Bridge builders

The Bridge Builder is a poem written by Will Allen Dromgoole; it speaks volumes to societies, especially fractured society like ours. The poem is instructive for the season of anomie we are in. It was first published in 1900 in the now rare book: “A Builder.” I will quote the entire length of this short poem.

“An old man going a lone highway, came, at the evening cold and gray, to a chasm vast and deep and wide. Through which was flowing a sullen tide. The old man crossed in the twilight dim. The sullen stream had no fear for him.

“But he turned when safe on the other side and built a bridge to span the tide. ‘Old man,’ said a fellow pilgrim near, ‘You are wasting your strength with building here; Your journey will end with the ending day, You never again will pass this way; You’ve crossed the chasm, deep and wide, Why build this bridge at evening tide?’

“The builder lifted his old gray head; ‘Good friend, in the path I have come,’ he said, ‘there followed after me to-day a youth whose feet must pass this way. This chasm that has been as naught to me to that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be; He, too, must cross in the twilight dim; Good friend, I am building this bridge for him!

The “Old man” did not have his children, close relatives or clansmen in mind when he contemplated building the bridge for posterity. He was concerned about the youth who would cross after him hence the need to save him from the chasm. Is there any doubt that we need such bridge builders in Nigeria today with the hate speeches permeating the society?

There’s palpable anger in the land. In the cacophony of visible discontent, Nigerians appears disinterested in hearing one another out. It’s been over two weeks now after “quit notices” issued by non-state actors started flying all over the place. The state actor itself appears prostrate despite efforts by Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo to calm frail, ethnic, regional and religious nerves.

This period reminds me vividly of the post June 12, 1993 Nigeria. The story is well known but needs refreshing. Late General Sani Abacha seized power after the post June 12 confusion and did what no Nigerian leader – before and after him – dared. He imprisoned late Major General Shehu Yar’Adua, the all-powerful former chief of staff supreme headquarters who died in prison.

He didn’t stop there. He charged and jailed General Olusegun Obasanjo on a trumped up charge of coup plotting. He was even planning what we all thought was virtually impossible in Nigeria – transmuting from a military to a civilian dictator. All the recognised five political parties “endorsed” him save the late M.D Yusuf who dared the goggled one. But Nigeria was saved of its impending misery when the angel of death paid a visit.

A bridge builder read the hand writing on the wall clearly and propelled us away from doom and anarchy of unimaginable propensity toward a return to democratic rule which still holds to date.

General Abdulsalami Abubakar – who celebrated his 75th birthday last Wednesday – inherited a bitterly divided Nigeria on June 9, 1998 when he assumed power. The Southwest was a hotbed of series of concerted protests and even on the verge of secession because of the usurpation of Chief MKO Abiola’s mandate. Beyond that, the nation became a pariah on the international scene.

What did General Abubakar do?  In rapid succession, he undertook a series of proactive actions that ushered in freedom – a huge relief from the draconian Abacha period. The more he gave Nigerians freedom the more Nigerians began to unite and the threat of a break up gradually dissipated. After that it was agreed that candidates from the south-west be put forward for presidential election by political parties.

General Abubakar then set all political prisoners free, including General Obasanjo, repealed all obnoxious laws including the decrees that limited political associations. He also met with aggrieved groups including leaders of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO). This move saved Nigeria from disintegration. We are now back full circle to the same crossroads again and we need leaders with the heart of Abubakar.

I did mention last week how the genesis of the Rwanda genocide began with hate speeches. We appear to be on that road and the slightest spark can ignite an inferno which is why we need bridge builders. One thing is however clear: if we are able to pass this crossroad, Nigeria would never remain the same again. That Nigeria is in need of restructuring is overstating the obvious and its only revisionists that would deny such fact. The challenge remains how we go about it.

Reading the signs on the wall, former military president, General Ibrahim Babangida said on Monday that the time to restructure Nigeria has come. This – to many – is a call from an unlikely quarter. Babangida during prayers to mark his 75th birthday celebration at his Minna, Niger State residence urged Nigerians to synergise their different potentials towards building a great nation.

Towards restructuring the country, Babangida called for the devolution of more powers from the federal level to the states even as he urged Nigerians to embrace the creation of state police. He said the fear of state governors using state police to run amok was not as strong as the greater benefit that creating state police would do for the nation. While passionately appealing to leaders of the different divides in the country to show more maturity by reining in the younger elements, the former military president observed that war is not a joke anyone should toy with.

Between 1993 and 1998, it was the southwest that was boiling, but today, it is the southeast with the resurgent call for “Biafra.” The challenge appears not to be the call for Biafra, but the arrowhead of the agitation. By a default mode, Nnamdi Kanu was propelled from a nondescript agitator with dual Nigerian and British nationality to be the “face” of Biafra after MASSOB became “irrelevant.” The challenge now is how do you tame Nnamdi Kanu without incurring the wrath of his fanatical followers?

As the leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), Kanu asked that the governorship election in Anambra State as well as other elections in Nigeria be boycotted. His belief was that such an act would “send a strong signal” to Nigerians that it is serious about its quest for a referendum on Biafra. This is coming on the heel of the sit-at-home protest in May.

Kanu is addressed as the “Supreme Leader” and people prostrate or kneel before him to receive blessings or prayers with the laying of hands. A few people have even called him their “messiah”, with some claiming that they were cured of their illnesses after he prayed for them. In a deeply religious society like ours this is worrying and extremely dangerous.

He commands a huge following among young Igbo members of IPOB who have become so uncouth and caustic in their language that it is shocking and embarrassing to sensible Igbos to say the least. My history books teach that the Igbo never had all-powerful kings, and that every decision is reached through a general assembly, otherwise called Ohanaeze. But a Kanu has changed the nomenclature unless sensible Igbo leaders step in and change the narrative.

Generals Yakubu Gowon and Ibrahim Babangida have thrown their weight behind the election of a Nigerian president of Igbo extraction. Babangida said he will back an Igbo for the presidential seat in 2019 if he finds a credible personality while Gowon had openly canvassed for an Igbo president to preside over the affairs of Nigeria in the nearest future.

While this is necessary for fairness and justice, the future model should be electing those that have the right character and are qualified for the job. That is if we have the patriotic bridge builders to build bridges across the chasm.