2023; Okowa and National Unity -By Jerome-Mario Chijioke Utomi

I still recall with vividness how His Excellency, Sen. (Dr.) Ifeanyi Okowa, Governor of Delta State, while delivering a keynote speech themed;  ‘rebuilding trust in a divided Nigeria: advancing the conversation,  at the 2021 annual lecture and symposium organized by Ripples Centre for Data and Investigative Journalism (rcdij), august 25, 2021, at Sheraton Lagos hotel, Ikeja, Lagos, among other things, posited that the crux of Nigeria’s problem is the absence of a national ideology that all the component parts of the country subscribe to is why we are yet to forge that sense of oneness and unity, noting that the absence of a shared national vision or aspiration, primordial loyalties and sentiments largely hold sway among the citizens.

Essentially, separate from qualifying as the most dynamic and cohesive action expected of a leader of his class to earn a higher height of respect, there are indeed, many imperatives as to why the content of that speech needs to be reflected upon as the nation races towards the 2023 general election.

First, the insight from the speech remains credible as it preached; honesty in governance and a need for a multicultural society of equal citizens, where opportunities are equal and a person’s contribution is recognized and rewarded on merit regardless of tribe, language, religion or culture-with lives and property secured. Also important was the Governor’s strong believe that we are better and stronger together, and that, with appropriate, visionary leadership and good governance, we can turn our diversity into a great source of strength and a springboard to build a  strong multi-ethnic and multi-religious country that will be the envy of other nations.

He argued that the experience of some balkanized countries, such as Yugoslavia, which was balkanized into seven states, shows that, until the fundamental issues of good governance – justice, socio-economic equality, mutual ethnic and religious tolerance, inclusiveness, etc. – are effectively addressed in the mother nation, each new country will be bedeviled by the same divisive problems already in their genes. So, why not tackle the problems in the mother nation that would make a greater impact on the world unlike the tinier new nations? 

‘As 2023 approaches, the focus should be on electing a pan Nigerian as president, a person with the capacity and charisma to cast a vision for Nigeria and rally all Nigerians behind it. We need a selfless, sacrificial, sincere, broadminded, caring and capable president that will inspire hope and confidence in the country; a leader who values merit over mediocrity, competence over cronyism, while upholding the fundamental principles of fairness, equity and justice. This country brims with immense human and natural resources, which cry to be effectively and efficiently harnessed by a responsive – and – responsible leadership for the socio-economic development of the country.

Continuing, he noted that  the Federal Government should frontally and transparently tackle insurgency, banditry, kidnapping, criminal herdsmen operations and all purveyors of insecurity in a way to obviate the popular impression that they are executors of a pre-planned genocide. The war against terror is seriously undermined when ransom is paid to these criminal elements. Aside from a modern security architecture anchored on technology, Okowa argued that we must muster the political will to deal decisively with criminals, regardless of their ethnic groups, religions or status. In America and other developed countries of the world, that is what makes their institutions stronger than individuals and keeps even the poorest in the society confident of getting justice before the law. For democracy to be sustained and the goodwill of the populace retained, impunity must not have even a toehold in our body polity. Our security agencies must be well funded and equipped; training of personnel to build capacity and collaboration between agencies is key.  Furthermore, directives must be clear and goals unambiguous.

To help restore faith in the electoral process, the governor has this to say;  there should be stiff penalties for electoral violence and other malpractices, regardless of which party is culpable. Election results should also be transmitted electronically at the point of counting the votes at the polling units to remove the opportunities for later alterations of figures. It goes without saying that the refusal by the National Assembly to include a mandatory electronic transmission of election results in the Electoral Act has deepened the distrust that the public has for politicians and the ruling class. 

 It should be clear to everyone by now that glib, official declarations like “The unity of Nigeria is non-negotiable” or “The unity of Nigeria is sacrosanct” cannot diffuse the tension, resentment, anger and sectarianism prevalent in the country today. Only conscious, consensual action to remove the causes of mistrust and disunity identified above can.

Nigeria, Okowa added, can only grow if ethnic, religious and tribal divides dissolve, and a pan-Nigeria goal is truly desired and pursued by all. Despite its challenges and leadership defects and the circumstances of its birth in 1914, we have come to be a nation.  We must unite and make it work for all.   We had declared in our National Anthem (composed in 1960) – “Though Tribe and Tongue may differ, in brotherhood we stand”.  The political class, religious/community leaders and elite must sign up to this, and our leaders must begin to act the pan-Nigerian dream into reality

‘The governance system at all levels particularly at the federal level must be just, fair, equitable and seen to be inclusive.  There is too much power at the centre, and this needs to be devolved to the federating units for greater effectiveness and efficiency. The devolution of powers and resources to the sub-national governments, and the guaranteeing of a constitution that allows equity, justice for all and inclusiveness in governance such that none is left out or oppressed is imperative. Urgent steps need to be taken to ensure fairness in resource allocation, taking into cognizance the degradation of the environment by the Oil and Gas resources and the impact on the health and livelihood of Niger-Deltans’.

On the role of religious bodies in building trust, Governor Okowa captures it this way; Inter-faith dialogue and building of networks should be institutionalized.  Different religious identities need to seek mutual understanding, respect and tolerance, which allows each faith to live, appreciate and cooperate with one another.  Government and faith-based organisations must, through advocacy, seek for the common good, and put processes in place for prevention of conflicts, peacemaking and post-conflict rebuilding.

Away from the religious groups to the herdsmen/farmers conflict in the country, he stressed that it is fast becoming the greatest threat to our nation’s unity and economic well-being. The nomadic Muslim Fulani pastoralists and the largely Christian farmers of various ethnicities have continued to clash resulting in loss of economic crops, cattle and life.  This threat to our country’s stability and unity needs to be addressed urgently by our federation. It is my opinion that ranching and cattle colonies with support by the federal Government are a way out of this challenge.  The Federal Government of Nigeria must urgently tackle this challenge to reduce the level of insecurity and to ensure food security. Criminal herdsmen must be dealt with within our Laws and Internally Displaced Persons need to be quickly resettled in their homes.

To the media, the Governor was of the view that the media must come to the rescue. Governments at various levels should, as a matter of exigency, enlist the support and cooperation of the media in advocating for peaceful coexistence and national unity. Generally, I think the media should be more discerning and restrained in giving voice to violent extremists and criminals in our nation. Giving undue recognition to these elements has the potential to fuel ethnic conflict, electoral violence, and exacerbate the divisions among us. We must also, through persuasion and advocacy, empower the media to play a defining role in building and promoting non-violent, credible elections. The independence of the media is critical for credible journalism.  We must, therefore, not stifle them under any guise.

On the nation’s battered economy, he observed with dissatisfaction saying ‘Too many Nigerians are falling into the poverty bracket daily, and the percentage of the unemployed and underemployed is worrisome. This is becoming increasingly compounded by insecurity and our rising population. Hence, we need to aggressively begin to re-tool our youths with entrepreneurship development programmes.  Also, a voice of strength and policy to space out births and control our population will help.  Poverty in itself creates resentment to governance structures and unemployment heightens insecurity’

Without doubt, it will be gratifying in both political and socioeconomic terms if President Buhari studies and Nigerians adopt useful information from Governor Okowa’s antidotes as drawing, useful lessons from it should be a solution that will fit the present circumstance in the country.

Utomi is the Programme Coordinator (Media and Public Policy), Social and Economic Justice Advocacy (SEJA), Lagos. He could be reached via;jeromeutomi@yahoo.com/08032725374.