It is a mistake not to see beyond the Tinubu Phenomenon as the problem with Nigeria. Put in another way, ‘it is a mistake to continue to think that Tinubu and his shenanigans, is really, the problem with Nigeria!’ You are making a mistake if you are still thinking that way.
The Problem with Nigeria and Tinubu Phenomenon
The problem with Nigeria is beyond Tinubu; it is beyond the Tinubu phenomenon either, no matter how bad and evil the Tinubu phenomenon and his infamous regime have “visited” and have continued to visit upon Nigerians and the Nigerian state itself. The Tinubu phenomenon and regime, if truth be told, is a consequence of a far more dangerous, foundational problem of Nigeria as a nation state. Unless that dangerous, foundational problem of Nigeria is fixed, tackled from its roots, and removed once and for all, as the ULTIMATE solution to the problem with Nigeria, Nigerians will continue to wild aimlessly in darkness, waiting for the ‘messiah’ that will never come. Nigerians will continue to live under illusion, and under a far more disappointing President than Tinubu you see today, or the ones preceding his current regime!
In other words, the problem is beyond ‘removing’ Tinubu from office as president. But after removing Tinubu, what next? Because, unless Nigeria’s faulty foundation is re-negotiated, and the country’s fraudulent political system or structure, and fake Constitution taken away, there will be no end in view in resolving the problem with Nigeria. Nigeria’s faulty foundation is the monster that must be addressed if we mean to solve the problem with the country as a nation state.
So, Tinubu is just the latest poster-child of the type of characters those who owned Nigeria, and who created Nigeria as a Nation State in 1914 to serve their interests, wanted it to be, and wanted to be running that colonial construct called Nigeria for them. So, the problem is not Tinubu, so to say; nor is it any of the other past so-called Presidents of that British contraption, called Nigeria! Although, they have their own share of the blame, since as President, Tinubu or those before him, since Independence, were never denied their bargaining rights and power in the comity of nations, to push for the re-negotiation of the faulty foundation of the colonial created contraption, called Nigeria. The inability of those so-called Nigerian leaders to stand up for the rights of their indigenous peoples who were forcefully logged together in that artificial colonial arbitrarily created contraption called Nigeria, even after the flag Independence in 1960 was achieved, to this day, is the problem; this is where we must hold individuals such as Tinubu and those preceding him as Presidents of Nigeria, as well as those who are currently shuttling up and down in their so-called political campaigns for their illusionary 2027 presidential elections, accountable for their negligence, and blame them for betraying Africa. Since none of them has made the total re-negotiation of the faulty foundation and fraudulent and fake political system underpinning Nigerian State and its governance structure, their main political agenda and purpose for seeking political posts.
Neither Tinubu, nor any of the previous Nigerian presidents is the problem with Nigeria.
Not even none of those individuals you have started to prompt up for your illusive, emotional, and fraudulent, so-called forthcoming presidential election 2027, is the problem with Nigeria. And none of them is even the solution to the problem with Nigeria either! Because those leaders cannot continue to disappoint us, year after year, or season after season. There must be a fundamental problem why we as Nigerians, have continued to be angry with each of those Nigerian leaders, past and present; and why they have continued to fail us?
Yes, “Tinubu is bad, corrupt, myopic, incompetent, ethnic-irredentist and religious bigoted,” as alleged. And the Nigerian State is ab initio, designed to protect and be governed by individuals of such a character.
Nigeria’s Problem is Beyond Removing Tinubu as President
Again, it is a mistake to continue to think that once Tinubu is removed from power as president of Nigeria today, and that your most ‘acclaimed incorruptible, impeccable, messiah candidate’ becomes the president, that things will turn out better for Nigeria and its citizens. The insecurity and Islamic terrorism, banditry and killings of Christians and Indigenous populations and moderate Muslims will stop forthwith! Please, give me a break! In fact, anyone who still thinks this way knows that he/she is not telling him/herself the truth. Such an individual is still living in a fool’s paradise.
