How ethnicity, religion, region are fuelling Nigeria’s crises —Turaki

ISAAC SHOBAYO, North-Central Bureau Chief, engages a prominent Middle Belt leader, Yusufu Turaki, a professor of Theology and Social Ethics and former vice-president of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN). Professor Turaki speaks on the state of Nigeria at 66, including the challenges facing democracy, insecurity, the current administration’s economic reforms, among other issues.

SIR, Nigeria gained independence 66 years ago, but some argue that the country is still not truly independent, citing a slew of issues such as economic hardship and insecurity. What is your own opinion?

Nigeria got independence from the British on the 1st of October 1960, but why a slew of issues such as economic hardship and insecurity? Economic hardship and insecurity were not caused by the fact of independence, nor by its 66 years of being independent. Let us look at the causes of the lack of economic development and insecurity. Why has Nigeria not developed economically? Why does Nigeria have insecurity issues? We need to examine the root causes.

The first root cause is historical: How the Empire Builders built Nigeria. Nigeria had about six Empire Builders. They used basically two social factors to build Nigeria. The social factors are: What social values did they use? And what social institutions did they use? The first Empire Builders were the African Ancestors. They basically used four social factors (variables) to build the Traditional African society. The social variables are: ethnography (ethnicity, history and identity); geography (land boundary and territory); religion and culture (philosophy and education). These four social variables have combined to create Traditional African social values and social institutions. Thus, the Traditional African worldview had been created, which influenced attitudes, behaviours and social practice.

The second Empire Builders were the Muslims. They used their concepts of ethnography (Islamic concept of ethnicity, history and identity), Islamic concept of geography (land boundary and territory), Islamic religion and Islamic culture (philosophy and education). Thus, creating Islamic social values and social institutions. The first mixing of the two social values and social institutions was that of both the African Ancestors and Muslims. The second mixing of social values and social institutions was that of British Empire Builders, the Colonialists. This mix was that of African Traditional social values, Islamic values and the British colonial values.

The third mixing of social values and social institutions was that of Christian Missionaries. Thus, in the same one geopolitical entity, that was, Nigeria, we had four sets of social values and social institutions operating. The right question is, “What worldview was being created by the mixing of the four social values and social institutions of these four Empire Builders?” Thus, the worldview of economic underdevelopment and insecurity has been created historically. Common-ground social values and social institutions were not created by the four Empire Builders. That is why Nigeria does not have a National Ethic to guide and moderate the unique and individual attitudes, behaviours and social practice of each of the four Empire Builders. Each Empire Builder had uncommon social values and social institutions that could hinder the creation of common-ground values and worldview for Nigeria. Socially speaking, this is what hinders economic development and generates insecurity. Which of the four sets of values or worldviews should be used at the expense of the other three to build Nigeria? Herein lies Nigeria’s predicament. The root social values and social institutions of the four Empire Builders were not harmonized to create common-ground social values and social institutions that each of the four traditions could abide by and live with.

Thus, there exist in Nigeria some negative social values and social institutions of the four Empire Builders that are hindering Nigeria from sound economic development, but also inflame insecurity. The task for Nigeria today is to examine the root social values and social institutions of the four (Empire Builders) and weed them out of Nigeria. Politics can invite Nigerians to identify such impeding social values and social institutions and create the common-ground social values and social institutions that every Nigerian should subscribe to and live by. Only by digging deeper into the root causes would solutions be found, not rhetoric or the culture of lamentations.

Sir, would you agree that the nation’s incapacity to advance as anticipated is due to a leadership deficit that continues to be its most significant shortcoming?

My answer to this question is both Yes and No. Yes, transformational political leaders can transform Nigeria from any state of depravity and develop it successfully. No, the cause of the nation’s incapacity to advance is not caused by the concept of “leadership”. Leadership is a neutral social fact that is neither positive nor negative. It depends on what type of a person handles leadership. A good person would bring out the good, but a bad person would bring out the bad. The mistake we make quite often is to think that every human being who occupies an office, we make him/her a leader. There is a great difference between office holders and inbred leaders. It is only when the chips are down that we tend to look for real leaders, and leave out the office holders. It is a good thing for a real inbred leader to hold office than to rely on office holders to lead.

The solution to our leadership issues is to look for and place inbred leaders who are transformational, who develop and transform whatever place you place them.

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I have observed that when Nigerians are looking for leaders, they tend to think that influential and powerful people can make good leaders. Only those that have the heart and the mind that are transformational, given to the development and transformation of the people, environment (creation) and society.

There are three personal root pairs that are the great obstacles to leadership: self-centredness and pride; greed and lust; and anxiety and fear. Put a self-centred person into an office, see how he/she would be dominated by self-centredness and pride. Put a greedy and lustful person into an office, see how he/she would become greedier and lustful. Put a person driven by anxieties and fears into an office, see how he/she would be ruled by anxieties and fears. Do we go for inbred transformational leaders bent on developing and transforming the people, environment and society, or do we go for office holders who may be driven by self-centredness and pride; greed and lust; and anxiety and fear?

