Nigeria Dancing on the Brink - A Discourse on the 'Nigerian Project'

BY
TANKO AHMED fwc
Senior Fellow (Security & Strategic Studies)
National Institute for Policy & Strategic Studies
(NIPSS)
March 2014
1

‘Gyara kayan ka, ba sauke mu raba ba’,
(A suggestion to adjust your wares is not a request to drop and share).
- A Nigerian (Hausa) Proverb
2

 Ambassador John Campbell’s book ‘Nigeria Dancing on the Brink’ is a discourse on the
‘Nigerian Project’ inferring the absence of committed ‘national’ leadership.
 In place are warring cliques or coteries which are, at best, ‘local champions’ operating on
platforms of sectional, religious and ethnic fraternities.
 The ‘Nigerian Project’ urgently requires a crop of creative transcultural leaders capable
of utilizing the enormous human and natural resources packaged in the country, for its
people and the whole wide world, including the United States.
 Failure to do this will lead to the lurking dangers of reversal to Brzezinski’s (1998)
concept and project, of ‘micro-nationalities’ which at best are ‘easy pickings’ for even
medium size multi-nationals or any of the marauding non-governmentals.
 This book review essay attempts to shift the contents and contexts of the book and assess
the ‘Nigerian Project’. It also probes the quality of leadership and the dangers it creates
for the Nigerian state dancing on the brink.
3

Book Title - Nigeria Dancing on the Brink
Author - John Campbell
Publisher - Rowman & Littlefield Inc.
Pages - 183 pages
Year - 2011
Reviewer - Tanko Ahmed, fwc
4

 John Campbell is a Ralph Bunche Senior Fellow for Africa Policy Studies at the
American Council on Foreign Relations, New York.
 He served as a U. S. Department of State Foreign Service Officer with two sojourns
in Nigeria; 1988 to 1990 as political counselor; and 2004 to 2007 as ambassador.
 He is a ‘long service’ Foreign Service Officer at the US Department of state with
sojourn at Lyon, Paris, Geneva, Pretoria, Lagos and Abuja.
 His academic stunts include Wisconsin, Princeton and the Foreign Service Institute.
 Ambassador Campbell can literally (and rightly) be described as a ‘Voice of
America’ in reflection of the power of his views on the American platform.
 He ranks at per with notables like Zbigniew Brzezinski whose cogent views in the
past, on the fate of countries like Nigeria complements the subject matter of this
essay.
5

 The book ‘Nigeria Dancing on the Brink’ is structured
into nine interconnected flowing sections and sub-
sections.
 Its presentation is at ease with the schema or rule of
mental pattern in writing prose; with explicit
introductory paragraphs and ‘guiding’ 1st sentences.
 An Introduction projects an umbrella of the complete
work of nine chapters.
6

 Chapter One is a brief history ‘Un Peu d’Histoire’ of Nigeria, reflective of the obvious socio-
economic and political riddle sited in Chapter two, that: ‘If Nigerian is Rich, Why are
Nigerians so Poor’.
 Chapter three ‘Who Runs Nigeria?’ exposes the cliques, coteries and cabals of ‘leadership’
perpetuating personal, family, clique, tribal, religious and professional cronyism platforms and
networks.
 Chapter four pounds on the spiritual fraud of religiosity using ‘Faith’ in controlling Nigerians.
 Chapter five ‘The Niger Delta’ imbroglio points to oppression as enabler for insurrection.
 Chapter Six and Chapter Seven ‘A President for Life’ and ‘The Election-like Event of 2007’
open up the high risk of seat-tight leadership and the mockery of election process which may
eventually backfire in a nation of vibrant people.
 The bilateral relationship between the US and Nigeria, as reflected in Chapter Eight
‘Washington and Abuja’, is entirely based on American economic and regional or strategic
interests.
 Chapter Nine ‘Dancing on the Brink’ struggles to define Nigeria as a ‘failed’ or ‘falling’ state
with a clear conclusive statement on a nation at the verge of state failure.
7

 Nigeria is blessed with abundance human and material resources of rich
cultural groups, fertile land and minerals deliberately put together to
make a large and powerful state with ample resources to play a leading
role in the affairs of the African continent and the world at large (Bingel,
2009).
 The main thrust of the Nigerian Project aims at harnessing and utilization
of the country’s enormous human, cultural and natural endowments to
make Nigeria a great nation.
 This quest is often coined by its leaders in the currency of ‘unity in
diversity’.
 Lalonde (1994) explained ‘unity in diversity’ as a concept of ‘unity
without uniformity and diversity without fragmentation’ shifting focus
from unity based on a mere tolerance of differences towards a more
complex unity based on the understanding that difference enriches
human interactions.
 This was initially captured by Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Nigeria’s first
Prime Minister, in a speech at the occasion marking the motion
requesting for Nigeria’s independence from Britain titled ‘Unity Diversity
in Independence’ (Cartey and Kilson, 1970). 8

