Iyoha John Darlington
We have seen and heard of the ongoing agitation in south-eastern Nigeria making news headlines around the world apparently in sympathy with a marginalised and downtrodden people in south-eastern Nigeria under the jackboot of a beleaguered government battling Islamist insurgents in the north-east who, reports say, are fighting to actualize a sovereign Islamic State.
This alleged marginalisation has given birth to separatist sentiments, feelings and aspirations which portend nothing but a grave danger for Nigeria’s fragile unity.
There is no restating the obvious that Nigeria is a multi-ethnic and fractious country. A civil war has been fought in that country that lasted for over 30 months and millions of lives were lost and that same ugly scenario is brewing again which is being played down by the powers that be.
Instead of employing dialogue to resolve the growing conflict grapevine sources say that the Nigerian government under Muhammadu Buhari has resorted to clampdown on the agitators and had its leader swooped on and charged with high treason. Ah……this is ill-advised!
Frankly, the President has goofed here in no small measure because you can not resolve violence by violence. These people are only employing peaceful protests to press home their demand.
In life, we may have a billion lie but never a billion truth because there is only one truth. Hence, the truth is obvious – undeniable and incontrovertible – that this unfolding scenario has a major causative factor which has been overlooked by the successive governments of post-independence Nigeria.
Like the writer observed and said before, a civil war was fought to reunite the reactionary Biafran secessionists with Nigeria in the Gowonist days. Fortunately or unfortunately, the problems that sparked off that separatist feelings have always been there and are still there which governments over time appeared disinclined to address.
More worrisome is the illusion on the part of Nigerian leaders that today would certainly be like yesterday in the event of hostilities and for the agitators to think tomorrow will be any different, the leaders opined, is the hope that pigs might fly. Nigeria must be saved of this impending catastrophe and its leaders must not run away with the fact that these people are crying wolf.
There is a cogent reason for this agitation and President Muhammadu Buhari should cast pride and the counsels of Ahithophel in his government overboard and engage the reactionaries in a dialogue.
Iyoha John Darlington, an opinion leader and public commentator on national and global issues writes from Turin, Italy
