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– By Theophilus Ejorh
It is now trite to refer to Nigeria as a troubled country or a failing state. The country rem
However, that failure of leadership today subsumes a plethora of problems. The now seemingly abating protests, hashtagged#EndSARS, organised by a hitherto quiescent youthpopulation, many of them college graduates with master’s degrees and doctorates, have thrown up some of these issueson the front burner of national discourse. The protests had begun peacefully as a call for an end to policy brutality in Nigeria and the abolition of the reprobate unit of the Nigerian Police, called the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), but by the second week, the protesters added more items to their catalogue of demands.
In an uncharacteristic fashion, the Nigerian Government, announced the dissolution of the loathsome body, but replacedit with SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics), after the American law enforcement unit that employs specialised (oftentimes milita
In a move to stamp their foothold on the situation, an eloquent demonstration to the Nigerian State that they would no more be bullied into latency, the once stereotyped as a lazy and parasitic horde broadened their demands to incorporate issues emblematic of sweeping reforms, some of which might have sounded unrealistic for the apparatchik of state. Among other things, besides ending SARS, they demanded that the government sack current security chiefs; improve security;engage a full deregulation of the oil and gas sector to enable increased investments for job creation; facilitate the immediate passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill, introduced in the National Assembly since 1999 by the Olusegun Obasanjo presidency. If passed into law, the regulation would help in administering the Nigerian petroleum industry, from the upstream sector – comprising exploration, development and production activities – through the midstream (gas processing) to the downstream – covering s
Other demands by the now adamant and discerning youthsincluded: full deregulation of the power sector to facilitate the flow of investment capital to generate, transmit and distribute more electrical power and job creation in that sector; government renunciatio
The protesters also demanded that all politicians be placed on a minimum wage to attract genuine public servants, and make political offices less attractive to rogues; the introduction oftotal electoral reforms with electronic voting tied to voters’ Bank Verification Number (BVN) and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). More fundamentally, there should be a return of the country to the previous regional governance structure; a return to full fiscal federalism with regional autonomy should also be adopted; the current bi-cameral national legislature should be replaced with a uni-cameral system; the national police force should be scrapped and replaced with regional police; the current practice of allocating budgets for running private affairs of elected and appointed public servants should also be scrapped; and university education should become the minimum qualification for all political office holders.
Furthermore, the youths wanted all politicians and public servants stripped of all perquisites and benefits after their tenure; salaries should be increased for the police, the military, doctors, nurses, teachers, and other civil servants; government should surrender ownership and management of businesses at all levels; looters and criminals should be exposed and tried in the courts; public servants should be banned from medical tourism overseas; and finally, the country should be restructured.
The youths’ demands speak inescapably to the wider aspirations of the Nigerian people of several decades, in what can be encapsulated as a yearning for positive peace. Norwegian sociologist and the founder of the discipline called Peace Studies, Johan Galtung, had coined the terms “negative peace” and “positive peace” to distinguish two models of conflict resolution. Negative peace simply means the absence of war, the absence of violence or threat or fear of violence. It does not capture a society’s inclinations towards stability and harmony. In contrast, positive peace embodies the attitudes, institutions and structures that create and sustain peaceful societies. It tackles the root causes of the conflict and aggression and seeks to enthrone a system rooted in the promotion of human rights and social justice. Previously, peace was viewed as the absence of violence, without an understanding that other interacting factors are also intrinsically involved.
Positive peace is anchored on eight pillars, namely: a well-functioning government; equitable distribution of resources; a sound business environment; heavy reduction in levels of corruption; acceptance, respect and promotion of the rights of others; high levels of human capital; free flow of information; and good neighbourliness.
