I am a child of Biafra. I was born on the eve of that avoidable and internecine civil war. My father fought in that war on the side of Biafra. I have sat through many hours of interview to get a glimpse, from his personal experience, of what happened.

At 81, my father still has very vivid memories of the civil war. He tells me there is nothing to be ashamed of fighting in that war which he joined willingly after failed attempts to conscript him. For him, Biafra was the product of our bungling of our independence, our nationhood; and those who prosecuted the war on both sides mismanaged it. During our last discussion earlier in the year on this issue, in light of renewed agitation for the actualisation of Biafra, my father reminded me that the civil war ended 45 years ago and that today’s Nigeria is, in many ways, different from the Nigeria of 1967 when the war broke out.

Of course, as a journalist and student of history, I didn’t need to be told that Nigeria of 2015 is not my father’s Nigeria. I have lived through it. My father is not naïve or in denial. When he says things are different in many respects, he understands that there are still issues of injustice and alienation across the country. However, he points to the fact that structurally Nigeria is not what it used to be; but, more important, we have the benefit of a 30-month civil war. We can learn from that war in dealing with contemporary problems. I would add to my father’s position the fact that today’s Nigeria is not the sum total of its “ethnic nationalities.” So, while I believe Nigeria is negotiable, I do not think any attempt to negotiate Nigeria can and should be done solely on the basis of ethnic, religious or cultural affinity. That is my position on the Biafra issue.

In this sense, I am uncomfortable with those who see the Biafra agitation necessarily as an Igbo problem. It is in the same vein that I do not see, for example, the herdsmen issue as a Fulani problem. We may deplore the antics of Nnamdi Kanu, director of Radio Biafra, and his Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) movement; we may be genuinely concerned about the activities of all parties in the Fulani herdsmen issue. But in the end, the question that we should be asking is, how has the Nigerian state addressed the many faults lines and centrifugal forces that are threatening to rip the country asunder?

Adeolu Ademoyo’s piece titled “Biafran secessionist call, a national, not an Igbo question” which appeared in Premium Times on December 6, 2015, put the issue in proper perspective. The central argument of Ademoyo’s piece is that we need to see the Biafra agitation and sundry agitations that threaten the unity and stability of the country as a Nigerian problem and not the problem of the group or people pushing it. Since the national question goes beyond an “ethnic problem” or “identity politics” as Ademoyo rightly contends, we must continue to dialogue even as we seek to build a perfect union. When we come to this realisation, we can then begin the long and arduous task of framing a collective national ethos which will accommodate every Nigerian.

The explanation for our current dilemma can be found in the failure of our rulers in the last fifty-five years to build a nation out of what was handed to us at independence. I do not think, however, that it is too late to start the process of reconstructing Nigeria in the image of Nigerians – the ethnic nationalities and other interests that make up the country.

In the midst of the name-calling, rhetoric and chutzpah that have dominated the Biafra debate, three points stand out. One, the immediate danger the agitation poses for ordinary Nigerians who just want a space to live in peace in the midst of debilitating conditions occasioned by corruption and mismanagement of the country; two, replicating the knee-jerk response of successive governments in Nigeria to similar agitations in the past; and three, perhaps most important, what lessons we can draw from the current impasse.

There is enough from history to tell us that we need to address the Biafra agitation constructively and quickly too. The government can’t adopt the approach of, “the leaves are dying then cut off the branches.” Yes, we have the problem of corruption, of building our educational and health sectors and providing basic social services for our blighted country and impoverished citizens. But we have a bigger and fundamental question, that of national cohesion.

Truth is that we have a deeply fractured nation and we can only ignore that reality at our own peril. There are those who still think and feel that the civil war is far from over; that the cheque of “no victor, no vanquished” issued 45 years ago was indeed a dud cheque. The feeling of alienation is real. There are millions of our compatriots across Nigeria for whom this country provides no succour; there are millions who feel they have no stake in Nigeria; millions who feel they have been left out of the gains that independence ought to bring.

I don’t think there is anything immoral or criminal for Nigerians – from the East, West, North or South – who feel justifiably aggrieved or oppressed in a federation to seek to address such grievances or oppression. While the current agitation by Nnamdi Kanu and his Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) movement to wage war against Nigeria can’t be the solution, it affords us the opportunity once again to interrogate Nigeria. And it is simply because we have refused to do so that Kanu and others like him across the country have thrived over the years. That interrogation will, among other things, help the young men and women lining up behind Nnamdi Kanu understand why the question of independence for Biafra, whatever it means, is no answer to the problem of poverty and unemployment confronting them.

