Sylvester Udemezue
”Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to
repeat the mistakes of the past” (George Santayana). I
woke up this morning (15/03/2019) and found the following comment
FORWARDED as a private WhatsApp message to me by my bosom friend
and very respected learned Senior colleague who is a notable party
political leader in Nigeria and an Ambassador Plenipotentiary:
”APC did not win a single state in the Southeast
(SE) in the governorship and Presidential elections, yet some
people are asking the APC to zone its 2023 presidential ticket to
the SE and the 2019 presidency of the Senate to the SE. Who will
vote for the APC in the SE even if the presidency is zoned to the
SE in 2023, when the APC is already an endangered specie in the SE?
Why can’t some people reason logically? … I hope the SE learns to
play national, rather than regional politics…You cannot play
regional politics and politics of ethnic and religious bigotry and
enjoy national acceptance.”
This article is a direct response to my friend.
I humbly suggest that in order that Nigeria may experience
genuine unity and make concrete progress, concepts such as 97 per
cent and 5 per cent must never again be allowed to have a space in
our national or political life, or to guide our leadership
decisions or attitude. Such concept destroy rather than heal,
disunite us rather than unite us. Accordingly, any political party
that wins in the general elections must ensure it carries every
section of the country along. Compliance with Chapter Two (the
federal character provisions) of the 1999 Constitution is mandatory
and does not depend on voting patterns during elections. Compliance
with the provisions is required in order to ensure equity and
fairness and to afford every section of the country a sense of
belonging. Feeling of a sense of belonging is the most important
requirement for an honest peace, strong unity and genuine progress
in Nigeria ?? . Take my words for it! It is either we
wholeheartedly embrace it to make the progress we desire, or
unwisely reject it to remain the way we are—- stagnant, stagnating,
suffocating and directionless.
Section 13(1) of the Constitution of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria (CFRN), 1999 as amended provides
that “it shall be the duty and responsibility of … government, and
of all authorities and persons, exercising legislative, executive
or judicial powers, to conform to, observe and apply the provisions
of Chapter Two of this Constitution. Section 14(1) of Chapter Two
of the CFRN, 1999 provides that “the Federal Republic of Nigeria
shall be a State based on the principles of democracy and social
justice” while section 14(3) states that “the
composition of the Government of the Federation or
any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall be carried
out in such a manner as to reflect the federal character of Nigeria
and the need to promote national unity, and also to command
national loyalty, thereby ensuring that there shall be
no predominance of persons from a few State or from a few ethnic or
other sectional groups in that Government or in any of its
agencies.”
” Says section 15(2): “National
integration shall be actively encouraged, whilst discrimination on
the grounds of place of origin, sex, religion, status, ethnic or
linguistic association or ties shall be prohibited.
Finally, according to section 15(4), “the State shall foster a
feeling of belonging and of involvement among the various people of
the Federation, to the end that loyalty to the nation shall
override sectional loyalties.” One therefore expects a more
tolerant and an all-embracing leadership during the 2019–2023
tenure of the party currently in power. I respectfully recommend
that we look at what I told Mr Paul Usoro (SAN) on 22 August 2018
in a paper I tilted, ”NBA 2018 Elections: A Word of
Congratulation, Caution to Winners and All,” published on the same
day: ”.
… endeavour to carry everyone along in your [leadership], ….
This you have to do in order to succeed. Your supporters alone
cannot make you succeed; they can only make you remain for only one
side! Which would mean that, unfortunately, you are not for all,
but for only some! This is the greatest of all of Nigeria’s
problems – the wrong notion that only those who helped us to ascend
the throne could make us succeed on the throne! As Michael Watson
once advised, true winners and strong people don’t put others down,
they lift them up. Leaders that aim to succeed must adopt
all-inclusiveness as their motto, so as to be able to create an
environment in which all individuals and sections feel empowered to
express their opinions freely within the larger group. Leaders
ought also to realize that diversity of thinking is critical to
effective collaboration and management; thus, they must pay close
attention to team composition and team processes in order to fish
out all capable hands to work with for success“
See https://legaldilemmasconsult.com/nba-2018-elections-a-word-of-congratulation-caution-to-winners-and-all/[1] accessed
15 March 2019. I wholeheartedly and honestly recommend that
write-up and suggestion to the current APC-led National Government.
And to all that lost in the 2019 elections. It is my unsolicited
advice to all. Although it is said that giving advice is a
thankless exercise, yet there’s one obviously interesting thing
about advice; this is well-captured in the words of Matshona
Dhliwayo: ”Bad advice will blind you, good advice will
instruct you, excellent advice will enlighten you, and transcendent
advice will elevate you.”
Accordingly, as suggested by an Indian author and entrepreneur,
Mohith Agadi, when one sees good advice, one should not only listen
to it, but should also take it. Our hope and progress as a nation
would begin only when we learn to carry every section of our
country along, to treat everyone as a part of us and to act as one
big family, not as separate ones, to eschew segregation, exclusion,
clannishness and nepotism in governance. In his farewell address at
the end of his eight-year tenure as a President of the USA, William
Jefferson Clinton (Bill Clinton) had offered the following
suggestions to the residents and people of America. I recommend it
to us. Says he: “… we must remember that America cannot
lead in the world unless here at home we weave the thread of our
coat of many colours into the fabrics of
America. As we become ever more diverse, we must work harder to
unite around our common values and common humanity. We must work
harder to overcome our differences. In our hearts and in our laws,
we must treat all our people with fairness and dignity, regardless
of their race, religion, gender or sexual
orientation.”
Respectfully,
Sylvester Udemezue
(UDEMS)
(15/03/2019)
References
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https://legaldilemmasconsult.com/nba-2018-elections-a-word-of-congratulation-caution-to-winners-and-all/
(legaldilemmasconsult.com)