A Tale of the Madman and the Hoe, By Oluwadele Bolutife

While it is lamentable that we are not necessarily represented by our best across board, the leaders who thought they were building bridges by selling their people as cheap commodities now have a chance for soul searching. Is Nigeria actually one; with things tilting in the same direction?

There is no doubt that it has been an interesting time in Nigeria. The instability that we can no longer deny is bringing out all shades of people from their closets, and they are now showing the colours that many of us had known them with for a long time. Many seemingly watertight alliances are giving way to the realities of disappointments, self-interests, and divisions.

Before delving too deep into the discourse here, let me elucidate upon the operative concept at play. In the wisdom of our elders, no one is completely insane, in so far as they breathe and eat, no matter the kind of food and the circumstances of their abode. Therefore, it is postulated that no one is entirely foolish to the extent that if presented an opportunity, s/he will know what to do with it. Furthermore, the foregoing aphorism explains the intractably selfish disposition of humans, no matter the circumstances in life. Therefore, the depiction of a mad man is premised on the fallacy that he has lost his senses completely. This argument may or may not contradict the current mental health imperatives that are often lumped together with madness in our clime. So, a madman, so to name, will most likely still till the ground towards himself if given a hoe. This is a simple but profound statement about self-preservation as a natural law.

Given the above, various narratives across the many divides in our supposedly beloved country need to be properly interrogated. Also, I may not be completely unbiased in interpreting these narratives given this title. Although we all know, presumably, that ” he who feels it knows it”, nevertheless the inherent human tendency is to find justifications for all actions and inactions.

Let us start with the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) agitations and the promptness of the group’s labelling as a terrorist organisation  The swiftness of this labelling should not rob us of the underlying hegemonistic imperatives of the powers that be. While we may all agree that some of the methodologies of operation of IPOB may not pass the test of decency, again, depending on which lenses through which we look at it, we should not be lost, in the least, by the centrality of its messages. In a non-complicated narrative, the agitation responds to real marginalisation that has unwittingly been deployed against a section of Nigeria, the Igbos, second-class citizenship. Many attempts at drawing attention to the blatant injustices in the lack of opportunity, more demanding conditions for gaining admission into schools, and so many other known discriminatory treatments that this group of people have had to suffer since the conclusion of the civil war, have always been dismissed as mere rants. Notwithstanding the abusive and uncouth language usually deployed by the organisation’s spokesperson, it is unfair to throw this baby of circumstance away with its bathwater. Their grievances are as genuine as they can ever be.

Next is the echo from the Middle Belt, ably represented by General T.Y. Danjuma and the irrepressible governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, who saw beyond the philosophy of the Rural Grazing Area (RUGA) settlements, as more than the preservation of economics, but more as a strategy of occupation. His government’s resistance, which attracted both admiration and condemnation, depending on which side of the divide you are, shows that certain things are fundamentally wrong. Why should the promosition of a particular economic interest become a jeopardy to another economic interest, and we pretend that all is well? How does open grazing, which leaves in its trail the destruction of other people’s economic well-being, the loss of lives, and dehumanising rape, become beneficial or promotional of the fraud called national cohesion? Why should the tolerance of others amount to the loss of lives of the ‘nice’ folks? Benue’s response has shown that all is not well.

The Sunday Igboho phenomenon drew and is still drawing attention to the response that is not dissimilar to what was expressed by the governor of Benue State, as stated above. How can the life of an investor, employing over 200 to work on his farm, be cheaply terminated just because he sought to find out the reason behind the flagrant encroachment of his farmland? The child of circumstance that Igboho has become may not have been necessary if the instruments of justice and fairness had been demonstrated at the very least. This is besides the fact that many of the perpetrators of these heinous atrocities may not be indigenes of Nigeria. Supposing many of the people committing crimes against humanity and reason are illegal aliens, whose only strength is their ethnic affinity with the people in power, that they are overtly supported should be seen beyond the convenience of dismissive conspiracy theories.

