary secession was refused in the early years of independence.
Consequently, the right to secede is non-existent in
the existing legal framework. The European Union has suggested the conduct of a
referendum and due process under international law. However, if this peaceful
attempt fails, armed secession (which is unilateral) will have debilitating and
violent consequences on the Nigerian landscape which may reverberate in many
generations to come.
The
position of the federal government over the years has been that of the
non-negotiability of the country’s unity. It was stressed by Dr. Goodluck
Jonathan during his opening speech at the 2014 confab as a “no go area” and has
recently been reiterated by Buhari and his vice, Osinbajo. Unfortunately,
mechanisms and policies of federal government which were thought to secure
national unity like the National Youth Service Corp, unity schools, federal
character (which
has guaranteed nominal but not substantive equality), National sport festival, Catchment Area and so on have had
little or no effect on national integration. Again secessionist agitations may
be exacerbated by the burgeoning unemployment rate which, no doubt is a growing
security concern. It portends a fertile ground for rebellious acts by unoccupied
young men who may be perceived as “potential raw materials” for developing the
Biafra and other secessionist sentiment.
The
downside of secession is that once a group successfully secedes, it may cascade
into an avalanche of crisis and threats of further secession. For instance, in
the Sudanese situation above, after the south Sudan seceded, local voices in
the Dafur Region (Western Sudan) followed by international voices were raised.
All these pointed to another threat of secession in Sudan. The same view was
expressed by the late sage, Obafemi Awolowo, who indicated the view that
following Biafra’s 1967 secession, the Yorubas would not wish to remain a
truncated federation.
Even
if there is no further break up after secession, terrible suffering, massive
loss of lives, of hope and fortunes of so many cannot be justified. Furthermore,
Nigeria would be a much less interesting, much less colourful space, were
secession to be the case. Imagine for a moment that a diligent student had to
apply for a visa to travel to Enugu in order to further his studies, or that a
creative entrepreneur from Aba had to apply for visa to travel to Ibadan to
pursue his dreams. Again, these agitations if actualized would represent a
devastating blow on the Nigerian socio-economic landscape due to the peculiar
and enterprising nature of the Igbo tribe. The economy will be grinded to a
halt if the Igbos are made to secede due to their notable contribution in
transportation and the trade of foodstuff, clothes items, electronics among
others.
It is
admitted, however that Unlike the 1967-1970 attempted secession, the agitation is
still inhibited by lack of formal recognition by a substantial number of the
international community, lack of high profile government officials overtly
supporting the new agitation for Biafra, the reduction of territorial influence
of Biafra to the five (5) core Igbo south Eastern states, the unwillingness of
the former oil rich minorities to join Biafra, representative democracy that
guarantee membership into the federal executive council, National Assembly and
so on. It is noteworthy that these inhibitions pale significantly on a
quotidian basis while the agitations continue with renewed fervor. Hence, dismissing
the agitations as the result of sheer ignorance will certainly not suffice.
Debate and disagreements are fundamental aspects of democracy and this
necessity must be acknowledged. especially in view of the United Nations’ common
country analysis for 2016 which revealed a deeply divided society on the basis
of plurality of ethnic, religious and regional identities and gloomy economic
woes [8].
The combination of the little violence looming in front of our very eyes portends
mickle dangers. Shall we wait until these actions, inactions and reactions, interactions,
reach boiling point?
In view of the debilitating
consequences of the increasing number of unoccupied youths, the government must as a matter of urgency, fast track
efforts at shrinking the unemployment rate. Also, basic amenities should
be distributed to the South-East region.
A state or two should be created in order to foster a greater sense of
inclusiveness and equality while dousing the flame of tension. In addition, there
should be a broader participation in the currently viable structure and better
leadership anchored on transparency of the electoral process, integrity,
absence of corruption and a strong sense of nationhood. Nigeria need not endure
the revolutionary throes experienced by Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, and South
Sudan. She can be turned into a safe haven if she learns from history and
particularly how Slobodan Milosevic’s advocacy for Serb hegemony led to the
violent breakup of Yugoslavia in 1991 In contrast, USA has been able to thrive
for centuries due to the agreement by constituent states on power sharing.
Restructuring (based on a committed
political will, openness, tolerance, and transparency) will provide security,
promote tolerance for the civil and civic rights of aggrieved ethnic majorities
and marginalized ethnic minorities, ensure political stability, lasting peace,
and confidence in leadership. The views of Professor K.C Wheare that both state
and federal authorities must control its separate resources since true
federalism is best sustained by coordinate rather than subordinate relationship
is apposite. It is the self-expression and self-fulfillment of the constituent
states and local governments (within a framework of national unity)[9]
that will provide political stability for Nigeria’s large size and complex
culture. This restructuring should take the form of
political decentralization. When secession is a real risk, central governments
can use political decentralization as a substitute for costly violence to
reduce the risk. Political decentralization" refers to the granting of
local autonomy over policies important to local identity such as education and
culture, as well as over policies important to local welfare such as
environment and health, combined with the buttressing of self-government by
allowing local voters to elect their own representatives. This assuages ethno
nationalist minorities' symbolic fears of being swamped, or "losing ownership"
of their region[10]
In conclusion, the political elite
should drop their self-serving posture and avert their minds to the warning
signs of a state’s socio-political and economic collapse (such as waning of
political, social and economic institutions, flourishing of crime and violence,
monopolization of national wealth by an increasing narrow elite and excluded
groups becoming desperate) so as to prevent war since it is not a romantic
ideal. In view of the high cost for nation
building, national unity, political and economic development, secession should
be averted. If this is done, we can through thick and thin forge unity in
diversity and refuse to fall into the lure of secession. Not even the National
Conference, reconciliatory commissions nor press statements made by the presidency
over the years will effectively tackle secessionist agitations. The power
brokers and rulers of Nigeria should no longer quote the experience of “Biafra
secession” to scare people into submission, while holding them hostage in a
failing, sick and totally inept, morally bereft Nigeria. Leaders must realize
that although democracy consists of many seductions, it is also an excruciating
activity of the development of any deficient status quo. Will
the most populous country in Africa and one of the most diverse countries of
the world (both in ethnicity and religion) retain its glory as the giant of
Africa or will the story be told of a towering nation, now balkanized and bulldozed
into the trash can of history? Time will tell.
[1] This definition was given by Crawford, J. (1997) in his
book; “State Practice and International Law in Relation to Unilateral
Secession.”
[2] Vanguard Newspapers, 31 May 2016": “South-East burns as
Biafra Day turns bloody.”
[3] Ojeleye, O. (2010) in “The Politics of Post-War Demobilisation
and Reintegration in Nigeria”
[5]
Obafemi Awolowo (1966). Path to Nigerian freedom, page 48.
[6] This is expressed by Collier, P., & Hoefffler, A. (2002)
in their work, “The Political Economy of Secession”
[7] Mill, J.S. (1991) On Nationality, as connected with
Representative Government, John Gray (ed.) Oxford University Press.
[8] Opejobi, S.(2016). Nigeria one of the poorest countries in
the world, over 80m living below
poverty line- UN report, Daily Post, 5 September
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