The Manipulation of Religion And Ethnicity by The Elite to The Detriment OF National Development and Continental Leadership
Prof. Taofiq Adesina Azeez
Department of English
University of Abuja
A Presentation to one Day Policy Monitoring Dialogue on “Leadership, Governance and Security Challenges in Nigeria” Organized by Savannah Centre for Diplomacy, Democracy and Development (SCDD) on Thursday March 2nd, 2017 at Lagos hall, Transcorp Hilton Abuja Nigeria
Introduction: National development and citizens’ well being may not be the same, but both are dependent on strong, honest and effective leadership for their success. Similarly, economic social and political instability or depression, leading to various forms of security implosion are directly linked with and are products of failed leadership. One of the causes of failed leadership and bad governance is integrity deficit otherwise known as DISHONESTY or euphemistically referred to as CORRUPTION.
This paper briefly highlights a major manifestation of this DISHONESTY in the form of manipulation of religion and Ethnicity by the Elite to the detriment of national development and continental leadership. It takes a problem- solution approach.
Problem: The major problem with Nigeria is its inability to harness its vast, rare, but tremendous resources and divine endowments to impact on citizens well being, national development and continental leadership. This is due to our inability to produce national visionary leadership with integrity and focus that transcend ethnic, religious, regional and occultic tendencies and characteristics. We have, rather, have to contend with or endure weak, parochial, inert, corrupt and satanic and Stalinist leadership who have continuously manipulated religion and ethnicity to access and maintain power, office and position of influence resulting in bad governance through dirty politics, ineffectual leadership, corruption and insecurity in place of national cohesion, citizens’ well being, peace and national progress. Nigeria, thus, progressively lose its God given opportunity to effectively provide all round leadership for and of Africa in the first instance.
the problems manifested in political and economic brigandage, instability, injustice, marginalization, pandemic ignorance, endemic poverty and epidemic conflicts so much that they resulted into the devastating 30 months civil war from 1967-1970.
What we live with today as kidnapping across the country, herdsmen and gunmen/farmers crisis, militancy and pipeline vandalization, secessionist agitations and other acts of terrorism are the residual effects of our elite’s manipulation of ethnicity and religion to divide us and rule us permanently. They leverage on our general ignorance and endemic poverty to mobilize us against one another after creating hatred among us.
It is strange, for example, that an individual from a poverty and conflict stricken part of a neighbouring state could steal so much money that is enough to create jobs and educate a great part of his crises ridden society chose to keep the money for and till a time when it would be useful to mobilize youths against his enemies and their enemies so as to ‘fight’ marginalization and domination.
It is, equally, strange that Tivs and Fulani could suddenly become enemies enough to kill one another in large number. A Fulani man is said to be a Tiv man who does not drink alcohol and eats pounded yam while a Tiv man is a Fulani man who does not have cattle but eats pounded yam and drinks alcohol. I once asked a Tiv colleague whether he believed that those killing his people were Fulanis and he said he would be surprised to see a Fulani man caught doing this. But who are the so called Fulani herdsman? When did they suddenly become terrorists that go about killing’ other people’ especially non-Muslims across the country? When did a Fulani herdsman join the Biafra agitators to possess an affiliated weapon? Why now, that a Fulani man hated for his celebrated integrity and fight against corruption is head of state? Who is manipulating what/who to achieve what?
The above questions should also address the IPOB insurgency soon after the inauguration of the present administration and its recess since Mr. president left for medical vacation. We can, also, interrogate why southern Kaduna imbroglio seemed to have gone on a break while Boko Haram seemed to have died down during this period. We may also read the so called Islamic agenda hate propaganda and economic strangulation and sabotage between the lines as they all seem to have been tired in Mr. president’s absence. A critical discourse analysis of these issues will reveal the behind the screen actions of Ideological Discursive Formations (IDFS) being propagated with active support of the elite private media.
We can also see this clearly in the transformation of the “ECOMOC” group in Bornu State, an equivalent of Tompolo and co groups in Rivers and Bayelsa States; into Boko Haram. While the Muslim patent leadership does not know any Muslim group by the name Boko Haram, the Nigeria media insists that this violent group of bandits is an Islamic sect! All entireties to the contrary fall constantly on the deaf ear of the elite press of Nigeria. The IDF is in action. While the all Christian militant groups elsewhere are not waging crusades, the one in the north must be doing Jihad even if it means killing Muslims in the mosques while praying. Indeed, the consistent attacks of this group on Muslims in their places of worship hardly constitutes headline news except where strange deviations result in occasional attacks on Christian institutions. The media then goes to town with various manipulative analysis of jihad meaning killing of Christians in order to go to paradise.
The media is probably aware of the link of a group of these bandits with Al-Qaida and ISIS and the alleged media links of both (Al-Qaida and ISIS) to CIA overt operation and indeed nigerian oracle.com’s allegation that Boko Haram is CIA’s overt operation in Nigeria. But the Nigerian press may have its reasons to consistently refer to all these groups as Islamic not even Muslim groups and their brigandage as jihad.
The media is, therefore, mainly to blame as instruments of elite manipulation of ethnicity and religion in sustaining bandits in power through divide and rule. The issue of ignorance which, produces poverty through unemployment and then generates conflicts and crises can simply be explained as the products of bad governance operationalised by corrupt inept leaders who deliberately keep the people ignorant and poor in order to make them vulnerable to this manipulation. They do this by blaming the plight of the ignorant poor youths on their enemies who deny them access to better life either because they are not of the same religion or of same ethnic affiliation. And they have the media as ready tools for the success of this nefarious project.
Solution: The elite are the politicians. They are the owners of the press. They are, also, the back bones of patent corporate religious institutions. And they are the structural supports for the traditional institutions. Religious and traditional institutions rely heavily on the politicians for economic survival and social relevance while the politicians also sustain this mutual alliance in a symbiotic relationship. The bottom line is POWER through political maneuvering as political office holders, top civil servants and contractors. The goal is easy or blood money obtained through CORRUPTION and shared with gate keepers of masses- the religious and traditional institutions who commend and bless them as ‘performers’ and mobilize the masses to support them.
The solution is to demonetize politics and political offices through DEREGULATION of DEMOCRACY. By this I mean, making civil servants do ALL GOVERNMENT work and banning contracts through DIRECT LABOUR. By this I mean, making the three institutions – Christian Muslim and traditional- directly responsible for selection of political operators and appointees on equal basis while discipline, monitoring and whistle blowing are also their responsibilities. By this, the institutions are directly challenged to actualize the two values of religion and culture and use them to bring down corruption and enthrone good governance, honesty, progress, citizens’ well being and general development of the people. The leaders, so produced, should govern with the fear of God or gods with the support of men of God or guardians of religions or cultural values that abhor corruption, DISHONESTY and TYRANNY. They should be held responsible as guarantors and referees in case of FAILURE.
Thanks for listening.