Nigeria, a nation in need of purpose

We are right in the middle of a revolution. Yes, we are. The whole world is, actually. But because we are Nigerians, let us concentrate on our own cross.

There is no gainsaying the truth that the #EndSARS movement is just a symbol of frustration and resistance. Frustration with the raw deal Nigerians have been forced to swallow for a very long time now. Resistance against the stone-cold oppressive mien of successive governments, represented by the present regime of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), and his party, the All Progressives Congress.

Our young people spontaneously ignited a fire which has the potential to either burn the country down or cook the food that will be used to feed the whole nation in a desperately starved world. And, believe it or not, when Nigeria feeds, Africa’s hunger and starvation shall be assuaged. Therefore, every thinking Nigerian must take it as a national duty, to see that the heat of the moment does not melt down our house; but rather, roast our yam. We must come out of the present situation properly prepared to face our common destiny.

But there is a problem. A revolution is effective when there is a purpose. It must not have a leader, but it must have an objective. The French Revolution was about bringing down the royal edifice constructed by the church and the monarchy. The Russian Revolution was about enthroning communism. The masses that joined forces to fight, knew what they wanted to do. They might not exactly know how to achieve it, but they knew the general objective. They were all believers in the greatness of their collective destiny as a nation, and saw the present system as a stumbling block to their national vision. So, they fought side by side to achieve it.

There are other softer, more contemporary, revolutions. You can call them green revolutions. The German people today want to make their country the greenest in Europe. They are more energy efficient; they are more eco-innovative, than other European countries. A poor nation like Bangladesh, used to be known for other things; but they suddenly decided to become the greenest developing country in the world. They are still working on it.

Nigeria was not involved in any revolution. Either socio-political or environmental. But, suddenly, with the #EndSARS, the dike came down, and the deluge began to cascade forth. There is no leader. There is no clear-cut ideology. The demands are coming in as afterthoughts. I prayed for the protests to turn green, to become #EndBrown. It did not. But the movement got stronger. Now, some citizens have paid the supreme price. There is blood on the streets. It is a real revolution. Yet, the moment must not be wasted.

This is time to address the issues that could make us lose the moment. We need a national identity and a national purpose. In the absence of these two underpinning anchors, people will look towards their tribe and their religion to give them the agenda. In the absence of an identity and a purpose, any charismatic leader can define the moment, and give us his own visions and rules, and then we follow him blindly to a dead end. As usual.

But we have an option to reappraise our national realities. We can ask ourselves existential questions, and move forward. What are the reasons why we are together as citizens of Nigeria? What is our collective destiny? What do we believe as citizens? It is when we answer these questions that we can individually see ourselves as being part of a project that is bigger than us. Then we shall gladly work for a nation that has one destiny.

This is important because the present #EndSARS protest has come to stay. It is either we utilise the opportunity it presents, or we allow it to go down in history as a massacre without a method. Many commentators have said that the movement has no leader because Nigerians know the risks of placing the negotiating chips in the hands of a few individuals. One, they could be picked up by the government security agents, and then the movement dies. Two, they could be bribed or compromised by the system, and then they will sell out.

But let us be clear. In our present world, democracy is the guiding light for universal survival. Although there are peripheral experiments here and there, democracy is the accepted political fulcrum on which this present human civilisation finds its bearing. This is the major reason many of us believe that, ultimately, the protest needed to find its way to the negotiating table.

For the sake of emphasis, that the movement does not have a leader does not make it less effective. It can survive without a leader. Yet, it cannot survive without a purpose. And its purpose must derive from a national ideology. In a situation where there is no national purpose, the revolutionaries must create one. It is the purpose that will help them finish the work they started. It is what will rein in criminal proclivities so as not to eclipse common sense.

My thoughts are, just in the same way protesters are holding the flag of Nigeria, we could also hold one belief. And this thought becomes our purpose. And this purpose galvanises a political consciousness. And this consciousness ossifies into a political movement. And this political platform goes for state power. And everybody that believes in this focal ideology comes together to build a new Nigeria. And we win!

Right from the Nigerian independence from Britain, our freedom-fighting fathers saw themselves as members of different ethnic nationalities and religions. They, accordingly, divided the nation into tribal enclaves. They negotiated from these standpoints. As the younger generations came on board, we began to blame the United Kingdom for welding us together. Many of us said Nigeria was a mistake. This is a wrong perception.

Our new purpose should be centred on a new consciousness. Nigeria is not a mistake. It came to be from a natural course of God’s will; just the same way the European countries began to exist from the hands of other people. We must decide to make it work, so that we shall become a force of nature, the hope of the black world. In the same way the people that created us have become the hope of the white world.

The young Nigerians who are protesting are of the Internet age, when national citizenship has become fluid. They are not limited by the boundaries of the Nigerian geography. They are global citizens, intent on introducing their country to the world, and other global citizens. They are eager to see the globally accepted standards and human rights entrenched in their country too. They want to compete in the international space under the Nigerian flag.

Therefore, now that we have found ourselves at this crossroads, we must convert the sentiments of the angry youths into a national idea. But this must be mainstreamed through a political process. Anarchy cannot suffice. If worse comes to worst, we can go for an early election. Let that which will happen in 2023, happen today. We cannot afford to waste this moment!

Greg Odogwu (Punch)