Former Military Head of State, Gen Ibrahim Babangida(rtd) on
Monday said the time has come for Nigeria to restructure.
Babaginda made the remark while appealing to Nigerians to
refrain from making hate speeches which, according to him led to a 20-month
civil war.
Speaking during the prayer to mark his 75th birthday
celebration at the Hilltop, Minna, Niger State, the former military Head of
State said there was “little discord among Nigerians of different social
classes as he urged Nigerians to synergise their different potentials towards
building a great nation.”
The former military ruler noted that the fear of state
governors using state police to run amok was not as strong as the greater
benefit that creating state police would do for the nation.
Babaginda, who urged leaders across the aggrieved parts of
the country to show maturity, insisted that war is not a “joke anyone should
toy with.”
He said, “Nigeria, my dear country, is not a stranger to
crisis, nor is she immune to it. In a profound sense, she can be said to have
been created out of crisis, a nation state that will continue to strive to
subdue and transcend crises.
“In over a century of its formalized colonial architecture,
Nigeria has grown and made remarkable progress in the midst of crises. The most
tragic and horrendous episode in Nigeria’s history has been the 30 month Civil
War of July 1967 to January 1970, in which many of our compatriots lost their
lives.
“Indeed, many others also suffered terrible injuries of
human and material dimensions. So, who really wants to go through the depth and
dimensions of another Civil War in Nigeria again? Who does not know that that
Civil War was preceded and started by intolerance and a series of hate
pronouncements, hate speeches, hate conducts and actions that were inflicted
upon one another by the citizens?
“Today, with a deep sense of nostalgia, I still carry within
my body the pains of injury from the Civil War: there is nothing romantic about
war; in any form, war is bad, condemnable and must be avoided. I need hardly
say I am very worried by the current on-going altercations and vituperations of
hate across the country by individuals, well-known leaders, religious leaders,
group of persons and organizations.
“ We need to remind ourselves that conflicts are not
evidently the stuff of politics and governance, particularly so of democracy,
hence we must apply caution in our utterances, body language and news
reportage.
“The management of conflicts is the acid test of maturity,
of mutual livelihood and of democratic governance. We cannot and we must not
allow the current hate atmosphere to continue to freely pollute our political
landscape unchecked.
“Personally, I reject the proceedings of hate and their
dissemination and urge my fellow citizens to strongly condemn the scourge and
orgy of the current crisis which, in my view, is an outcome of vengeful
appetites within the multiple contexts of our democratic governance and the
profound inequalities that have distorted our social relations.
“Nonetheless, it is not the place of leaderships to fuel and
hype conflicts nor should we allow losers and gainers of our governance regimes
to make pronouncements and threats that exploit our ethnic, religious and
geopolitical construct.
“Democracy, anywhere in the world, is a work in progress; and
one that is subject to constant evolution and debate. The drums of war are easy
to beat, but their rhythms are difficult to dance. Starting wars or political
upheavals comes with the slightest provocation, but ending them becomes
inelastic, almost unending with painful footages of the wrecks of war.
“I have been involved and its ripples are tellingly
unpalatable, with gory details of destruction and carnage. I am a Nigerian, a
citizen, patriot and concerned stakeholder. It is my strong belief that Nigeria
can attain greater greatness if we all nurture our minds in the direction of
building a nation, and accepting responsibility for its successes and failures.
“We cannot deny or repudiate our progress at nation-building
in spite of the limitations and challenges that we have continued to
experience. As a people, we need a proper study and understanding of our
history in order to correct the warped perceptions of our past so as to
minimize the dangers of badly skewed stories of our democratic experience in governance;
and to regenerate mutual confidence and uphold the tenets of living together as
one country.
“No one government or administration can provide all the
answers to the myriad of problems and challenges confronting us as a country;
no matter how determined, resolute, committed and motivated such a government
is.
“The citizens have their roles to play, and their
obligations to fulfill in order to motivate government in achieving its stated
goals and objectives. Governance is a function of the leadership and the
followership.
“It is a two-way traffic that demands certain
responsibilities from those involved. Of late, Nigeria has become so sharply
divided with emotions running high on the least provocations. Once tempers are
that high, the fault-lines become easily visible and with the slightest
prompting, the unexpected can happen.
“But I want to believe that Nigerians are still their
reasonable selves’, highly endowed in various skills and intellectually
empowered to compete anywhere in the global arena.
“As a Nigerian, I have had the rare privilege to benefit
from robust relationships from different people across the socio-political
divide; East, West, North and South. I have also immensely interacted with
persons from all the numerous tribes, cultures and ethnic configurations dotted
across the entire gamut of Nigeria’s expansive lands. I have made friends,
built alliances, nurtured relationships and sustained linkages amongst
Nigerians of all shades and opinions.
“In fairness, Nigerians are great people. In those hours,
moments and duration of friendship and camaraderie, no one talks about origin,
geopolitical zones or even states. The issue of religion does not dictate the
flow of discourse. We deal with ourselves based on our character and content, and
not the sentiments of what part of the country we hail from.