Even the current military assistance Nigerian government of President Tinubu claimed to be receiving from the US President Trump administration is NOT going to yield the desired results as long as the fundamental, foundational problem bedevilling Nigeria is not tackled from its roots and fixed. The fact is that the Muslim North grip on Nigeria’s leadership and governance structure or political system, is so deep and has lasted so long, since the British colonial era in North Nigeria in 1800s and the Uthman dan Fodio Fulani warlord Jihadism and conquest of Northern Nigeria, to this present day, that no amount of the US President Trump’s military Airstrikes or bombing of radical Islamist Jihadists camps in the Northwest or Northeast of Nigeria is going to yield the desired results, unless Nigeria is renegotiated according to our fault-lines, to free the aggrieved and shortchanged ethnic nationalities or geopolitical regions.
This is because, in the final analysis, the US military Airstrikes can only come and bomb certain areas, the terrorists camps from the air, and afterwards, return to their base which is not in Nigeria! And the Nigerian government that in the first place had allowed those terrorists to invade and have their abode in Nigeria will continue to remain in power and govern the entire country as usual. So that at the long run, nothing is going to change. The radical Islamist terrorists and Fulani Jihadists will as before, continue with their terrorist activities and killings of innocent people as they have been doing. Don’t forget, this is the same Nigerian government or political ruling class that brought those Jihadist terrorists into the country in 2009, and more specifically, in 2012 and 2014, with the aim to unseat the then President Goodluck Jonathan and take over power from him. And that is the current APC government that came to power in May 2015 after using the Islamic and herdsmen terrorism to remove former President Jonathan from power. In other words, those Islamist terrorists are foot-soldiers for the ruling APC government and their offshoots political parties, such as the new political coalition code-named ADC, African Democratic Congress. Which is populated primarily by some disgruntled members of the APC who felt edged out by President Tinubu in political appointments. These are politicians, a good number of them are allegedly linked to the Islamic terrorist kingpins in the Northwest and Northeast of the country.
So, the whole thing about this APC Nigerian government partnering with the US to tackle insecurity in the country, is a deceit. This is one point one would like the US President Trump’s administration to take note of and not allow the deceitful APC regime in Nigeria or any other Nigerian politicians of that nomenclature, to deceive them. The Nigerian government and its handlers are just buying time. Because, since that US Military Airstrike in Sokoto Islamist Jihadists terror camps, have the terrorists stopped attacking and kidnapping people in those parts of the country and beyond? And has the Nigerian government and security operatives shown any seriousness of a government or security operatives prepared to fight terrorism and stop the killings? Not at all. The Nigerian government of President Tinubu has continued to buy time since that Christmas Day US military Airstrike bombing of ISIS terrorists camps in the Northwest Nigeria. And the Jihadist Terrorists have since resumed their terrorist activities in those Northern parts of Nigeria, with renewed vigour as if nothing had happened. This is because the Nigerian security operatives have been docile in following up the US military Airstrikes there, to fight and defeat those other terrorists who are still remaining there. This confirms what most people know already, namely, that the this APC government and security forces are colluding with the terrorists in killing Nigerians, apologies to the Rtd General T.Y. Danjuma.
Most people make mistake by thinking that all that is needed to fix Nigeria is to continue to go through the same ritual of every four years political election, of recycling the same individuals, members of the political class that are responsible for the country’s post-independence woes to this day! What a delusional way of reasoning. The problem with Nigeria is not going to be solved by accepting to go through the same fraudulent every four years political elections that has kept us where we are today.
Nigeria’s Problem Hinges on the Struggle for Human Survival
The problem with Nigeria today is that of human survival. The Nigerian state has killed millions and millions of its supposedly citizens, all in the name of keeping “Nigeria One”, an illusionary “Unity” of the so-called “One Nigeria” that has never come and will never come. Because that is not the Will of the Creator. Nigeria as a nation state, is a colonial arrangement, meant to keep the people in perpetual servitude and subjugation. There is no way, God can bless such man’s inhumanity to fellow man.
Once again, methinks that it is high time the African people who were forcefully logged together under a colonial fiat, in this abnormal, British colonial construct called Nigeria, should begin to tell themselves the naked truth. And embrace the ULTIMATE Solution to the problem with Nigeria! As the Bible teaches us, “Only truth can set you free.”
*It is high time Nigerians should begin to embrace the truth and accept the ULTIMATE Solution to the problem with Nigeria!*
The problem with Nigeria is not lack of “good persons” or of incorruptible individuals at the helm of affairs of Nigeria’s governance! Nigeria has never lacked good people in its leadership affairs since Independence in 1960 to this day. What Nigeria or rather Nigerians lack is the courage to tell themselves the truth about why the country has continued to go backward year after year since the flag Independence of 1960 to this day?
