Tangentially, I take the title of this article to be
humdrum. Why? Goodluck Jonathan was
prognosticated to be the last president of composite
Nigeria, but the doom prognosis is now legend.

Without obviating the trepidation and tension that
eclipsed the country before and during the 2015
general election, Nigeria survived Jonathan; I believe it
will survive President Muhammadu Buhari.

However, the whirling of events in the past few weeks
gives me colly-wobbles. The unity of Nigeria is not
only held by a tenuous thread at this time, the country
is also teetering on the brink of a violent hate war.

Since 2014, the agitation for an independent state of
Biafra has revved. But no doubt, the agitation grew in
decibel few months after Buhari ensconced himself in
government. Why? I believe it is because of the
sectionalism and nepotism that has become accenting
features of this administration, and of course, the
neglect of the south-east which the president does not
take a liking to.

Inasmuch as the secessionist agitation is a live threat
to the unity of Nigeria, the Kaduna declaration
dispatched by a coalition of northern youth groups led
by Arewa – that the Igbo must leave the north before
October 1 and that their property will be expropriated –
is a deadly uppercut to the bloody jaw of the nation’s
unity.

Although, a good number of northern leaders
condemned the declaration, some other persons,
“elders”, from the region endorsed it. The fact is, with
the proclamation a deeper wound has been inflicted on
the nation’s body. And it is an open-sesame for hate
mongers and sizzled bigots to tear what is left of the
country’s “bond” to pieces.

It was not surprising that some militant groups in the
Niger Delta delivered a riposte, in kind, to northerners
in their region – that they should leave the area before
October 1. A day to celebrate Nigeria’s independence
is now a potential doomsday. And of course,
secessionist agitators cashed in on the divisive
lineaments of the declaration to call for an exodus of
their people in the north. This is, principally, a chaotic
time in the history of the country since the civil war.

As a matter of fact, I have never feared for Nigeria’s
future until now. Yes. The compost of hate,
caterwauling, bitterness and recriminations on social
media induces severe fear and anxiety. But in the deep
of this fear, I believe that the country will not teeter off
the precipice. Why? What binds Nigeria is maximally
strong but ludicrous.

Nigeria is not held together by God, values, sacred
principles or beliefs, but by corruption, indiscipline,
greed, nepotism, incompetence, lust for power and
vested interest. These are the strong forces cementing
and patching up every leak in the roof of the Nigerian
dome.

Again, as the 2019 general election closes in, there are
more ominous threats to the country’s survival. While
Arewa bleats power must remain in the north in 2019
even if Buhari is incapacitated, Ohanaeze youth
threaten secession of the south-east if an Igbo does
not emerge as Nigeria’s president in that portentous
year.

Still, I believe we will survive 2019.

The 1985 song, ‘Nigeria Go Survive’ by Veno
Marioghae conveys my thoughts. Nigeria will survive
even when everyone knows that it is not working. It
will. Yes, again, because it is where “I chop, you
chop”.

In conclusion, the Buhari government must work at
forging a united country. Nigeria has never been this
divided. It has been said countless times that Buhari is
sectional. This is a fact, and I know he knows it. The
excuse that Jonathan too was sectional in his
appointments and in the distribution of resources is
what it is, an excuse.

Buhari must do better. Soon the sun will set on his
government, how does he want to be remembered, as
a sectional leader? As former President Olusegun
Obasanjo once said, the problem with Nigeria is that it
lacks a national leader. Buhari can make himself one
before the end of his administration. His legacy should
matter to him now. He is 74!

MEANWHILE…

Saraki’s CCT discharge

Conspiracy theorists are now conjuring up funny
stories of why Senate President Bukola Saraki was
cleared of 18-count charge of false asset declaration
by the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) on Wednesday.

As a “religious reporter” of the trial, I say with
accustomed dispassion that the federal government
bungled the case from its parturition. The witnesses
called by the government were at best vacuous and
impotent. They gave layers and layers of contradictory
statements. In fact, one Samuel Madojemu, the chief
investigator of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), the
agency which filed the charges against Saraki on
behalf of the government, publicly said his
organisation did not carry out an independent
investigation of the allegations against the senate
president before filing the charges. Imagine?
Osinbajo’s north-south consultations

Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has shown much of
the rare leadership stuff he is made of. His deft
intervention in the hate exchange between the south-
east and the north saved a combustible situation. If it
were to be some other presidents or even his “boss”, a
listless committee would have been set up to look into
the issue. But Osinbajo personally intervened in the
matter, dousing the sputter of tension. That is
leadership!

TheCable