That interrogation will explain why our states and local governments in a supposed federation have abdicated their responsibilities and become mere appendages of the federal government; why our state governors run to Abuja every month to collect their share of the national cake; why the states in the federation have nothing to show for the trillions of naira that have accrued to them in the last 16 years since the return to civilian rule. Of course, this is not about the governors of the states in the south-east zone of the country, but for the purposes of argument, it will be interesting to find out how much the governors in the zone have collected (and generated?) since 1999 and how that has impacted the lives of citizens in that zone.

In the end, the different manifestation of Biafra may well be a metaphor. To that extent, we are all Biafrans as long as we seek to confront the clear and present danger. Yes, our rulers have contributed to the near collapse of a country that held so much promise at independence 55 years ago. Yes, we are so far gone in this ruinous part, but I think we can still retrace our steps. What the current situation calls for is a bold attempt to confront Nigeria’s seemingly intractable problem: the structure of our federation!

Now is the time to expand the debate on Nigeria’s federalism. My take is that we can build the new Nigeria of our dreams around what I call a “civic federation” that provides justice and equal opportunities for every Nigerian; a federation where every Nigerian can live in peace, work and have a future wherever they find themselves, irrespective of place of birth, ethnic nationality or creed; a country where governance will be localized and states and local government can make laws and have the capacity to enforce such laws within the context of a greater national interest.

That is the conversation we should be having now in our workplaces, newspaper stands, viewing centres and ultimately at the national assembly; that is, if our legislators can find time from their busy schedule of chasing social media activists. That is the only way to overcome the violent and dangerous ideology of Nnamdi Kanu and others like him!

conumah@hotmail.com; Follow me on Twitter: @conumah. [myad]

Ask President Muhammadu Buhari what he thinks is the chief reason for the violence and insecurity in Nigeria, including the Boko Haram terrorism in the north-east, bloody wars between cattle herdsman and farmers in central Nigeria, erosion in the east and the environmental catastrophe in the coastal regions and he will say, almost upon instinct that it’s the climate change.

The new Nigerian president who promised to tackle the problem of climate change in his inaugural speech has spun a compelling narrative on the disappearing Lake Chad, the environment around the Chad basin and how these have become the problem of the economy of the neighboring states through the failure of agriculture and joblessness which in turn have provided an easy recruitment into violent extremism.  It was a narrative so compelling that it literally arrested the attention of the world as 190 countries met in Paris to agree on the first global agreement on climate change. President of the United States, Barack Obama took it from here, illustrating how the drying up of the lake is becoming a major factor in the migration of Africans to the west, and on account of which, he agreed with our President that the revival of the lake had become a global imperative. It will require 14 billion U.S. Dollars to divert East African rivers to empty into the lake, the kind of money President Buahri told world leaders that his country cannot pay. He therefore asked for global assistance.

President Buhari’s speech at the conference centered on two major planks: one, Nigeria under him has the political will to secure its ecological interests and two, we will work with the rest of the world to protect the environment without compromising industrial development.

Starting with the Lake Chad, the President illustrated his awareness of the risk the changing climate presents to human security by recalling the richness of the waters and surrounding agriculture of the Lake Chad that attracted settlers, allowing the settled communities to enjoy education and comparable economic wellbeing. However, with prolonged drought and desertification, Lake Chad is now one-tenth of its original size,leading to poverty due to the failure of agriculture and fishing causing instability in the region that the insurgency of the Boko Haram has been able to cash in upon. The lake that once spread its territorial waters onto the four countries of the Lake Chad Basin Commission has now been reduced to a miserly presence on the Chadian territory, denying thereby direct access to its waters to Nigeria, Niger and Cameroon.

Traders in Baga, the major trading hub which the army just recovered from the Boko Haram said on a good day, five truck-loads of fish are now transported out of town, in stark contrast to the 100 a day that carried fish from the interstate market in the past.

Beyond the drought conditions of the Lake Chad, the President successfully showed the world Nigeria’s vulnerability to climate change as manifested in the various ecological zones.

He cited the problem of soil erosion in the South as a consequence of “climate-change-related heavier and steadier than normal rainfall” that is worsening soil erosion in the subregion. “The recent increase in the number of reported severe landslides in the South-Eastern states of the country is an attestation to the possible climate change-induced changes in erosion intensity.”

