Unending Wars And Disagreements: How They Are Affecting Our Future (Part II)

Unending Wars And Disagreements: How They Are Affecting Our Future (Part II)

Yesterday, in the introductory part of this piece, we talked about the impact of unending wars at the global level and how technological innovation has powered changes in the way conflicts are being fought in the modern era.

And altered how man and his society are developing potentials that are shaping socioeconomic and sociopolitical structures across the globe.

Africa, often described by some as the “dark continent”, has not been spared either by conflicts and crises.

Right from the days of the liberation struggle when Africans said no to foreign rule, through the attainment of political independence to the evolution of African nations, conflicts have taken a toll on human lives and adversely affected the transformation process in the post independence era.

These unending wars have equally resulted in the birth of new nations. Sudan which has given birth to South Sudan is one clear example of how conflicts and crises have led to the advent of new countries.

South Sudan gained independence in 2011 through a referendum after several years of armed struggle which began around 1950.

Similarly, the Eritrean struggle led to the freedom of the Eritrean people and their province from the Ethiopian empire. The war lasted a period of 30 years from September 1961 to May 1991.

The Congo after independence and the murder of Patrice Lumumba among other things split into two parts that eventually came to be known as Congo Kinshasa (the Democratic Republic of the Congo) and Congo Brazzaville (the Republic of the Congo).

There are differences between Angola and Congo DRC, and between Ethiopia and Somalia over the Gulf of Aden to name a few.

In Nigeria, insurgents, militants and separatists have become part of the political landscape.

Although the centre still holds, Nigerians have been faced in the last 15 years by growing instability and insecurity particularly in the North East, North Central and South East.

Accordingly, the Nigerian Army has risen up in arms against the leadership of groups that are undermining national unity and the resolve to build a country that aims to be the giant of Africa.

While the military keeps the enemies of the Nigerian state at bay, a new war, which would be fought up to 2027 is unfolding.

It is not the war with Boko Haram, Lukawaras or IPOB which is taking a toll on the rest of us.

It is a war of destabilization carefully designed to weaken political opponents and strengthen acolytes of the Tinubu dynasty.

As part of the strategy, the President appears to look the other way while some political generals around him claiming to act in his interest reek serious havoc on subregional governments  and sub-nationals that must be compelled by political conquest to support a re-election bid.

Rivers State has turned into an example of a state that is no longer at ease. At a glance, its strategic control has become an obsession and a task for taskmasters  with hideous interests.

Over a year since differences among major players in the Rivers political space crept into the open, a titanic battle involving so much in terms of energy, time and resource has been fought between  Ex-Governor Nyesom Wike and his successor, Governor Siminalayi Fubara.

It has resulted into a nasty war in which there are no clear winners While Wike sees the ongoing crisis as a war to protect what he personally refers to as his political structure (a metaphor for the absolute control of the Rivers political space that he seeks1), Fubara and the  majority of Rivers men and women who are rallying behind him view the battle as a war of liberation.

You will probably ask, what liberation has to do with all of this. A lot, especially if you have your eyes to the ground. Democracy is about the right to make deliberate choices. It is about the right to participate in the democratic process.

To be part of a proper democratic society, one must have a stake in the democratic project, including of course, the freedom to hold opinion and impart ideas and the right to worship among others.

In a nutshell, such freedoms should embrace the right to liberty, the feeling that one is born free and the feeling that nobody can take that away.

It should embrace the resolve of a mass of people to demand the fulfilment of the social contract which defines their relationship with the state and those who lead them.

So, those who talk in terms of owning or retaining control of  awesome political structures may not know it. In perceiving disagreements as acts of betrayal or disloyalty, they see men who support them  as robots. In their view, so-called loyalists must obey every command without question.

Given their kind of orientation, those who are supposedly part of so-called political structure should have no thoughts of their own and technically cannot contemplate a life outside the control of the master.

These taskmasters who go by all kinds of  descriptions do not perceive that man has the inalienable right to take control of his destiny or make far reaching decisions, sometimes selfish, which give him a sense of fulfilment and pleasure.

Structures which do not accept that man is structured to be free from intimidation, bullying, and acts of terror; structures which do not accept that men should be free of the overbearing nuances of those who choose to be overlords shouldn’t be allowed by rational minds to subsist.

If these thoughts which flow like an unending stream define individualistic reaction and behaviour, at least from a positive perspective, then Governor Siminalayi Fubara had the freedom to express the right to clear thinking, the right to be a leader on his own terms and even the right to build structures with a human face, with men of likeminds.

We must make the point that Rivers people who were either seen or considered as part of a political structure and who all along had passions of their own, emotions that dwelt in their hearts and dreams that drive their existence were never owned by those with whom they worked. We are not aware that they were slaves acquired from a slave market.

Man’s freedom to take on destiny, to chart a new course and possibly rewrite history separates him from the other members of the animal kingdom. This, among other reasons, should somehow settle the argument over political structures or attempts by some some to own a State and all that are within the boundary of a State. It should also explain why political  structures are born and reborn.

Honestly, I have been burdened by thoughts other than political structures and the impact such structures have on the nature of our politics. I have been bothered night and day by an economic war that is being waged in my view against states in the Niger Delta, including Rivers.

The Niger Delta has been stereotyped over the years as a volatile region where instability reigns. Those who have scripted this ugly narrative have oftentimes exploited the weakness of the Niger Delta people in properly articulating the future in a world that is controlled by interests.

The fact remains that this perception has affected the flow of investments to the Niger Delta region. Rivers State should on paper be contesting favourably with Lagos State over investments.

