It was Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, that wrote on the danger of a single story and unfortunately the cyberspace in Nigeria is guilty of this narrative.
We’ve taking leave of our cognitive and the ability to rationalize looking at both side of the spectrum, we’ve allowed ourselves to fall into the abyss of primordial sentiment and ethnic bigotry in discussing issues of National interest.
Just recently, terrorism, banditry and kidnapping has formed headlines on the front pages of our National newspapers, this waves of mayhems, religious and ethnic instabilities has attracted the sympathies of international communities to intervene in the senseless killings of innocent Nigerians.
It’s crystal clear, our collective enemy is bad governance, leadership of self aggrandizement and personal representation but the political players benefiting from this loopholes have resorted to playing the emotions of innocent Nigerians through a theory of falsehood that throws tantrums and promotes religious and ethnic division.
The danger of the single story here, is promoting a truth that seeks to justify one’s account while paying deaf ears to other account. This schism is further fueled by the right to self determination movement peddled within the country by those we consider the three major tribes. The concept that brought about this erroneous categorization has become the foundation where history was jettisoned in Nigeria.
Before colonization, the igalas have existed as a kingdom with part of Igbo land under their rule but for political reason, the zoning system was introduced to alter the political landscape to make a section of the country more politically relevant which is the North.
History always find a way to repeat it’s circle, as we know, issues of census ended the first republic in a coup d’etat which further drifted the Nation to a civil war called the Biafra war that ended with no victor.
The major factor that calumniated the Nation in a civil war was purely personal, but for political reasons a sermon was preached that colored the crises as an affront to an ethnic group which till date several ethnic groups have pushed for the division of the Nigerian state.
A student of history who has combed history and identified the root causes of the new day Nigerian crisis won’t allow his/herself to be subservient to the narration of the single story.
The political solution to the Nigerian state are;
- The responsibleness of state governors towards regional growth and economic development.
- Leadership of accountability at all levels of government, the office of the auditor general must ensure strict budgetary accountability at the end of each financial year.
- State policing to tackle issues of insecurities and involvement of traditional situations in resolving large scale conflicts.
- Balancing of power adequately at the federal to ensure equal representation and statutory compliance to federal regulations.
This are are template to a new Nigeria and even the resolution of the last confab addresses the above issues.
Ethnicity has never been our problem but greedy politicians have exploited their people making it look like a Yoruba man is against the Hausa or the Hausas are against the Igbos. This are purely game politics of the uncivilized that has captured the Nigerian state and African in general.
Am tired of pinging. Good afternoon Nigerian and happy Sunday.