The President also reported on the sea-level rise, stating that Nigeria’s coastline is already undergoing ” pronounced morphological changes as a result of natural extreme events, such as sea surges and tidal waves.” He projected that 35% of the highly-productive Niger Delta could be lost if nothing was done to stop the anticipated global warming-induced accelerated sea level rise of between half-a-meter to one meter. Much of Lagos, the nation’s commercial capital will be abandoned if the sea waters rise by one meter.

Forests and other ecosystems, he noted, which are already under significant pressure are being affected by the worsening climate change. In particular, he warned of persistent flooding and water logging that would make the coastal regeneration difficult and the Savannah region of Northern Nigeria becoming vulnerable to the reduction of rainfall. The recent violence wracking Kaduna, FCT, Plateau,Nassarawa and Benue states pitching herdsmen and farmers was equally cited, its primary factor, no doubt being the weather.

The President listed a myriad of other implications arising for the climate change vulnerabilities of Nigeria including a major risk to access to potable water, increased energy demand for cooling; negative implications for tourism, one of the country’s fastest growing industries, as well as consequences for agriculture and food security.

In line with the principles of the Paris conference, Nigeria joined 179 other countries-which together are responsible for 97 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions- to submit voluntary commitments on how and when they plan to cut emissions.

In our specific case, the President submitted a two-stage proposal- an unconditional first phase to cut our own contribution to global warming by 20 percent, and this included a decisive plan to end the flaring of gas in our oil fields and a commitment to extending power supply to parts of the country that don’t enjoy electricity using solar energy and other renewable sources. On account of the latter, President Buhari accepted an invitation by Narendra Modi to join an international alliance of 121 “solar-rich” countries to advance the use of this clean source energy. The second phase of the Nigerian proposal described as equally bold would see the country cutting the emission by a total of 45 percent,however on condition of international support. The measures here include increased level of energy efficiency and a significant reduction in the use of generators while providing access to power to all Nigerians.

To do this, Nigeria has asked for support from the rich countries accused by  Indian Prime Minister Modi of   “powering their way to prosperity on fossil fuel” at the expense of the developing countries.

The moral underpin of the Paris conference states unequivocally that the rich countries must actually take responsibility for the current mess up of the global climate and lead the fight against global warming through several compensatory steps, one of which is a proposal to fund redemptive activities with an annual fund of 100 million U.S Dollars.

In addition to drawing from this, Nigeria is asking for further international support in the form of finance and investment, technology and capacity building.

All these proposals are in a document  Nigeria joined other countries to table as its “Intended Nationally Determined Contribution, INDC.”

In these documents, the countries of the world each outlined their goals and action plans towards a redemption of the environment and the steps, going forward they will be taking to achieve sustainable development and delivering on government priorities.

In the case of Nigeria, President Buhari approved several policies and measures that will deliver immediate development benefits which are in addition to the climate benefits.

These policies and measures, according the government document, set out to alleviate poverty,increase social welfare and inclusion, as well as improving individual wellbeing in a healthy environment. President Buhari made clear the political will on the part of the government at the center in Nigeria to tackle the catastrophic problems associated with climate change. Some of these, as manifested by the dirty air in our cities deriving from the use of diesel generators, cars and trucks as well as the burning of wastes that in turn spew up toxic gases are matters he said government will tackle.

To achieve this massive transformation (oh,no! Transformation again?), the approved policy document sets out what it calls sector-specific strategies, policies, programs to reduce the impact of  climate change through actionable measures by the federal government ,the states, local governments, civil society, private sector, communities and individuals.

In a nutshell, these measures will, hopefully improve awareness and preparedness for climate change impact; mobilize communities for climate change adaptation actions; reduce the impact of climate change on key sectors and vulnerable communities and integrate climate change adaptation into national,sectoral, state, local government planning and into the plans of universities, research and educational organizations, the civil society, the private sector and the media.

Broken down, there are strategies for agriculture (crops and livestock); fresh water and coastal water resources and fisheries; forests; biodiversity; health and sanitation; human settlement and housing;energy; transport and communications; industry and commerce; disaster, migration and security.

Equally, there are strategies for livelihoods which are about encouraging community participation including civil society organizations; the vulnerable groups who are not to be left out and strategies for education.

The overall participation by Nigeria at the Conference of Parties to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP-UNFCCC) agreement at the Paris Conference on Climate Change showed a rare type of seriousness on the part of our country. This is in terms of both preparation, pedagogy and actual participation.