It is high time Nigerians should know that the only solution to the problem with this country of theirs, is to divide the country according to its fault-lines. That is, according to its God-given natural boundaries: the major geopolitical regions/ethnic nationalities and religious groups. And this is where the international community and the US President Trump’s administration is expected to help the country and its people most. The peaceful disintegration of the colonial arbitrarily artificial created nation state, which the British named Nigeria in 1914, after the infamous Lord Lugard’s Amalgamation of the Southern and Northern Protectorates of Nigeria. The problem of Nigeria is rooted in this arbitrary Amalgamation of the Southern and Northern Protectorates of Nigeria in 1914 by the British colonial authorities.
This is the problem with Nigeria, the colonial merging together of peoples of different ethnic and religious backgrounds, different philosophy of life and value systems and worldviews, and called them Nigeria. This is the problem with Nigeria and not Tinubu or any other politician, past or present. The continued refusal of the people in that geographical space called Nigeria to acknowledge this fact and return to the drawing board to correct it, is the problem with Nigeria.
The Way-Out
Therefore, the problem with Nigeria can never be resolved through personnel changes, regime change, or by accepting to go through another the same fraudulent every-four years political elections, thinking that it is through elections or personnel changes that Nigeria is going to become the Eldorado of your dream. Only a stupid person would be doing the same thing over and over again and be expecting a different result.
All the Nigerian leaders from the First Republic since Independence in 1960 to this day, cannot be bad, year after year, or season after season. There is nothing wrong with the Nigerian leaders and politicians. But there is something wrong with the foundation of Nigeria as a nation state by the British colonial powers that makes us to see every Nigerian leader that assumes office as president or governor or whatever, as a bad and corrupt leader. And as favouring only his part of the country, his ethnic and religious groups, and enriching his personal pockets and those of his ethnic group and cronies:
That thing is the faulty foundation of the Nigerian state, the merging together of peoples of different ethnic, religious and cultural identities, different backgrounds, different philosophy of life, value systems and worldviews, and forcefully putting them together into one nation state, which the British named Nigeria, and expect them to live together in peace and prosperity? That is the lie that is called Nigeria!
This abnormality can only be corrected through a referendum for self-determination among Nigeria’s different component units, the federating geopolitical regions/major ethnic nationalities that share the same value systems, philosophy of life, cultures, religious beliefs, languages and worldviews. Let each region or major ethnic nationality decide how they want to be governed, whether they want to continue to remain in the entity called Nigeria, or to go their separate ways, and form their own independent sovereign nation state. In this way, we all shall begin to relate well as neighbours, neighbouring independent nation states in the West African sub-region, and no longer as enemies. And this is will put an end, or at least, reduce drastically the ongoing Islamic terrorism and insecurity in the land. Because each new nation state will be responsible for its own security of lives and property of its own people and territorial integrity and protection from any internal or external aggression. Something that is not possible in Nigeria as presently constituted and governed.
As long as we continue to live under the present illusion of ‘One-Nigeria’, where everything is not only concentrated on one person, the so-called ‘President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria’, but also in one centre, the so-called ‘Federal Capital Territory’ (FCT), Abuja, things will continue to get worse and worse every day as well. The fact is that the so-called Federal Government of Nigeria is ethno-religious based and biased. The Nigerian State favours only a people or group/groups from a particular geopolitical region/regions and religion, the Muslim North to be precise, and their Southwest Yoruba brethren as collaborators. Every other region or ethnic nationality that doesn’t belong to this group is automatically short-changed, and subjected to all kinds of violence, marginalisation and persecution. For example, this has been the lot of the Igbo people of Eastern Nigeria since time immemorial in that British contraption, Nigeria.
In Conclusion
Nigeria does not need to go through any other of the same fraudulent political elections, that over the years have produced nothing but misery and suffering for the people and the country.
The division of Nigeria through a referendum for self-determination, according to its fault-lines — its major geopolitical regions/ethnic nationalities, is the ULTIMATE Solution to the problem of Nigeria. Any other thing is playing to the gallery, while things are deteriorating day-in and day-out all across the country.
A Stitch in Time Saves Nine!
Francis Anekwe Oborji is a Roman Catholic Priest. He lives in Rome where he is a Professor of missiology (mission theology) in a Pontifical University. He runs a column on The Trent. He can be reached by email HERE.
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.
