It is widely agreed upon that civilization progresses by differentiation as well as by assimilation of interests and character.
On this therefore Nationalism is a recognition of principle, law and government to improve humanity as a whole thereby adds to it’s cultural values.
In the foregoing, I want to elougise Nigerian workers while on this special day set aside for the recognition of their services to the country while assuring every Nigerian citizen that a state or country cannot develop when everyman or every group is a copy of every other. There has to be relationship in diversity of individuality , community, tribe and region.
Citing a shocking reference of a dictatorship rule in a particular clan called Agwu in Umudoche ; Iteshiokporo Nekede Imo State to be precise. In extension Ude and Oma are seriously attacked by such an age long dictatorship administration.
At a certain reign when the elders of the area applied every gimmick in leadership and policies to silence the young intelligent growing youths who are by birth , naturalization and inclination, the bonafide Sons and Daughters of the area , not to participate or get involved in matters of public interest concerning the community mostly when it involves decision making decisions of community development.
During sharing of communal proceeds from landed properties and farm lands and possibly when mere stipend and certain royalty are involved.
A notorious ring elder then, (Known by his kingsmen and relatives) in his time copied the bad pattern of the old which has outstayed by events and development and human advancement.
Such mundane pattern of leadership which was handed down from his predecessors to his peers (Not him as the eldest) was accepted to be adjusted to the tones of the new trends in policy making and leadership but the elders never accepted such ideas by the Youths.
It was hell over there, envy and demonic ills began to grow until it escalated in the entirety of the autonomous community in that area.
Though each clan had their differences and challenges in this contest called dictatorship and lording someone over others.
Here, the formation of council of elders was based on selection alongside family leadership which is known as Ogbako umunna. This situation sprang up when the decent and God fearing forebears has passed on and this group of dangerous and diabolic elders introduced the bad ways of administration that is far abrogated by law and forbidden by the gods of the land.
However, such elders knows how to invoke and also pacify the gods in dubious ways to suite their ills and as such scared the younger ones away to perform their inteprise.
Development was seriously lacking in the area, alot of untimely deaths, demonic motives, disunity, greed became rampant that lately attracted the influx of churches that came and dominated the land for Community libration and cleansing at intervals. Later on the people began to see light of development and till date are forcing those old wicked dictators to adapt with the latest trend of leadership domicile in the literal Community.
Such area does not permit decent thinking person to operate rather these elders had further infused in their wives and children a certain retrogression of mental reasoning and lifestyle. You could easily read their minds polluted against each other’s progress and programs.
It was a wasteful grace joining issue with them for the sake of the unknown. I thank the laws of the Federation that has remained the hope of the common masses.
It is an unfortunate bewilderment that has befall this clan and the area in extension pending when the supreme light of God will subsume the faulty foundations of recent day Pharos in the area, then the people will rejoice.
Some of the christian families anchored their survival in the grace of God while many demonic altars were recently raised by the descendants of the evil homes and people in the name of religion recalling the foundations of the old in a confused land.
One can imagine the slope of progress and height of development in the area. That is a simple test and illustration of approval of the sufferings of people leaving in fear in a dictatorship environment, just like this clan in a certain Igboland.
On the foregoing therefore, there has to be diversity of ethnicity, competition, political groups, constitutional reform, individual difference, antagonism and stagnation.
That is to say that the above are the make up of Nationalism which Nigeria is practicably facing as a government.
No doubt the fact that nationalism is faced with a lot of defects which contains within it the possible source of it’s own destruction, and unless carefully guarded against exaggerating forces will automatically bewildered with disturbance of the equilibrium upon which the diversity of civilization depends.
When the content of nationalistic state becomes exclusive, therefore, this exclusiveness can lead to two prominent evil consequences of the first magnitude; Economy and Political.
Research has it that the later half of the nineteenth century, nationalism was thus exaggerated through going beyond a healthy desire to express the true native characteristics of a people to mean in some quarters, the decrying, as barbarous or decadent, of everything originating outside of the national boundary.
Nationalism, democracy and human rights cannot be properly functional without the rule of law across nations, states, communities and individuals therein.
In his Foreward to Duncan and Elizabeth Wilson’s Federation and World Order, Laski’s pregnant phrase stated as this:
“To equate nationalism with ‘right’ . Nations must agree to the principle that , in Matters which touch more than one nation, they will be bound by the decision arrived at by a common international body, in which all nations are in some way represented. Such matters are: territorial boundaries, international migration, armament, tariffs , privileges of national minorities, international communications, foreign capital.
This is applicable to the present day condition of insecurity and clamour for successive government in Nigeria by different Seths.
In the North, the Arewa is pursuing their course in a coded style that majority are insensitive to.
In the South, there is a prevalent Niger Delta war against other regions attached to the NDDC sharing. Even some states that share common boundaries with the South South are being battled secretly while working assiduously to grab their sovereign state.
