From Joe Effiong, Uyo
Akwa Ibom State Governor Udom Emmanuel has challenged Nigeria to look to the American example in working through the country’s ethnic tensions and emerge as a model of freedom, advancements and growth.
Governor Emmanuel who threw the challenge at the Executive Leadership Course in the History and Future of Nigeria, organised by the Historical Society of Nigeria and the Peace Building Development Consultants in Uyo on Monday, said Nigeria, though a deeply heterogeneous society, defined by religious and tribal fault lines, can still work through such differences and emerge a truly united nation
Represented by the deputy governor, Mr Moses Ekpo, the governor said; “I believe Nigeria has a lot to learn from the American example. We are a deeply heterogeneous society, defined by religious and tribal fault lines. Rather than walking through our differences as America did, unfortunately, we have enlarged the fault lines and adopted a largely, zero-sum game approach to solving our national problems.
“From our unfortunate fratricidal war of 1967 to 1970, to the current insecurity in the land, the deepening of the chords of ethnicity and religious differences, to flagrant inequality that exists in our nation, I think, we as leaders have a lot more work to do, in closing the gap or chasm of division.
“I have no doubt that the eminent resource persons you have gathered to speak here, will do a great job to illuminate and bring fresh insights to this problem.
“If America worked through her issues and today is the undisputed hegemonic power of the world, applying and deploying both soft and hard power to shape the world in her own image, which she has done successfully since 1945, Nigeria, too, will in no distant future also emerge as a truly united, indissoluble, equality-laden entity where, in the wordings of our first National Anthem “though tribes and tongue may differ, in brotherhood we stand”.
The governor emphasised that Nigeria would fulfil her potential if her people work collectively in agreement,” he said
The session chairman and former Minister of Interior, Lt Gen Abdulrahman Dambazzau (retd), in his remarks, suggested the need for a collaborative approach to tackle security challenges in Nigeria.
The former Military Chief alleged lack of political will to the challenges confronting the country and tasked stakeholders in the nation’s security sector to restrategize to be able to arrive at a workable security blueprint through the use of kinetic and non-kinetic approaches to solving security problems for the country.
According to Dambazzau, “there are certain steps to take; for instance, some of the deep-rooted issues are socio-economic and I think addressing those issues would go a long way to reduce incidences of criminal violence in the country.
“I would love us to take a comprehensive approach, where every stakeholder in the nation’s security sector is partnering with the others to solve our security challenges, rather than operating in a silo. A situation where the physical security and the intelligence security personnel would work as a team.
Speaking on expectations from the four-day executive course, the President, Historical Society of Nigeria, Prof Okpeh Okpeh Jnr, said the exercise seeks to establish the crosscurrents of Nigerian History, African History and World History; deconstruct the trajectory of Nigeria’s Pre-Colonial, Colonial and Post-Colonial History; examine the changes in, and challenges to, Nigeria’s political unity.
The executive course according to Prof Okpeh also seeks to interrogate the causes, courses and consequences of separatist agitation in Nigeria; and assess military interruption in Nigeria’s democratic travail.
“Some of the expected outcomes of the course for participants would include: deepen official knowledge of Nigeria’s history; identify key policy issues with informed capacity to respond to them; demonstrate the capacity to study the past and make informed and relevant conclusions for the future.
“We also hope to isolate persisting problems challenging Nigeria’s corporate existence; make strategic decisions in their various areas of responsibilities both at the personal and corporate levels; and exhibit competent personal and corporate leadership abilities in the discharge of their duties toward Nigeria”. He said.
Okpeh gave the assurance that the executive course would not be another talk shop as he was ready to partner with other non-governmental organisations and civil rights movements to ensure that policy issues raised at the end of the exercise are pushed to the appropriate quarters for desired attention and action.