Nigeria And The Rising Questions Of State Failure

By

Ishowo Oluwatosin

In all honesty, I am tired of writing on Nigeria, there is no angle of studying Nigeria that has worked; neither from institutional, philosophical nor behavioural approach to the study of Nigeria’s politics has proved the theories of politics to be precise in Nigeria.

What is happening in Nigeria is not funny. It is beyond human comprehension, we are in a phase where past histories have not shaped any particular identity in our polity, neither political culture nor governance.

We are at a stage where a group of people are recommending the re-adoption of the 1963 constitution and suspension of the 1999 constitution. However, the question that comes to mind is “If plan A doesn’t work, do you recycle it or go to plan B?”. Is it not clear that the 1963 constitution failed and led Nigeria into phases of crises that dominated the nation for decades?

What is the position of history in Nigeria’s political space? We have the North and South threatening each other over Presidential ticket for the 2023 elections,  the North Central is confused and not sure of where to swing due to identity problems and knowing that regardless of the outcome, nothing significant will change in their region.

It is baffling how someone like Sunday Igboho or Nnamdi Kanu has suddenly become a state actor; an avenger that is now being admired by even supposed elites. In my previous place of work, I noted that people boosting the confidence of these separatists against the government are making things worse because Buhari will leave office one day and Nigeria will remain. Indeed, the incumbent, indifferent leadership and all critical stakeholders in charge of our collective destiny must rise up to deal decisively with these avoidable problems and crisis- accentuated by seamless agitation for economic and political restructuring.

How will Nigeria change if the bulk of people determining who comes to power are the lesser educated (as if education is not the bedrock of a society), fewer political opportunists and many economic profiteers/saboteurs? How do we explain nation building to our teeming listless youths; convince them about the tenets of democracy; importance of civic obligation and patriotism? How will Nigeria work in a climate where politics is governance by substitution and governance is politics by other means? Nobody really cares about finding solutions yet as all energies are diverted to 2023 general elections. The atmosphere is already tensed; so heated that even our ancestors can feel the heat in their graves.

Secession? Will this be a panacea to our myriad of problems? Should our diversity be treated as a curse? Why is power so sacrosanct above human lives in our country that our leaders would place so much premium on it thus jeopardising our diversity?

How will Nigeria survive the next few decades when there are no sustainable plans even for the challenges of the current moment?

Should we be disappointed in Buhari or ourselves and those who conditioned us into believing he was the Messiah? Are they not the same politicians who have become advocates of good governance today and refer to themselves as repentant or born again political class? Should they be allowed to foist the next president on us again? Definitely, the manner of President that we urgently need should be a good manager of our fragile diversity with good conscience, dexterity and patriotism. Do these crop of power hostage-takers have the capacity to make even the simplest choice?  There is abject poverty in the rich but poor country with thousands of youths getting more despondent than ever before, having resolved that theirs is an impossible human landscape. Do these career politicians have the right approach to tame this dangerous trend to arrest a tendency towards irredeemable state failure?

In the circumstances, all intractable issues in the country are defying all logic due to government’s intransigence-to the extent that nearly every one of us has a blame in Buhari’s success and failure as our President.  The sudden turn around of our politicians is self-serving. It is certainly about 2023. No more, no less.