 Campbell argues that the lack of a ‘national’ leadership in an embroiled crisis of
leadership along primordial sectionalism produces ‘local champions’.
 As Parekh (2005) put it, groups can contribute to the national cultural assets new
forms of imagination; new ideas of beauty and goodness; new forms of
resourcefulness and skills; new sources of energy and dynamism; and add to its
national assets.
 This is the basis for much needed national integration, nation-building and
national development.
 However, George (2009) noted that crises accentuate the dynamics of leadership
and reveal its strength and weaknesses in a way that ordinary challenges do not.
 Campbell in a way has challenged and spotlighted the dangers and weaknesses of
the Nigerian leadership in the quest for the Nigerian Project.
9

 Uzoigwe (1996) pointed out that exploitation of differences created
distrusts, suspicions and cleavages among the various groups often seen
in the conduct of Nigeria’s national affairs.
 Joshua (2002) observed that the lack of any true national integration as
basis for nation-building in Nigeria is traceable to the belief and conduct
of the elite class represented in the various ethnic groups who use their
position to consolidate their own gains.
 Metumara (2010) concluded that successive post-independence regimes,
not only failed to initiate far-reaching policy measures to settle ethnic
differences into positive ventures that could create effective national
integration, but ended up escalating its negative tendencies to present
times.
 Consequently, the major problem of national character in Nigeria, and
most Africa states, has to do with creating overarching loyalties to the
nation over and above the primordial and sub-national loyalties.
10

 When the pursuit of development excludes solutions to problems arising from its own process,
the system will run into a ‘progress trap’.
 A nation polarized by intense sectionalism, tribalism, regionalism and religious bigotry is
susceptible to incessant ‘crisis of leadership’ and trapped in dysfunctional conflicts.
 The resultant divisive process sets the various contending factions in perpetual struggle for
advantages or supremacy over one another in the quest for ascendency, retention, or even
sabotage (Ahmed, 2013).
 Conflicts set in with resultant situations, depending on how they are handled by the elite or
leadership of the various groups.
 Nigeria is indeed ‘dancing on the brink’, at the very edge of a steep drop or verge of disaster
which require speedy retraction in order to spring back to stability.
 American views, opinions or even policies towards Nigeria are often interpreted by Nigerians
as ‘double standard’ ways to exploit the country’s perennial fluid situation.
 A close look at Campbell’s book generates same feelings; but a critical look reveals a paradigm
shift from the hostile ways of Brzezinski (1998) to an open, sincere but stern warning of the
dangers ahead for the Nigerian Project.
11

 The ultimate reality in Nigeria portends dangers
leading to, not only a simple division of the
country into smaller nations, but its complete
fragmentation, further leading to system
collapse.
 These dangers seem unnoticed by a leadership
blinded by selfish quest for power and wealth,
riding on Kelly’s (1988) followership typology of
the sheeple (sheep + people).
or
 The seemingly docile Nigerian citizenry may
suddenly awaken and revolt overnight.
12

 A divided and warring Nigeria may ultimately serve the interests of the United States as
cited by Brzezinski (1998), a top adviser to Barack Obama and leading US foreign policy
theoretician.
 Zbigniew Brzezinski, who co-founded the Trilateral Commission, had ‘undue influence
in the Carter administration’ and also pushed policies that encouraged the division of
existing nation-states by the succession and emergence of microstates, based on cultural,
ethnic and religious peculiarities (Chomsky, 1980).
 Author and historian Webster G. Tarpley submitted that, for Africa, Brzezinski actually
recommended that the so-called ‘micro-nationalities’ concept, which means that national
boundaries established in the 19th century should be swept aside in favor of a crazy quilt
of petty tribal entities, each one so small that it could not hope to resist even a medium-
sized oil multinational (Griffin, 2008).
 It is however encouraging to note that the exact opposite of Brzezinski’s projects, are
presently advocated by new crop of equally influential American voices, like
Ambassador Campbell.
13

 While it is not feasible to ask for a greater degree and range of unity than
is possible or necessary, a society cannot be held together unless its
members share certain basic beliefs and values in common.
 A nation like Nigeria cannot be cohesive and stable unless its components
share a common national outlook including, a common system of
meaning and significance; a shared conception of the good life at personal
and collective levels; and a shared body of customs, practices, habits,
attitudes and collective memories.
 Campbell has clearly inferred that in order to move forward, the Nigerian
nation, particularly its elite and leadership must work for ‘unity in
diversity’ as main stream of the Nigerian Project.
 The way forward for Nigeria is therefore the investiture and sustenance
of ‘unity in diversity’ for the success of the Nigerian Dream, for its people
and the whole wide world, including the United States of America.
14

