Curing the cancer of hate in Nigeria

It is said in Africa that “a chick that will grow into a cock can be spotted the very day it is hatched”, meaning that you can easily foresee the future of something through the character and tell-tale signs it shows today. The overwhelming drums of discord emanating from various ethnic juggernauts call for a holistic analysis of the federation by a Statesmen’s Response Team (SRT) with the sole aim of tackling the severe hate parasite, dousing tension in the interest of peace, development and national cohesion.

Breaking the shackles of conflicts needs the efforts of unbiased or sincere moderators early enough in a fight or preferably before a fight. The dearth of moderators early in conflicts results in hullabaloo, leaving on its trail tears and blood. The consequences of war are far-reaching and breed sores of vengeance in the aftermath. Its despicable to have such clamors at this globally revered and spiritually rewarding month of Ramadan-a symbol of love,empathy and compassion for one another.  Statesmen with a bedrock of consistent principles, moral compass, vision and  ability to build consensus across divides are needed at this crucial time to change the nation’s course. According to Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, “violence has never been an instrument used by us as founding fathers of the Nigerian Republic to solve political problems. In the British tradition,we talked the colonial office into accepting our challenges for the demerits and merits of our case for self government. After six constitutional conferences in 1953, 1954,1957, 1958, 1959 and 1960, Great Britain conceded to us the right.” Dr. Azikiwe stressed that no single drop of either British or Nigerian blood was shed for it. Without unity of purpose, according to Julius Nyerere, there is no future for Africa. And Nigeria being a major brand in the African continent must make peace within to muster the moral courage to sell African ideals. But we are presently cursed by unrepentant politicians who have, over the years, funded and encouraged arms proliferation and consequently helping to itch the idle but armed hands.

The members of the SRT must not employ threats, propaganda, slick advertisements and PR campaigns because all these tools are for despots or the defeatist points of a threatened set. They should rather employ the historical perspectives of the sweet memories of our productive ethnic partnerships from the successes of our enduring food supply-chains which has helped to increase nutrition, the gains inherent in our diversity, as evident in the events of FESTAC 77, our inter-marriages, our numbers, etc. Analysing what is right or wrong or who is waxing or waning is needless. It is obstructive. Because a roaring lion kills no game, this scientific method I have proposed will collect National Unity Signatures from royal fathers, leaders of thought, ethnic juggernauts, agitators,youth leaders, religious bodies, former leaders, sports icons, screen divers and music icons, in the efforts to calm the psyche of the volatile three groups who will certainly have role models that can influence their actions. I can serve diligently with interested leaders to achieve this.

Statesmanship is not an exclusive preserve or title of former political office-holders but for persons possessing skills in managing public affairs for the common good, as there is no sitting on the fence in nation building. If you can talk, speak up. If you can write, control those letters to initiate peace. If you can’t walk, then crawl. If you can’t talk, make sounds of attention because we must never again allow our limitations,as fallible mortals, to defeat our sole aim of peace and life more abundant.  Nigeria is still battling underdevelopment and moral collapse, yet some people want to light the strained tunnel accommodating the inflammable. Historically, such threats materialize. But with our inextinguishable lifeline of trust in God and the patriotism in our sovereignty, we can quickly stop asking the questions of ‘is it politic” and begin to give answers to the questions: “Is it right?” If we don’t stand for something,we may fall for something involuntarily. When Rome boils, everybody loses because as hunger is felt by a slave, so is it felt by the king.

• Iwilade is a tourism researcher and poet.