OF FORMS OF GOVERNMENT AND FOOLS AND WISE MEN.

Since about the age of 16 when we left Secondary School to begin Advanced Level Studies, we have spent countless and endless hours on discussions about forms of government and benefits for the people.
In one of those conversations that we had in 1983 at the O’meekey Rendezvous—what you would call a Lounge today, after different people had canvassed their positions on the benefits of Communism versus Capitalism, we then looked at pure monarchies of which there were few relevant ones at the time and the newly emerging theocracy of Iran. As it’s typical with us Nigerians, we are usually very passionate about the views we hold. We shout, we bang tables and for those who have titles, they tell you to listen to them. You have just a first degree. This fellow has a PhD. You ought to know to listen.

For us in Nigeria, historically, we had monarchs all of whom were essentially reduced to mere monuments with the advent of Colonial rule. Here and there, we still manage to hold on to them , but largely, we ignore them—-that is unless they also carry a religious significance.

Therein lies a major difference between North and Southern Nigeria.

It is with this kind of information at the back of our minds that we must then make an attempt to interrogate the security challenges which we face as a nation today. All over Northern Nigeria, it is not unusual to find a mosque in government establishments and Government House. Their religion calls on them to pray 5 times a day. Where are they going to do it and when will they find time to go and do it without slowing down the work of government?

It was this kind of mindset that probably led an Army General to lead us into the Organization of Islamic Nations without thinking about it twice. ‘No harm done,’ he thought. If Nigerians accept Mosques everywhere, what is wrong with one membership in some far-flung organization?
That same mindset drove 12 States to adopt Sharia and start to cut off people’s hands. Again, ‘our people love Sharia. They must love going around with one hand and one leg and therefore becoming a liability on the rest of the country!’

‘Now, that we have Sharia,’ some then reasoned, ‘why don’t we have more Sharia?’ others reasoned. This was what gave birth to Boko Haram. And then, others came and said, ‘Now that we have Boko Haram, why don’t we have ISWAP?’ That is the problem with religion everywhere. There are several forms of Judaism and several forms of Baptists and Anglicans and Methodists. I for example cannot co-exist in Deeper Life or Mountain of Fire. I may be able to tolerate a few Redeemed branches operated by progressive minded pastors, but I love being Baptist. The group operates intellectual Christianity with debates and democratic governance structures which I like.

Point is, religion may be sweet but it can also be poison and you do not need to look further than my family of nine siblings. No two of us attend the same Church. You only need to take a peek into our family WhatsApp page every Easter and every Christmas to find out if Jesus was born on Christmas Day or if he died on Good Friday.

If religions offer this level of division in the family, why then do we want to impose it at State and Federal levels? Our leaders must beware.

Our country is an interesting one. A General gathered people together and said it’s time to do a new Constitution. The Assembly came to blows on the matter of Sharia. The General called and said “Debate on religion is a no-go area.” Everyone sheathed their swords. At the end of their work, the General added Sharia by himself. He gave us a “gift” which has never stopped giving——hundreds of thousands of lives after; thousands of amputated limbs after.
Add to this: extreme poverty everywhere in the North and resentment in the South. I wonder whether this General has ever expressed any regret about that gift.

Why would a leader set out to sow the wind in his own country?

We need deep thinkers in the mold of Thomas Jefferson to point us in the direction that we should go. We certainly do not need another Civil War, and neither do we need to continue to hear cries of genocide of one religious group over another.

That is not the kind of country we want.

We want leaders who can think, who will think, and work for posterity and not just for populist appeal for 4 years.

In the same way and with the same amount of indignation that we call for electoral reforms, there’s something more important that we also need to call for. We must build very high walls to keep religion out of public office. No state religion, no federal religion and no country membership of any religious organization anywhere.

The ISWAP may have an AK47 today. It is only a matter of time before the Sunday School teacher and the Choir master will own one also.

An AK 47 in the hands of a choirmaster or in the hands of an ISWAP terrorist has the same power to destroy.

We must not travel that road.