“The inalienable fact that Nigerians can live in any part of
the country to pursue their legitimate aspirations is a strong indication that
we have accepted to invest in the Nigerian project, and are no longer driven by
mutual suspicion but mutual respect.
“That we have not fully realized our potentials as a great
nation is not enough reason for us to want to demolish the foundation of our
nationhood or rubbish the labours of our heroes past; both of which are borne
out of our collective efforts to build a truly great nation, and great people.
“If we have repeatedly done certain things and not getting
the desired results, we need to change tactics and approach, and renew our
commitment. It is our collective responsibilities to engender a reform that
would be realistic and in sync with modern best practices.
“For example, restructuring has become a national appeal as
we speak, whose time has come. I will strongly advocate for devolution of
powers to the extent that more responsibilities be given to the states while
the Federal Government is vested with the responsibility to oversee our foreign
policy, defense, and economy.
“Even the idea of having Federal Roads in towns and cities
has become outdated and urgently needs revisiting. That means we need to tinker
with our constitution to accommodate new thoughts that will strengthen our
nationality.
“Restructuring and devolution of powers will certainly not
provide all the answers to our developmental challenges; it will help to
reposition our mindset as we generate new ideas and initiatives that would make
our union worthwhile. The talk to have the country restructured means that
Nigerians are agreed on our unity in diversity; but that we should strengthen
our structures to make the union more functional based on our comparative
advantages. Added to this desire is the need to commence the process of having
State Police across the states of the Federation.
“This idea was contained in my manifesto in 2010 when I
attempted to contest the presidential elections. The initial fears that State
Governors will misuse the officers and men of the State Police have become
increasingly eliminated with renewed vigour in citizens’ participation in, and
confidence to interrogate power.
“We cannot be detained by those fears and allow civilization
to leave us behind. We must as a people with one destiny and common agenda take
decisions for the sake of posterity in our shared commitment to launch our
country on the path of development and growth.
“Policing has become so sophisticated that we cannot
continue to operate our old methods and expect different results. I also want
to appeal to the Nigeria media to be more circumspect in their news reportage.
“They should always weigh the security implications of the
contents of their news and the screaming headlines that stare us in the face
every day, especially at this fragile period of our political emanations. The
media play an important and remarkable role in shaping the flow of discourse.
“Their level of influence is also not in doubt, but as the
fourth estate of the realm, it has a greater responsibility to moderate public
discourse in a manner that will cement inter- and intra-cultural relationships.
“If Nigeria works, it benefits all her citizens; if it
fails, it hurts all her citizens too. The media should be patriotic in its
present engagements to berth a new Nigeria of our dreams. On a final note, I
really wish we see strength, determination, commitment and confidence in our
diversities rather than adversities.
“As a heterogeneous country with flourishing skills and
numerous endowments, we should dictate the pace in Africa and lead by example
of what is possible amongst a people that are focused and determined to pursue
common national goal.
“As a former Military President who had the rare privilege
to travel around Africa to sustain the African cooperation through
peace-keeping operations, I have come to the conclusion that nations are driven
by a common ideal and not by the homogeneity of their race. I saw Somalia, such
a homogeneous conclave yet one of the most troubled countries in Africa today.
“I saw South Sudan, which broke away from the old Sudan, but
peace and stability have eluded them. Rwanda genocidal experience is not
romantic either. But a President from the minority ethnic group has
repositioned the country to assume its pride of place in the comity of nations.
“That a people share common identity, language, history,
doctrine, culture, mores and values is not synonymous with development, growth,
stability and peace. When we went into peace-keeping operations in Sierra
Leone, Somalia, Liberia and Congo, we had in mind to sustain oneness in Africa
even though we are a continent of different countries all bearing different
logos and identities.
“Our motivation was simply that we are Africans. I am
therefore appealing to the sensibilities of all of us, young and old, leaders
and followers, groups and organizations, that in the interest of peace and
stability of our country, we need to sheathe the sword. At 76, I have seen it
all. I have seen war. I have fought war.
“And I have survived war, even though I still suffer the
pains and injuries of war, it is part of the selfless sacrifice to keep the
union afloat. We must build a country that is forward looking for our children
and future generations of Nigerians.
“We cannot afford to toil with the destinies of the
170million Nigerians by the shape of our discourse and the content of our
interaction. We must carry out conscious attitudinal orientation that will
change the mindset of our youths and the held beliefs of the elderly.
“We must explore the therapies of dialogue and constructive
engagements in our desire to make life more meaningful for our people. My
friends cut across all regions, zones and states. I am proud to be a Nigerian
because I see hope in the youthful population of Nigerians. I see remarkable
skills and raw talents that can stimulate enterprise and innovations.
“This is the end of the Holy Month of Ramadan, a month in
which Muslim faithful have dedicated their lives to seek closeness to God, and
forgiveness of their inequities. It is a month of penance; a month of prayer
for physical, moral and spiritual rejuvenation, regeneration and rebirth. I
urge my countrymen and women to use the occasion to look ahead with hope and
renewed dedication to the service of our country.
By Seun Opejobi