With what you have said, it then means democracy in Nigeria still faces severe challenges which include flawed electoral processes, corruption and weak public institutions. How can these issues be addressed?

Democracy is a concept difficult to explain. This concept in Ancient Greek philosophy is born out of metaphysics. It simply means to think behind realities. It is an abstract idea, imagination, or postulation. Something that is not a reality but purely imagination. The modern concept of democracy is rooted in Western thought, which is a new political idea. In history, the bulk of nations were not democratic as we define the concept today. Rooted in European history, it is only between the late 1940s and the early 1960s that Western authoritarian or totalitarian monarchies and kingdoms started to shift towards democracy. The general populace now began to have a say in how they are governed or ruled.

Democracy is still at its incipient state. It is still growing. It has yet to reach its telos, its end. At the end of its dynamic and social journey, the world may not accept its philosophy of ending all authority and power. The only ruler that might remain would be the human WILL, the Autonomous Human Being.

But in Nigeria, generally, Nigerians have narrowly defined democracy in terms of only political elections. But elections are defined in terms of numbers who participate in elections. Numbers have become our political gods. This political god determines who wins or loses. It is not based on the means justifying the end, but conversely, the END justifies the Means. Once you prove your god of number, you are the WINNER regardless. Under this god of number, the right people may lose elections, but the mighty and the powerful can right the wrong. You may have the rights, but they could be taken by the mighty and powerful. Thus, in Nigerian democracy, Might is Right. Rigging elections for the sake of the god of number is right. Using the judiciary to right the numbers is right adjudication for the god of number.

What are your thoughts on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic reform efforts? Is he moving the country in the right direction?

This question is debatable among politicians and social scientists. I observe politicians and social scientists; their main focus is not on the subject “economic reforms” but Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Whatever answers are given, they are not free but biased. The usual rhetoric is either he has failed or succeeded. The yardstick is not the root causes of economic underdevelopment in Nigeria’s socio-economic history, but the economic mess. The mentality of the “Midas Touch” is being fed into the national discourse.

My answer to your first question addresses how our economic issues are rooted in social values and social institutions, which the Empire Builders used to build the Nigerian Social Political Order. The dynamics and gradual build-up of the economic issues we see and have today did not happen in one night, or at a go. The real issue is not “economic reform”, but Nigerians are suffering terribly from their economic woes. Whether or not we are right in using the current realities of the economic issues to judge the effects of reforms without any substantial economic indices and data, I see that Nigerians are driven by the spirit of lamentations, with no recourse to the root causes of our economic strangulations. I see this as just a political hype and fad.

I have also observed that Nigerians approach sensitive political issues from their divisive worldviews, since they do not have consensual common-ground values. They all think diversely, chaotically and differentially.

Strong economies are built from good science and technology. We should be driven by the spirit of economism and technicism and not the spirit of lamentation over the culprits of our own creation.

I have observed that Nigerians have turned their opponents in politics into political culprits and demons. They over-demonize their opponents as if they are angels themselves.

Apart from the economic hardship in the country, insecurity remains one of the biggest challenges confronting Nigeria on all fronts; what is the way out of this terrible situation, which seems to have defied solution?

My answer to your last question, which I traced to the root causes of economic hardships, will still serve as the answer to insecurity. Nigerians use ethnicity, religion and region to invade, kill, occupy and grab the land and property of fellow Nigerians. Could a Nigerian kill his/her fellow Nigerian in the name of God? This is absurd. This shows that Nigerians do not have a common-ground religious value that fosters religious harmony and peace. Could a Nigerian discriminate against a fellow Nigerian on account of ethnic differences? This also shows that Nigerians do not have common-ground ethnic values that foster ethnic harmony and peace. Could a Nigerian marginalize a fellow Nigerian on account of regional differences? It further shows that Nigerians do not have common-ground values of regional harmony and peace.

Economic hardship and insecurity are just symptoms of the root causes. We should be digging deep into our historical past in order to identify the root causes and correct them. Nigeria suffers today because of the many contradictory social values and social institutions which the four Empire Builders used to create the present Nigerian socio-political order. We should be rooting this way as a means of solving our numerous problems and challenges. Politics of lamentation will only aggravate our situation without any solution. We are left with only religion killing religion, ethnicity (tribalism) discriminating against ethnicity and region marginalising region.

Nigerians need to have a new political philosophy and practice not based upon the colonial and caliphate socio-political foundations of Nigeria. Empire Builders built Nigeria upon three Political Pillars: Ethnicity, Religion and Region. All Nigerian political philosophy and practice are rooted in these three political pillars and foundations. For this reason, Nigerians collectively need to create common-ground ethnic values, common-ground religious values and common-ground regional values that can accommodate all Nigerians regardless. No Nigerian should kill a Nigerian on account of religion, ethnicity or region.

I recommend that the Government of Nigeria should set up a Research Team of Eminent Scholars, Religious and Cultural Leaders to examine both social values and social institutions that propagate insecurity and lack of economic development. They should also recommend expunging those that are the sources of ethnic, religious and regional crises, conflict and violence.