We are grateful for the opportunity and the privilege that we have had as a nation to
transit from military regimes to becoming a democracy. Democracy is beautiful, if and
when a State achieves nationhood. Until and unless a State has transited from statehood to nationhood, the gains of democracy if at all present, will be minimal. And this is the dilemma of many African countries who have embraced democracy. Many in their bid to salvage their situation championed nationalism instead of pursuing nationhood. It is made clear that nationhood and nationalism are neither synonymous nor do they serve the same purpose.
Though nationalism in its true and positive sense is laudable, it is important for us to realize that in our world today, savage nationalism is the same spirit of racism, resulting in such despicable acts of the American black history, South African Apartheid, and ethnic cleansing of Eastern Europe, and [Central] Africa’s Rwanda. These evil are the result of nationalism where it is defined by blood, language, culture, and history. We have to realize that nationalism, where it is so defined by our relationship through language, or culture or blood, has only led men to their untimely graves and fractured societies. Our nation will not escape such fractures if we define ourselves according to our historical origins rather than our purpose, our vision. This perversion of Nationalism is the absence of national purpose; in many nations today, through Nationalism, we have a disguised resurgence of medieval tribal wars. Nationhood is different. In Nationhood, there’s mutual respect and respect for citizens’ rights.
We must remember that democracy is borne of the idea that citizens have a right to choose by whom and how they should be governed. And at this particular time in our country, it has become so important that we realize what democracy has granted us: the right to decide who governs us and how we shall be governed. Of course, it has been a slow journey, a slow process, because most of us are children and grand-children of military officers, and we were brought up to be militant in nature. But the time has come for us to settle for the change that has come upon us, the change that we have all embraced. And by that change our language must change; our perceptions must change; our respect for law and order must change; and of course, the law must change to favour its citizens.
Democracy comes with a citizens’ Bill of Rights, even though ours remains largely undeclared. But I call on every smart thinking person to study the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, so at least you understand what your rights are; what you can do and what you may be forbidden to do. Democracy thrives in informed and educated and enlightened societies. Dictatorship thrives in ignorant societies. We must, therefore, embrace education. We cannot wait until we have the best of situations. We cannot wait to have the best of conditions to read a book. We must choose to be informed; we must choose to open our minds and get educated. There is the ‘do-it-yourself’ attitude that we must have. Each one of us must be willing to educate himself, only that way can we be involved in nation building. No one else will build Nigeria for us; Nigeria will be built by Nigerians. To build a nation, we must recognize the concomitant sub-nations; these are the micro-ethno systems that function within the sovereign nation. It is the development of these micro-ethno systems that increases a nation’s gross national product, its per-capita income, and therefore its citizens’ standard of life. Micro-ethno systems are usually frustrated in States that are yet to understand, much less metamorphose into, nationhood.
To Be Continued...
