Tortuous Convolvulus

Asterix
In the Asterix Comic Book Series, specifically ‘Asterix and the Roman Agent’, there was a Roman Official, ‘Tortuous Convolvulus’, a natural born troublemaker with a special ability to cause strife and division and stir up trouble between anyone at any place at any time. His stock-in-trade was to “prey on distrust and hidden grievances”. In the series, Julius Caesar, the Emperor of Rome, used him as a tool of psychological warfare against the Gauls, to stir up as much trouble as possible, in their midst.

Its sad to say that in Nigeria today, we have too many Tortuous Convolvulus’ for comfort. But why would we Nigerians to be doing this to ourselves? In the case of Asterix, the Romans and the Gauls were enemies. Have we Nigerians, now become enemies of ourselves on the basis of religion, tribe, belonging to different political parties and so on?

Umar Musa Yar’Adua University, Katsina
While I was watching the news on Silverbird Television last week, there was a news item on the Management of a Federal Institution, Umar Musa Yar’Adua University, Katsina that caught my attention. The Management of the University was being accused of allegedly practicing religious intolerance and intimidation of non-Muslim students. The Management had on January 17, 2017 issued an internal memorandum to all Students, placing a ban on the operation of all other religious associations within the University, except the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria (MSSN).
My first instinct was to disregard the news report as being untrue. But I then considered the fact that Silverbird Television Station is not a gossip column, so the story could be true.

Constitutional Provisions
This act by the University Management is unconstitutional. Apart from Section 10 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended in 2010) (1999 Constitution) which unequivocally prohibits any Federal or State religion, Section 38 of the same 1999 Constitution provides for the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion. Section 40 also provides inter alia that “Every person shall be entitled to assemble freely and associate with other persons, and in particular he may form or belong to any political party, trade union or any other association for the protection of his interest….”. Section 42 also guarantees the right to freedom from discrimination.

The 1999 Constitution is fraught with provisions, the purport of which are the guarantee of the fundamental rights of all Nigerians to the choice, voluntary practice, worship, and propagation of their various religions, establishment of religious schools, religious societies and so on. The only thing that is prohibited is the establishment of secret societies (Section 38(4)).

Therefore, to outlaw or ban all other societies from operating, except the MSSN, is not only ludicrous and unconstitutional, but null and void ab initio.

University Management’s Defence
However, the University Management subsequently came out to defend itself, debunking the claim and explaining that it gave a deadline to all societies operating within the institution to register themselves with it, one to which only the MSSN adhered to. It claims that no Christian association came to register.

Unfortunately, apart from the fact that the University Management’s defence did not form part of the news report; the action of the University Management and the less than comprehensive news report, were hot enough to further heat up an already boiling polity, increasing the flames of the so-called attempt to ‘Islamise Nigeria’, thereby causing disaffection between Christians and Muslims.

Of course, there could be various reasons for the non-compliance by the other societies. I can understand a Christian Society not feeling inclined to register with the University Management, if there is already an allegation of intimidation of non-Muslim students.

Issue of Religion
The question I would like to ask is, why is the issue of religion so important? Religious beliefs are personal and should be left as such. Will being a Christian or Muslim bring down the rate of the Dollar to the Naira? Will whatever religion I practice make me more efficient at my workplace? Will religion provide jobs for the millions of unemployed Nigerians? Will religion solve the grave issue of lack of adequate electricity supply in the country? Will practicing a certain religion result in the increase in the global oil prices? I think not. The country is facing so many serious issues which have not been resolved, and this should be the focus, as opposed to in-fighting and seemingly endless controversies.

Niger Delta
Likewise, last week, I watched an interview of Professor Akin Oyebode of the University of Lagos on television, in which some Tortuous Convolvulus’ which Prof described as “elements from the North” claimed that they should control the oil resources in the Niger Delta because of their huge land mass. Prof went on to say that during the Confab, of which he was a member, some of them had gone as far as actually distributing pamphlets along those lines.

Prof put the blame squarely at the feet of the Colonial Government saying that they had passed all sorts of laws and ordinances, including the Mineral Oil Ordinances, which claimed that all the resources located in the country did not belong to the people that reside in those areas, but to the Colonial Government. Since the Federal Government of Nigeria subsequently became the successor-in- title to the Colonial Government, this formed the basis of their argument.