We have seen oil companies retain their headquarters in Lagos despite existing directives from the federal authotities which say they should relocate to the region where they run their operations.

Everyday these companies fly in prized workers from Lagos to work on oil and gas platforms. They face no risks at work while on our soil. These same persons are flown back to Lagos at the close of work.

As a result, foreigners with huge investment portfolios are subtly encouraged to avoid the  Niger Delta states and the people who dwell along the shorelines of the deltaic region.

Our seaports literarily been abandoned by our own Federal Government. Our once busy waterways which in the early days opened windows of trade between Europeans and our people have been left undesilted.

Businesses which enjoyed comparative advantages while here have long left the region out of the fear of the unknown. And states like Rivers that have struggled to provide infrastructure that is comparable to what exists in Lagos and Abuja are grappling with the wrong end of the stick as they shop for investments

Who has laid this curse on us?  This is the natural question to ask. Could it be that the fault is in our stars? Who benefits when so-called strong men in the Niger Delta fight? Is it the people in the region or is it someone miles away?

The truth must be told. When strongmen do battle in the Niger Delta as Wike and the rest are doing in Rivers State, they encourage the flow of investments to Lagos and other South West states whose people present a facade of peace and tranquility despite differences which may exist among them.

Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, now President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, may not have agreed with Governor Ambode during his reign as governor. He however sat through four years of Ambode’s rule. Why didn’t he tumble Lagos State? Didn’t he have the power to kick out Ambode even before his tenure was to end?

The answer may lie in Tinubu’s display of local intelligence, wisdom, maturity and foresight. He could have been hurt by the antics of Ambode, but he loved Lagos more. He may have encountered Ambode frontally but he chose self respect, self restraint, and pursued a vision of a greater Lagos.

This should be instructive as writers, analysts and commentators analyse the depth of the Rivers crisis and the situation that the people of Rivers State face.

Wike and his strongmen who are fighting Fubara have to think deeply at this juncture. It is time to apply the brakes in my view.

If they do not love Governor Fubara, they should at least love Rivers State, the land of their birth. If the idea of victory through the ballot box is true, the state made them. If the power of the people holds sway in any democracy,  then it would be right to say the people hired them to work for the common good. If this notion is also true, they ought to respect the will of the people no matter how primitive that will may be.

How can anyone who loves Rivers State and Rivers people contemplate a halt of funds that are flowing from the centre to his native State no matter how technically sound those arguments in court could be?

How would anyone consider hunger as a weapon against a people who have given him so much? How can the non payment of workers amount to a good deed?  How can an action which threatens the welfare of the children of the working class bring joy to anyone?

How can the quest by the Rivers people for inflows of investments that would guarantee development  be strangulated on account of a political dogfight?

There is a greater goal than the deliberate acquisition and maintenance of power. The welfare of the people should be the pivot of the pursuit of power by those who are lucky to exercise it.

Power should not be used to fight wars which do not identify the core interests of a people. Rather, it ought to be used to promote our values, norms and mores.

What shall we be remembered for, a Christian song reminds us. Should  we be remembered for subordinating  the will of the people? Shall we  be remembered for the enormous wealth that we stacked up in hidden places why others suffer? Would it be for the many fights that we fought which brought penury, pain and destruction upon the land?

Rivers people do not want strongmen. They don’t want this unending war. They want a government that is stable, a government that addresses needs not desires and a democratic culture that effectively transmits power from one hand to another.

In voting for Fubara, they did not envisage to have a puppet on the throne. They did not envisage that others outside the corridors of Brick House would be pulling the strings from behind.

Samuel, the last of the judges to preside over Israel had sulked after the people wanted a king. GOD had told Samuel that it was he that the children of Israel rejected.

If the Rivers people appear to have rejected Wike’s control of affairs in Rivers State, would he not turn to God? Should he seek vengeance on Fubara and the Rivers people? Should he even take vengeance into his own hands?

The judicial decision which has just thrown overboard, the attempt by some people to withhold Rivers funds should be instructive.

It teaches us that the welfare and wellbeing of the people matter more than interests, political structures and the class struggle that is some of the time generated by crisis.

While we rejoice in Rivers State in respect of a rational judicial act, we acknowledge that God has answered the prayers of Rivers men and women who on their knees sought His divine intervention.

We are gladdened by the successes that are being recorded. The commissioning ceremonies that are taking place indicate that the Rivers State Government has suffered little from what has been a major distraction orchestrated by the war against Fubara.

Yet, it is not too late for those who are encamped against Fubara to put a stop to the unending war. Fubara does not appear to me to be a brute who wants war. And many across the country agree with this view.

Every war fought by man has led to great consequences. The wars in the Middle East and Eastern Europe offer testimonies of human suffering. Many have died, many more are dying.

So far, people have not been killed in Rivers State and I think we all have to be grateful to Fubara for averting confrontations on the street. His peaceful disposition has kept the rest of us safe.

Nonetheless, Rivers State is greater than any of us. If we lay a proper and solid foundation for the future, our children and our children’s children would never forget the sacrifices we had to make, the compromises we had to reach and the great Rivers spirit that we had to demonstrate.

All said, Fubara must be allowed by his antagonists who hard their turn in the corridors of power to drive the affairs of the State. No one stopped them when it was their turn. And no one could have given them instructions on how to run the State.

It doesn’t matter what doctrines we follow, what our priests say, there is karma and we all must work to get rid of the karmic effect that dogs our trail like a sensor-driven missile.

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