 Ambassador Campbell has made a case on the importance of Nigeria to
the United States of America.
 The natural Nigeria is as stable as any dancing stage can ever be, but the
staggering steps of its performers roll on the brink, as anything goes.
 In a popular Hausa narrative: A courier’s luggage rack or ‘amalanke’ bears
some displaced pieces as it rolls along a bumpy road, a passerby noticed
and asked the bearer to drop and adjust the falling items.
 A Nigerian (Hausa) proverb to this effect preaches that ‘gyara kayan ka,
ba sauke mu raba ba’, that is, ‘a suggestion to adjust your wares is not a
request to drop them and share’.
 This is the time to do something about the Nigerian Project otherwise,
when the chips are down those in charge will pay the highest price. To
conclude with, in resilience studies, time is a friend before a disaster;
after a disaster, time is an enemy.
15

Full Article Published in the Journal International
Researcher, Vol. 3, Issue 1, March 2014
www.iresearcher.org
17

 REFERENCES
 Ahmed, T. (2013), Crisis of Leadership in Nigeria: An Analysis of National Psyche, political
Behaviour and Nation-Building, African Renaissance Journal, Vol. 10, No. 3&4, pp 59-73.
 Bingel, B. T. (2009), ‘Nigerian History in Perspectives: The Challenges of Nation-building’. A
Paper Presented to the Senior Executive Course No. 31-2009 Participants, National Institute for
Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru.
 Brzezinski, Z (1998), ‘How Jimmy Carter and I Started the Mujahideen’ Counterpunch, January
15 http://www.counterpunch.org Accessed on 14 November 2013.
 Cartey, W. and Kilson, M. (1970), ‘The African Reader: Independent Africa’, New York:
Vintage, www.blackpast.org/1957-alhaji-abubakar-tafawa-balewa-unity-and-diversity-
independence Accessed on 18 November 2013.
 Chomsky, N. (1980), ‘The Carter Administration: Myth and Reality’, New York: Vintage,
www.chomsky.info/books/priorities01.htm Accessed 18 November 2013.
 George, B. (2009), ‘Seven Lessons for Leading in Crisis’, San Francisco: Jossey Bass
www.billgeorge.org/files/media/leading-in-crisis-lessons-for-safety-
leaders/20101014150246550.pdf Accessed on 14 November 2013.
 Griffin, W (2008), ‘Obama: The Postmodern Coup – Making of a Manchurian Candidate’
Tarpley: Progressive Press, http://books.google.com Accessed on 14 November 2013.
 Joshua, A. A. (2002), ‘Language, National Integration and Nigeria Federation’, Humanities 18

 Kelley, R. E. (1988). ‘In Praise of Followers’, Harvard Business Review, 66, 142-148
www.emeralinsight.com/bibliographic_databases.htm Accessed 18 November 2013.
 Lalonde, R. (1994), ‘Unity in Diversity: Acceptance and Integration in an Era of Intolerance and
Fragmentation’ (PhD Thesis). Ottawa, Ontario: Department of Geography, Carleton University.
http://bahai-library.com/lalonde_unity_diversity Accessed on 12 November 2013.
 Metumara, D. M. (2010), ‘Ethnic Militias and Sub-nationalism in Nigeria: A Comparative
Analysis of MASSOP and OPC’, Unpublished Doctorate Dissertation, Department of Political
Science, Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria.
 Novak, M. (1983), ‘Epigraph’ in Carol L. Birch Unity in Diversity: An Index to the Publications of
Conservative and Libertarian Institutions. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press: New American
Foundation. http://bahai-library.com/lalonde_unity_diversity Accessed on 8 November 2013.
 Parekh, B (2005), ‘Unity and Diversity in Multicultural Societies’, International Institute for
Labour Studies, Geneva, Switzerland, March
www.academia.edu/5121983/UNITY_AND_DIVERSITY_IN_MULTICULTURAL_SOCIETIES
Accessed on 14 November 2013
 Uzoigwe, Godwin N. (1996), ‘The Evolution of the Nigerian State: 1900-1914’, in Isawa J.
Elaigwu & Godwin N. Uzoigwe (eds.) Foundation of Nigeria Federalism 199-1960. Jos: Institute of
Governance and Social Research (IGRS) pp. 1-3.
http://Europa.eu/abc/symbols/motto/index_en.htm
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