It is obvious that the pronouncement made by the Colonial Government was unfair, and borne solely out of self-interest. It is therefore, not only ridiculous on the part of anyone to try to maintain such an argument as true, but highly inflammatory.

With the regular destruction of oil installations by the Niger Delta Militants, purportedly due to their dissatisfaction with Government’s neglect of their people and area, the degradation and lack of development in their area, the allocation by Government of several oil mining licences to Northerners and non- Niger Deltans, and so on, does it not amount to “insult upon injury” for some Northerners to lay claim to the ownership of the resources found therein?

Certainly those Tortuous Convolvulus’ laying those claims at this time, cannot be hoping to achieve peace and tranquility in the region (or the nation) by making such inflammatory assertions and statements, as such utterances again, are guaranteed to make the Niger Deltans more incensed, possibly making the Militants resort to more violence and destruction.

According to Prof Oyebode, “if you live in the far North where you don’t have any oil (at least for now), you can’t lay claim to the deposits that are found in the areas that you have it in. It is spurious and provocative to resurrect that argument now, because it might engender dysfunctional and counter-productive consequences for the stability of the Nigerian Federation”. I concur. Niger Delta Activist, Ankio Briggs had previously dismissed that Northern claim to the ownership of Niger Delta oil as “nonsensical and irrational”.

Since it is those from the Niger Delta who reside in those areas with nowhere else to go “who suffer the brunt of the oil exploration in terms of pollution, degradation of the environment, genetic mutation, and gas flaring”, they should certainly be compensated and accrue more benefits than those who do not have to suffer these hardships. This is not to say that all Nigerians are not beneficiaries of the revenue accruing from all the mineral resources within our country, but those that suffer these negative consequences certainly deserve more. As Prof Oyebode rightly put it, “burden and benefit should go together”. For example, why would Ogun and Osun States ask Government for say $2 billion to rebuild their states, as in the case of the North East, which has suffered considerable damage at the hands of Boko Haram? But the Niger Deltans are also in a position to make a request for such an amount too, since their areas have been severely ravaged and destroyed by oil exploration. This is not to say that Ogun and Osun do not need to be developed, but the troubled areas are more urgent and needy.

Government and its Controversies
Government itself is not excluded from the Tortuous Convolvulus mania, with many of its actions, inactions, and utterances. Everyday Nigerians wake up to some form of new controversy or the other, further causing division among the people on every conceivable level.

Last week alone, we had the issue of the re-submission to the Senate for approval, the name of the Acting Chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Magu Mustapha, and the letter from Mr President to the Senate, refusing to relieve the Secretary to the Federal Government, Babachir Lawal of his duties, due to the corruption allegations he is facing. This has caused disaffection between the Senate and the Presidency, with name calling and insinuations that this administration’s ‘fight against corruption’ is selective. As the Chairman, Senate Committee on the Mounting Humanitarian Crisis in the North East, Senator Shehu Sani said “when it comes to fighting corruption in the Legislature, the Judiciary and the larger society, the Presidency uses insecticide, but when it comes to the Presidency, it uses deodorant!”

Mr. President’s medical trip or vacation to the UK was another cause of controversy and confusion last week, with social media already awash with debates about succession to the Presidency and which tribe would assume the position of Vice-President, whether Ibo, Middle Belt or North. Again, a baseless issue as far as I am concerned, causing strife not only within the political class themselves, but between the different tribes vying for the ‘Vice-Presidency’. I saw a news clip of the President in London on television, relaxing, legs crossed on a coffee table, looking the same to me. I do agree that looks may be deceptive, but the man that I saw on television did not look sick enough for there to be such a raging debate on succession. However, I may be wrong. Who knows, since the Presidency has failed to make any press release as to the state of health of Mr. President (brings to mind the dramatic era of the late President Umar Yar’Adua and how his illness and death were shrouded in mystery).

Mentioned in passing on the floor of the Senate, was also the issue of the President’s breach of Section 5(4)(b) of the 1999 Constitution by deploying troops to The Gambia without seeking the approval of the Senate. Another cause for disaffection between the Senate and the Presidency. However, the Senate seemed to resolve not to make an issue of this particular matter.

My two cents is simply that all Nigerians, including the media and the Government, need to be responsible with information dissemination, utterances, actions and inactions. Nigerians are presently going through hell, unprecedented economic hardship, and as the saying goes, “a hungry man is an angry man”. There are already pockets of violence all over the country. The people do not need any further incitement.