 Published November 28th, 2011
Is Nigeria a failed State?
This is the big question which many people and keen
observers who have been following recent happenings in
Nigeria have asked severally, in view of the Palpable fear
that has gripped and pervaded the nation, due to the high
state of insecurity in the country. Although, Nigeria may
not have reached the unenviable status of Somalia,
regrettably, the present state of things in the country
seems to be pointing steadily towards the direction of a
failed state. What with the worsening economic fortunes
characterized by widespread hunger and poverty in the land,
coupled with the rising rate of insecurity of lives and
property, including the sporadic and incessant riots and
killings in Jos and other parts of Northern Nigeria, the
Boko Haram debacle; acts of terrorism and violence,
bombings, killings, arms proliferations, murders,
assassinations, kidnappings, robberies and other forms of
violent crimes and social vices;
and to crown it all, the Government flouting
or skirting around the constitution and duly enacted laws of
the land! All these are symptoms of a failed state and
symptomatic of a leadership failure. What further proofs do
we need that we are gradually degenerating and heading
towards a failed state?
In simple terms, a failed state is a state of
chaos and lawlessness: a “jungle society” where
anything and everything goes, and in which citizens live in
fear almost on a daily basis, as crimes and other violent
acts are constantly committed, perpetrated and perpetuated
with impunity and there seems to be no bonafide Government
in control or the Government seems to be helpless in
arresting the situation.
The first and primary duty of any responsible
and responsive Government to its citizens is that of
ensuring the security of lives and property. Where this is
lacking, such a Government has evidently failed in its
primary role and constitutional duty. Therefore, a
Government that cannot protect its citizens and guarantee
adequate security of lives and property is a failed
Government. Concomitantly, a failed Government or leadership
can only lead to a failed state.
In a normal clime, citizens should be able to
go about their legitimate pursuits without fear or
hindrance. According to a former American president,
Franklin Deleno Roosevelt, “there are four essential
freedoms: The First is freedom of speech and expression. The
Second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own
way. The Third is freedom from want. The Fourth is freedom
from fear”. However, in Nigeria today, there is palpable
fear in the land due to the high spate of violent crimes and
terrorist activities and the attendant insecurity to lives
and property.
The recent spate of terrorist attacks and
bomb blasts by the sectarian sect called Boko Haram
in the Northern part of the country and more especially the
bomb attack on the United Nations office building complex in
Abuja has further heightened and exacerbated the state of
insecurity in the land which, to all intents and purposes,
is a failure of leadership on the part of the Government as
well as the security agencies. It must be said, however,
that in real terms, security is not just about intelligence
gathering, crime prevention and eradication. It is much more
than that. I am of the school of thought that there are
three basic fundamentals and central pillars which are
sinequanon and pre-requisites for attaining effective
security, namely the provision of food, education and job
creation (employment) without which security, peace and
harmony cannot be meaningfully guaranteed. Accordingly,
unless and until the Government effectively address and
tackle the basic and fundamental issues of hunger and
poverty, ignorance and illiteracy as well as the high level
of unemployment, particularly youth unemployment, (all of
which are the root causes of violent crimes and insecurity),
the goal of ensuring security in the land will only be a
pipe dream and an ideal that will never be attained.
According to the legendary philosopher,
Aristotle “poverty is the parent of revolution and
crime. Where some people are very wealthy and others have
nothing, the result will be either extreme democracy or
absolute oligarchy, or despotism will come from either of
those excesses”. In the words of William Cowper Brown
“No man can be a patriot on an empty stomach”. And
according to the popular maxim “The idle hand is the
devil’s workshop”. The situation whereby majority of the
people are poor and hungry and a lot of the youths are
jobless and unemployed, will definitely result in high rate
of crime and criminalities. It has been established,
especially in the recent case of the London Riots, that most
violent crimes are usually perpetrated majorly by those who
are jobless or with little or no education. People without
jobs or with little or no education tend to have little or
no hope about the future and are, therefore, ready to
jeopardize their future by getting involved in many untoward
and criminal tendencies. And because they are ignorant,
jobless and hopeless, they are easily teleguided, misguided,
manipulated and lured into all sorts of mischief and violent
crimes by some self-serving elites and leaders in the
society for their own myopic selfish interests and personal
ambitions. Theses elites and leaders could be political
leaders, religious leaders, community leaders, business
leaders and some other powerful interest groups who may have
one grievance, grouse or grudge against the authorities in
power.
Let me, however, say that the problem of
security cannot be effectively address or tackled by the
Government or the political leadership alone, neither can it
be resolved by police or military action. It is a collective
responsibility of the society which requires concerted
efforts by all stakeholders. We all, as a people, have to be
security conscious and volunteer and provide relevant and
necessary information to the authorities in order to curb
and combat the spate of violent crimes.
Therefore, when we talk about failure of
leadership, we are not just referring to the Government or
political leadership alone. It’s all encompassing. It refers
to leadership at all levels. For example, it is the failure
of religious leaders to effectively control their
worshippers and adherents that will cause some misguided
elements under the toga or guise of religion to perpetrate
all sorts of evil, barbaric and dastardly acts including
terrorist attacks all in the name of religion. Also, it is
the failure of intelligence gathering on the part of the
security, police and military leadership that they cannot be
pro-active enough to effectively address the problem of
insecurity to the extent that various violent crimes
including bomb blasts, killings and assassinations have
continued unabated without being nipped in the bud, detected
or the culprits and perpetrators apprehended and brought to
book. Similarly, it is the failure of the leadership in the
Judiciary that suspected criminals are not prosecuted and
brought to justice speedily to serve as deterrent to others
with criminal intents.
The main and fundamental problem with Nigeria
(and indeed Africa) which has been the country’s albatross
rests squarely with bad or poor leadership which cuts across
political, religious, traditional, community, ethnic/tribal,
labour/union, market and business leaders, as well as other
leaders at various levels, (military, police and other
Para-military security agencies) who in most cases are
always self-serving and self-centred in their approach to
handling national issues. Most people in leadership
positions – either in Government or out of Government – are
usually economical with the truth either because of selfish
interests or due to corruptive influences or a combination
of both. It is therefore, my considered submission that
inept and failed leadership at all levels, more than
anything else is the bane of our National development and
progress.
The progress and development of any Nation
depends more on the character of its leadership (good
governance) and not mere statements of intents (vision this,
vision that), emotional sentiments or good intentions of the
leadership. A leadership without a clear vision backed by
action is an illusion. So, where you have a visionless
leadership, no meaningful progress can be made by such a
Nation. Our leaders have to learn and start taking decisions
on what is best for the country rather than their
self-serving interests.
Against this backdrop, I believe and wish to
submit that if and when we get the issue of leadership right
(by having round pegs in round holes), every other thing –
including the issue of security and the much touted issue of
restructuring the federation – will automatically and
naturally fall into place. This is because it takes a
visionary, bold and courageous leadership with a strong
political will to identify the problems – including issues
like structural imbalances/restructuring (and the need for a
sovereign national conference), corruption, nepotism as well
as other socio-economic and political challenges confronting
the nation – and forge ahead to tackle them head long
without fear or favour. But, when you have a lame duck in
the saddle of leadership, you cannot expect any meaningful
progress in terms of development. Therefore, unless and
until we successfully address the challenge of leadership,
the country – and this is not a curse, but the bitter truth
– can never move forward.
Kayode Oluwa
is the President, Academy for Leadership and Change
Management. He wrote in from 4C Femi Okunu Estate, Phase 2,
Lekki Lagos. He can be reached on 08033233844 and
oluwa95@yahoo.com
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