The case of a governor claiming that all bandits are not criminal came to the fore recently. For the sake of this argument, let us agree with him for a moment. So, in the same logic, how do all members of IPOB become terrorists for asking for their legitimate rights within the space they call their own?

Yet, traveling up North of Nigeria has become a nightmare of untold proportion recently. Many lives have been cut short in their prime, and many sources of livelihood completely wiped out. The recurrent dehumanisation of people through kidnap, rape, and other forms of psychological trauma is also beyond comprehension. The so-called bandits, who by definition are considered as criminals, are being courted and negotiated with by some governments in the country, without consideration for the many victims of their nefarious activities. Now, farmers who dare go to their farms, do so in trepidation. They pay these criminals due to allow them sow on their farms and even pay more to harvest the produce. Farmers up North now consider it a great luxury to enjoy the fruits of their labour.

Some effects of these untoward activities are that people are left in hunger, agony, and the loss of their dignity, which should not be in normal circumstances.

Despite what could be considered a simple situation for even the blind to see, there have been some defences that are not only lame but can be charitably regarded as the products of infertile minds. However, this is unfortunate, given the stature of the people involved in these counter-narratives, as these are seemingly cerebral people in the corridors of power whose opinion we cannot easily dismiss.

The case of a governor claiming that all bandits are not criminal came to the fore recently. For the sake of this argument, let us agree with him for a moment. So, in the same logic, how do all members of IPOB become terrorists for asking for their legitimate rights within the space they call their own? How do peaceful protesters become labeled as hoodlums, while AK47 wielding kidnappers and/or herders are our ‘people’ who we should learn to accommodate? If bandits abduct school children at will, threatening to humiliate as many soldiers as are sent to them, and are still graciously negotiated with by a soldier-cleric, why then are shots fired at a group of youngsters who are peacefully expressing their grievances?

The latest incredible statement was by the President of the Senateof Nigeria , who threw tantrums at the entire South-West Governors as being masterminds of the ethnic crisis that has been engulfing the region. Could we then say that governors in North-West are equally behind the unfettered activities of bandits  in that zone of the country? Perhaps, since the North-West governors are better negotiators and have better access to the national treasury, their activities at compensating perpetrators of crime are more justified. I am yet to find any altruistic validation of that assertion, however.

How do we proceed from here, especially if no one wants to shift base? How soon can we prevent the chicken from coming home to roost in Nigeria?

The bottom line is that the North is good at defending its own, no matter how atrocious their activities are. For a balancing of perspectives, El-Rufai, the governor of Kaduna State, though not with the enviable record of not negotiating with terrorists in the past, however still lent a voice of reason that negotiations and payments of ransom to criminals can only be counter-productive and will not work.

Nigeria has been long at the cliff, and there is no more assurance that the precipice will not give way sooner than later. While it is lamentable that we are not necessarily represented by our best across board, the leaders who thought they were building bridges by selling their people as cheap commodities now have a chance for soul searching. Is Nigeria actually one; with things tilting in the same direction?

Are the South-Western governors complicit in the situation in the region, as indicated by the Senate President, or are they suffering double jeopardy because of their perceived compromises? The answer is not that simple, but in between those lines lies the truth.

We have collectively and mistakenly over-empowered the North, and it should not be surprising if they now rub it openly in our face. It may not matter if you consider this a product of ethnic chauvinism; the fact remains that it is unacceptable to continue to perpetuate inequality in the union, while welcoming illegal aliens with royalty. The ‘madman’ we have given the hoe has decided, and reasonably too, to tilt the ground towards himself.

How do we proceed from here, especially if no one wants to shift base? How soon can we prevent the chicken from coming home to roost in Nigeria?

Oluwadele Bolutife, a chartered accountant and a public policy and administration scholar, writes from Canada. He can be reached through: bolutife.oluwadele@gmail.com