The current state of Nigeria reflects neither negative peace nor positive peace. The reason is that the country is perennially engulfed in conflicts and acts of violence – ranging from police brutality, threats to insecurity posed by Boko Haram insurgency and armed cattle herders, ethnic conflicts, the slaughtering of Shite Muslims, the massacre of Christians in Northern Nigeria and the Middle Belt, the recent butchery of over seventy protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate on Black Tuesday, the 20th of October, agitations for autonomy that pit secessionist groups like the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) against armed security agencies that have often resulted in bloodletting against the agitators; mobs roaming and ruling the streets; the continued conflicts and policing of the oil-producing Niger Delta; and the current protests against police brutality and wider reforms by Nigerian youths. The list is endless. Clouds of anarchy and violence perpetually hang over the country.
As a tested model of conflict transformations and lasting peacebuilding, positive peace would subvert and topple structures and cultures of violence in all spheres of national life in Nigeria, from the domain of politics and governance, to social, economic and cultural lives. It is a more enduring peace that is hinged on sustainable investments in economic development and institutions and societal attitudes that foster peace. Essentially, it burrows into the roots of conflicts and violence, and destroys them right at the source. A model of social justice, positive peace in Nigeria will challenge and disrupt entrenched privileges and excesses of socially, politically and culturally advantaged groups that erode or limit opportunities for the common people (the teeming majority). It will guarantee wellbeing and better opportunities forminoritised and oppressed groups. The model is revolutionary and life-
A few years ago, the Nigerian government made an attempt atpeacebuilding in the context of the conflict in the Niger Delta. Till today, the region still bears the wounds of environmental degradation stemming from oil and gas production; large-scale poverty of the communities; ethnic aggressions; the proliferation of militancy and ethnic vigilantism; military invasions and brutal policing. In what seemed like a peacebuilding effort, the Nigerian government granted amnesty to the Niger Delta militants some years ago. But this was only a scratch on the surface of things, a sort of negative peace effort that failed to engage with the demands of the militants and their communities for greater resource controland a healthy and sanguine ecology, the root of the problem. Previously, the government had established the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), and gave it the sole remit of developing the oil-rich region. With the amnesty and the cessation of militancy achieved, the government createda Niger Delta Ministry, and made the extant NDDC a parastatal under it. In addition to its existing mandate, the Commission would train and educate young people in the Niger Delta region to eradicate hostilities and militancy, as well as develop key structures to promote diversification and productivity. But, since its creation, the NDDC has been riddled with corruption and wanton mismanagement of resources. The culture of profligacy there is legendary. It has become a honey pot for politicians and bureaucrats who immerse themselves in it in a looting spree, like vultures swooping and digging their claws into a fattened carrion. The money designed for the development of the poor oil communities and their inhabitants are routinely dive
Nigerians tend to celebrate and protect political and bureaucratic thieves, because they belong to their ethnic groups. Positive peace rejects ethnic bigotry and the glorification of crimes and indiscretions committed by co-ethnics. There should be no sacred cows. Everyone is equal before the law, and must face the full weight of it in the event of infractions of set standards of propriety and accountability.
The current tide of discontent and resistance raging in Nigeria warrants immediate constructive action, else the basis of peace and stability of the country stands the risk of rupture. Nigerian leaders must foster opportunities for genuine peacebuilding, be proactive in resolving injustice in non-
Above all, positive structures should be created for youth empowerment in all spheres of national life. The youths should no longer be considered and treated as tomorrow’s leaders. Their leadership should start now, as the old brigade are supported to smoothly and painlessly step aside, after handing over the baton.
Currently, some groups are agitating for self-determination, some for restructuring, and others for good governance. They have the right to do so, and should not be made to suffer for exercising that right. It is only self-interested individua
To conclude, the culture of positive peace and peaceful transformation operates best through sustained dialogue, negotiations, tolerance and understanding. Parties in the conflict must be willing to make compromises, if need be, and also accept the outcomes of the negotiations. That said, there should also be consultations as to whether there is a need to adjust the current architecture of the country. The question should be: Can we be better off restructuring, breaking up into autonomous groups, or staying together?
– Dr. Theophilus Ejorh is an Irish Nigerian authorbased in Dublin.