When States (Nations) Fail

By Hope Eghagha

The high command of Nigeria Army and Nigeria Police must be or should be in deep embarrassment about the whole incident. The Federal Government also ought to be worried by the incident because it is one too many in our recent history. No credible steps have been taken so far to reassure the nation of order across.

There is an increased disrespect for law, order, codes of social behaviour and engagement. Perhaps the government and its institutions are overwhelmed by the depth and scope of atrophy which the nation currently battles with. Which itself is frightening. Whether by default or design there is a script for doomsday being acted out. Are the actors aware of the enormity of the challenge that we face? Is the nation going for broke?

The Taraba incident is a symptom. If its portents have been missed by Abuja it is the duty of civil society to point fingers in the right direction. We are headed in a dangerous direction. Other incidents had in the past promoted this narrative. Apart from failure of the Nigerian state to arrest and prosecute criminals of a particular type, the outcry of a former Chief of Army Staff General Theophilus Danjuma (retired) that the Nigeria Army was no longer a national institution but a partisan one, was a marker, an etching in the memory of watchers of our recent history. He called on Nigerians to prepare to defend themselves against the army funded with taxpayers’ funds. This could only happen in a state that is on the way to perdition. Subsequent events have proved that the respected general was not crying wolf when there was none.

When leaders promote a sectarian and narrow agenda at the expense of the collective will or the common good, they sow the seed for a failed state. This entails disregard for the sensitivities of other stakeholders by incumbent leaders. Such men of power see themselves as rulers and scheme to impose a viewpoint on others. There is a presumption that power resides in them and that whatever happens they can manipulate the political system in a pre-determined direction. When states fail it is often the deeds of the men in power. States fail because of the men not despite the men in power or out of power.

Disintegration or outright rejection of an existing political system by stakeholders are options. It is a process, a journey of sorts. Once a state by design or default destroys its national institutions there is no guarantee that the centre can still hold. It is a sign of anarchy for self help to be the only true way to justice. When the forces at the centre carry on as if there are no alternatives to their stay in power then all options are placed on the table. Two former Heads of State retired General Abdulsalami Abubakar and ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo called different interest groups to a mediation meeting about three weeks ago in Minna and Abeokuta respectively. The subtext was clear: Abuja is not saying or doing the right things. A third fore was necessary.

Nigeria should not be allowed to fail whether by acts of omission or commission. Nigeria is not too big to fail. Words and actions which can hold the country together should be carried out. Those extreme statements coming from some so-called leaders should be disregarded. They are likely to get on the first jet out of the country if push gets to shove because they have the means to do so. The soldiers who killed the policemen at Ibi should be brought to book as quickly as possible.
*Eghagha is a professor of English, University of Lagos