The Eastern part of Nigeria are several times tagged as terrorists in the quest of their Biafran independence and presently one of the prominent leaders of this course is cooling off in detention for years while the court process lasts.
The Middle Beltans have overtimes brought out the quest for Oduduwa Republic. It is also known that this course of Yoruba sovereign nation is still on course till time lasts.
The cause is not far fetched than economic and political exclusiveness Inspite all restrictions and policies to pacify the agitators.
It is a confirmable phenomenon seeing inter tribal cum zonal agitations project insecurity, wanton killings, corruption and automatic hatred between individual Nationals.
The implications of rule of law between states and regions in a particular country are far reaching, and Laski postulated further that such can be fully grasped only by contrast with the conception which now rules , viz the rule of might. Under the present system or lack of system, when a nation’s interest are supposed to conflict with those of another, the nation concerned resorts to war to secure it’s interest.
This is the actual position in the Nigerian state where, communities fight against communities, States fight against states, tribes have also continued battling other tribes.
The solution to this anomalous uprising is the idea of investing heavily on efficient and well equipped security architecture and to apply5 some national policy and approachable super welfare of citizens.
The civil war of the late nineteenth fifties and that of the world war of 1914-18 and 1939-45 have be slowly teaching mankind the painful lessons of war.
The remedy is the responsibility of government in the application of functional rule of law not rule of might. A collective security for all Nigerians to resolve and checkmate the influx of agitations, looming Jihadism and Islamization, herder’s aggression on citizens, inequality of resource control by government, strike actions, protests and Youth restiveness.
It is a known fact that democracy is an outcome of dictatorship, a democratic nation under a nationalistic law cannot yield to the edicts of dictatorship after accepting democracy as a pattern of government.
Students of history can agree with me that the decline of British, French and Belgian Empires encouraged by the national movements stimulated by the World War , led to the creation of several new independent States in Africa, example is Nigeria, Ghana, Congo. Even new state of Israel came into being through the good office of the United Nations.
Recall that fascism suffered a mortal hit with the collapse of the dictatorship involved in the world war.
This also implies that quest for democracy has increased in the minds of nations because several of dictatorships prefer to be in the garb of democracy.
The Greek tyrants then championed the cause of those who were disconnected with Oligarchy. They however helped to destroy oligarchy and prepare the way for democracy. We also had the Soviet dictatorship of Proletariat and the Tyrants of Greece that were all submerged by democracy.
In furtherance, a democratic nation is widely preferred because of the importance which it attaches to human personality. The democratic method is to reach decisions by discussion, argument and persuasion. Democracy does not believe in the suppression of thought.
While a dictatorship nation, if there are still any existing in this egalitarian time is synonyms with violence and war. It supports suppression of thoughts and create like mindedness. It eliminates the best from public life, critical minds and creative brains.
Summarily, democracy supercedes dictatorship in ever contest because it played many humanitarian roles to the establishment of peace.
It will be disastrous of any state or country or individual to harken to the tenets of war in this acceptable age where democracy rules the world.
I doff my cap for the crops of international bodies that came up with this idea of establishing some interstate organization for the prevention of wars likened to dictatorship.
Many centuries backwards, democracy was formed. In the fourteenth century it helped in the recovery of the Holy Land (Circa 1305), Pierre Dubois suggested international arbitration and the establishment of an international judiciary.
Some letters that suggested the establishment of League of Peace was written by Erasmus in 1466-1536.
In the seventeenth century, Grotius and his school formulated the (Law of War and Peace)
In the eighteenth century, the French writer Abbe’ de St Pierre proposed a federation of nineteen states for the maintenance of peace. Kant, the German philosopher also did some work on perpetual peace (1795).
There was also Holy Alliance in the early eighteen century (September 1815) and the Hague conference (1899 and 1907) at the early nineteenth century between Russia, Prussia and Austria. All these brought the sustenance of democracy till date.
Anybody asking why religion is involved in politics would have been able to peruse my content in this article to convince his/her mind brought in human institutions to remain united by the bonds of true and indissoluble fraternity to lead in the protection of religion, peace and justice in a democratic free environment.
Before the advent of democracy, dictatorship appeared strongly in some countries during and after the world war-11, from 1939-1945:
Roumania (1940)
Yugoslavia (1944)
Argentine (1946)
Paraguay (1947)
Thailand (1947)
Peru (1948)
Communist China (1949)
Venezuela (1952)
Egypt (1952)
Cuba (1952)
Columbia (1953)
Pakistan (1958)
Burma (1961)
At this juncture, the lessons of war which is equivalent and same as dictatorship are still afresh and Nigerians are therefore pleaded to take this note as a clarion assignment to maintain same standard of peace that have democracy.
I am also sincerely beckoning on government to apply inclusivity of Youths and women in governance and to as a matter of progress govern with sincerity, and transparency to uphold Nigeria as a great nation, every citizen is dreaming at.
Happy worker’s day!
Amb Princely Onyenwe writes from Nigeria
For inquiries on this news contact 9News Nigeria @08036856526
