CONFLICT IN SUDAN: LESSONS FOR NIGERIA

As with war everywhere and every time, the conflict in Sudan has yielded multiple victims, many of them across borders.

It was in February 2022 that the world was shaken by a new conflict from the heart of Europe and the center of the European Union, which is one of the most important regional organizations in the world.

Russia’s decision to invade Ukraine immediately sent shockwaves across the world, sending refugees pouring over the border into neighboring countries.

The world’s response to what was essentially an act of defiance from Russian President Vladimir Putin was characteristically harsh, with sanctions springing up from every corner of the world, targeting Russia’s most powerful men and threatening to suffocate Russia’s interest.

The war continues even today as the world continues to hold its breath over the bread basket of Europe. The war in Ukraine immediately sent food prices soaring across the world and plunging millions far removed from the epicenter of the world into hunger.

The conflict in Sudan is having a similar, even if not dramatically identical, impact in Africa. As two military men have metamorphosed into monsters, the peril pelting innocent civilians in Sudan has not just been reserved for the Sudanese. Nationals of other countries who until the conflict had lived in panic in a troubled country have also been roundly affected.

Many countries have had to evacuate their citizens from Sudan. Nigeria is not left out. Nigerian students, and businessmen have had to be evacuated amidst much tension.

When the government announced that the humongous sum of $1.2 million had been budgeted for buses for the evacuation, there was an uproar at home over the amount. The uproar is yet to die down, despite the best explanations of the Nigerian government.

It appears that every Nigerian who wanted to return from Sudan has since returned. But what exactly have they returned to? What manner of life have they returned to?

There is admittedly a lot of dysfunction in Nigeria. While Nigerians like to think they are better than other Africans, as aptly observed by gifted author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, many African countries are doing quite well for themselves. Take Rwanda, Senegal, Mauritania and even the Seychelles.

While they may be far smaller countries compared to Nigeria, they are proving they can out do the giant of Africa in the provision of basic amenities. One of the evacuees stated that in Sudan they were always assured of 18 hours of power supply. Can the same be said of Nigeria?

What is it that works in Nigeria apart from chaos and corruption? It was striking that as some Nigerians were forced to evacuate from Ukraine in the thick of the war, some preferred to remain in detention centers in Poland than return to the country.

Others who returned only grudgingly have since predictably struggled to piece their lives together in a bid to go again. It is as if they had an inkling of what awaited them here.

There are not a few Nigerians who believe that one of the main reasons Nigerians are found all over the world, including in some of the most remote countries imaginable, is that things are not working as they should in their country.

The standard of living was well on a downward spiral due to poverty before things suddenly became complicated by insecurity which has rocked the country. Today, things have only gone from bad to worse, with many of those who live in the country struggling to cling on to dear life.

For those who have been forced to flee their relatively stable lives in Sudan, it is no doubt back to basics.

Many of the evacuees who manage to pick up the pieces of their lives would have to go again. They may have to start from the scratch to make sense of things in a thoroughly dysfunctional country.

It should be tough, of course, but with time and a lot of fortitude, they should be able to make something of a thoroughly dire situation.

The conflict In Sudan is another searing lesson for Nigeria on the dangers of conflict, especially the displacement, destabilization, devastation, and despair it brings.

Ike Willie-Nwobu,

Abuja