The incident in Woro, Kwara State is fresh in our minds, but as Nigerians, we have become increasingly numbed about killings. It’s now just a few hundred every few days in some faraway village until it gets to our village. Woro was Muslim. The invaders wanted the people of Woro to accept their own deeper interpretations of religion. The Chief Imam of Woro resisted. The village was wiped off the map of the earth. They do not have any minerals in Woro. Just people who went about their own lives.

FORMS OF GOVERNMENT.

Quite often, people are quick to point at Singapore and Dubai as States that have grown under strong leaders. Maybe the word people are really searching for is —-Visionary leaders. Adolf Hitler was a strong leader. He seized power in Germany after he was appointed Chancellor and concentrated all the powers of the presidency in his own hands. He helped his country recover very quickly from economic collapse after the treaty of Versailles imposed heavy reparations. He did great things to rebuild his country and built a military machine, the type the world had never seen. However, because his power was unchecked, he was able to do great evil with it.

70 million people died in a needless Second World War.

Look at Russia. The Bolshevik revolution could have been averted if Tsar Nicholas had listened to the voice of reason and had enacted much desired reforms. He could have built a Constitutional Monarchy like the United Kingdom and Russia would be a different kind of nation today. Hardly anyone wakes up today and says they are moving to Russia. Usually, it’s about one wrong turn in the country’s history.

Nigeria made a wrong turn on religion. It can only be hoped that an attempt to reverse it will not bring more bloodshed. Here’s where wisdom is required. We need a wise leader to lead that charge. The current state of insecurity in the North for the most part is driven by religion.

It is causing Nigeria to bleed.

The only concern now is—how much blood we have left to bleed.

If we don’t reverse course on state religion, it will only be a matter of time before the Grand Khadi and the Chief Justice will lock horns. As to who will win that epic battle—-your guess is as good as mine.
I see a scenario where the Grand Khadi will send Federal Hisbah to arrest the Chief Justice for immorality or for drinking a bottle of beer.

Republic over.

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk banned Sharia in Turkey in 1924 to transform the remnants of the Ottoman Empire into a modern, secular, and Western-style nation-state. He viewed religious law and the caliphate as obstacles to progress, believing that aligning Turkey’s legal, social, and political systems with European models was essential for national survival, modernization, and growth.

Wise leader.

SCOTUS RISES.

‘You can only go so far and no further.’ That’s basically what the Supreme Court of the United States just said to Trump’s push to expand presidential powers. Democracy is working. Separation of Powers as checks and balances is working. Institutions are working. Ultimately, the people will speak at the Midterms in November where the people will make their voices heard by either saying—-‘here’s our vote of endorsement for the wisdom with which you have governed us these past two years—or—thanks, but no thanks. We do not want Kings and neither do we want jokers in power.’

On the other hand, if America had a King, the country would be stuck with him for life.

Any way you slice it, the world is yet to come up with a system that can work better than democracy.

EDO STATE RISING. NIGERIA RISING.

We are smiling in Edo State. Watching the Akpakomiza flyovers emerge from the bowels of the Edo red earth is like watching a flower budding. We now have a governor who’s not waging wars on several fronts but is instead focusing on delivering the goods of democracy to his people. Right on. Ride on.

One must be delighted to be able to buy garri at prices of 5 years ago and also a sizable tuber of yam for N1,000. Food prices are coming down, the Naira is gaining strength. If the current trend subsists, we could see the Naira at 900/$1 by summer.

UBTH CMD UNDER ATTACK

Who’s afraid of a brilliant and purposeful woman in power?

Is it misogynistic forces at work?
Is she blocking avenues of waste to people’s chagrin?
Is she blocking avenues for fraud?
Is she fighting established forces that have stunted the growth of the institution for years?
Corruption is a hydra-headed monster. When it meets resistance, it will fight back. We can only wish the latter day Maggie Thatcher, our own Professor Idia Ize-Iyamu more spine to crush the forces of wrong with a flood of right——improved services, better patient outcomes, a more conducive working environment, less bureaucracy and merit based promotions.

Until we meet again, goodbye and Goodluck.