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01 August 2012
By Abdulwarees Solanke
It cannot be denied that there is anomie in our land.
When a nation, more than 50 years of attaining
nationhood still thinks of national dissolution,
rather than rebirth; when citizens see more of their
differences rather than what unites them; when those
who should proudly declare themselves as the future of
the nation are already seeing themselves as a wasted
generation; when yesterday's leaders who should sit
back in the comfort of their retirement to mentor new
leaders still see themselves real players in the
polity, then it becomes difficult for us to have a new
beginning or the fresh start out of our national
malaise.
This unfortunate situation has resulted in some
discomfiting development rightly manifesting as
anomie: a condition of hopelessness, according to the
chambers 20th century dictionary, which is
caused by breakdown of rules of conduct, and loss of
belief and sense of purpose. The implication of this
definition is that we have lost vision and direction
in our nation. In a situation like this, drums of war
are beaten; hate prevails in the land; there is mutual
animosity and transferred aggression; everybody
becomes an opportunist trying to cannibalize the
carcass that the nation has become; the economy
becomes the grazing ground for some deadly
mercantilists; nobody cares to plant any seed,
infinite as a mustard again; the best saw is found for
the mighty oak on the field to strewn into pieces; the
Gamji is uprooted not to be transferred or replanted
but for its leaves to be plucked to make some tea; the
fattest milk cow is butchered and roasted for suya and
asun; the goose that lays the golden eggs is
slaughtered for some saucy and spicy soup. Everybody
comes to the slaughter slab of the nation with some
shaka and bagco superbag to share the last bull that
pulls the harvester on the farm. Pity all in the land!
Nation builders become funeral undertakers. Infants
and toddlers who should be crying for breast milk are
turned mourners in the cradle. It is a national
tragedy!
In this misfortune of the rape of the nation and the
economy mercilessly bled by those who should be its
saviours and managers, everybody becomes anaemic,
jaundiced, dishevelled, depressed, distressed, sick
and gasping for breath. On death throes, can there be
hope for such? Even if they manage to survive, it is
not impossible that they cannot be recovered to their
full senses; they suffer from an uncommon amnesia.
They lose memory of the finest traditions and values
of the past; they lose memory of the best practices
and best examples from the immediate past and from
other climes; they lose memory of the bright vision of
the nation and the great prospects the nation had in
the beginning.
When there is a collective amnesia in the land, hope
is lost and right purposes are defeated. The beauty of
nationhood is obliterated while the evils of diversity
are magnified. The recipe for national collapse are
collated and highlighted for everybody to cook the
nation's downfall. In this anaemic state and
collective amnesia, more enemies of the state are
sired to set the stage for war of national
dissolution. But this resort is really not profitable
for any nation.
At a time China, a colossus, still romanticizes on the
Chineseness of Taiwan, Hong Kong and even Singapore, a
time South Korea dreams of the Korean reunification
and when the history of Germany still plays out as a
worthy example of unification, it is surely mad to
advance the cause of Nigerian disintegration. Today,
Europe celebrate its union, while the United States, a
richly diverse continental shelf is proud of its
oneness, yet vastness. Indonesia offers a very good
case study of nationhood and diversity. An archipelago
comprising more than 300 islands with diversity of
languages and culture colonized the Dutch, Indonesia
had found its national bearing ever before its
independence with the resolution at a Youth
conference, declaring Indonesia as one indivisible and
indissoluble nation with one national language, Bahasa
Indosnesia, and not the language of the Dutch which
colonized them.
The problem with Nigeria is not peculiar. What is
peculiar to us is the lack of faith in ourselves. What
is peculiar to us is our arrogance to one another.
What is peculiar to us are our complexes, unfounded
phobia and misdirected hatred towards ourselves.
Nations are not built or reconstructed on phobia and
complexes, but on shared values, despite diversity,
and common purpose despite differences.
It is the enemies of the nation who latch on
differences and diversity of tribes, ethnicity,
language and religion to play up centrifugal
tendencies in the country. They sing the songs of war
and speak the language of separation; they remind the
citizens of the past odious wars of attrition. They
are the funders and financiers of destruction of
national assets, human and material causing
distraction from the pursuit of national development.
Somehow, they may have some justifications from what
they have suffered. But these are not sufficient to
compromise the essence of unity and brotherhood of
humanity. Nationhood is one of the paths to achieving
the unity of mankind. As a student of the Quran, this
is why I am always enthralled by a particular verse
which suggests that the essence of the diversity of
mankind is not for unnecessary competition and
despise, but just identity. The best of you is he who
fears God most, that verse concludes. This verse is
amplified by a prophetic saying that the Arabs have no
superiority over the non-Arabs, nor do the rich over
the poor. There is an illustration of this reality in
the position of Bilal, an African of Abyssinian being
the preferred muadhin in the time of the Prophet. When
an Arab denigrated him because of skin and the
incident got to the attention of the Prophet, the
Prophet excoriated the Arab, Abu Dharr al-Ghifari for
still possessing traces of jahilliyyah, ignorance, in
him.
Celebration of tribalism and arrogation of ethnic
superiority are all indications of ignorance.
Liberated and enlightened beings discount such
ignorant attitude towards one another. We are all the
same. It is the enemies of the nation who call to and
support disintegration. But they can be forgiven
because they are acting on ignorance and not of
enlightenment.y So, in this Ramadan, we should think
of amnesty for all the enemies of Nigeria who by
errors of omission or commission, have being
responsible for the anomie in our land, anaemia of our
economy and consequently our collective amnesia
responsible for the cry of marginalization and
campaign of national dissolution. Perhaps when they
see the beauty in our diversity, they will lead the
call for our continuity and stability. There is grace
and power in the unity of our nation, Nigeria. There
is beauty in our diversity.
Abdul-Warees Solanke, Head, Voice of Nigeria Training
Centre, Broadcasting House, Ikoyi Lagos studied Mass
Communication and Public Policy and writes via
korewarith@yahoo.com |
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