While this is a true reflection of President Muahmmadu Buhari’s self-professed seriousness of commitment to issues of the environment, it is also a testimony to the solid teamwork the new ministers, Mrs. Amina Ibrahim Mohammed and Ibrahim Usman Jibrin are injecting into the ministry responsible.

It is equally important to note that this ministry which enjoys a rare combination of bureaucrats, scholars and technocrats in its staff had spent not less than one year setting out scenarios and priorities for the country at the conference, a spectacular effort that won the appreciation of the ministers and the President. No doubt, Nigeria’s historic presentation at the climate change conference is a milestone at the start of a long, tortuous journey.

In the final analysis however, it is the resolutions taken and the actions that follow that will determine the success of Nigeria at the COP in Paris and the policies and actions that will be pursued.  For now however, it is gratifying that the President’s appeal to the rich nations, the UN and other world bodies has been heard and heeded, somewhat to a degree,  with world leaders including India’s Modi and Barack Obama coming in tow.

Garba Shehu is Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity. [myad]

A day after the present set of Ministers took oath of office, Nigerians took to twitter to recommend books they think will be of use to them and provide necessary knowledge and guidance suitable for the discharge of their various assignments. Tolu Ogunlesi initiated the idea with the tag: #ReadingListNG, and a request that the name of Ministers should be indicated alongside book title and url link. The exercise turned out to be so popular with all manner of bibliophiles loading our time lines with book titles.

In the end, Kathleen Ndongmo, the Cameroonian lady with a keen interest in all things Nigerian, storified the various suggestions. The assumption that informed the reading list is not difficult to explain: the received wisdom is that persons in such important positions should be knowledge seekers, knowledge workers as well, and that in the age of knowledge and information, it will be disastrous indeed to have any dandified ignoramus at the highest levels of government. After all, “Reading maketh the man” Francis Bacon said. #ReadingListNG is thus at once an admonition, a reminder and a statement about the importance of reading, and in every respect, a worthy proposition.

Writing about this subject, I recall that in the early days of the Jonathan administration, there was a similar focus on reading and knowledge as valuable tools for governance. Much earlier, during the campaigns, President Jonathan launched a Bring Back the Book campaign to promote literacy and a reading culture.  He more or less continued with this at cabinet level by promoting and encouraging a culture of reading and debate among members of the Federal Executive Council.

He had made it clear to the then new Ministers that he wanted a cabinet of knowledgeable men and women whom he had deliberately put together to deliver the transformation agenda, through hardwork, dedication, efficiency and faithful execution. I indeed recall further that during one of the earliest Cabinet meetings, each Minister received a pack of reading materials including the Nigerian Constitution, the Transformation Agenda Blueprint, relevant statutes and Public Service Rules.

This idea of having a knowledgeable Cabinet, soon led to a situation once when the President recommended to all Cabinet members a reading of Lee Kuan Yew’s From Third World to First: The Singapore Story. This was followed by a reading of one of President Jonathan’s favourite books -Richard Dowden’s Africa: Altered States, Ordinary Miracles, The interest that this particular book generated resulted in Richard Dowden being invited to deliver the keynote address to mark Nigeria’s 51^st Independence Anniversary in 2011. As President, when Dr Jonathan was not quoting Lee Kuan Yew, he loved to quote Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, or Cyprian Ekwensi (An African’s Night’s Entertainment, Burning Grass, Passport of Mallam Ilia) and the late Tai Solarin, whose writings covered a broad range from public policy and governance to public morality.

Book reading and discussion by that Cabinet became even more formalized with the reading by all Cabinet members of a book titled If We Can Put A Man On The Moon: Getting Big Things Done In Government authored by William D. Eggers and John O’Leary.  The reading of this particular book was co-ordinated by the then Minister of National Planning, Dr Shamsuddeen Usman, who distributed copies to every Minister, with the following attached note: “Hoping that the cases profiled in this book will give us the inspiration to make a great success of the several initiatives that are necessary to achieve the Transformation Agenda and Vision 20:2020”.

I further recall that after copies had been distributed, President Jonathan personally appointed Omobola Johnson, Minister of Communications, who also doubled as the Council’s class monitor, as the reviewer of the book and lead discussant.  The discussion of the book was scheduled for two Cabinet meetings from thence, and when it took place, it was quite an illuminating session.  For the rest of the period that we were in government, book reading or the exchange of books as gifts was a regular feature around the Cabinet. Perhaps owing to his background as an academic, Dr Jonathan knew the importance of ideas, and hence in conducting cabinet meetings, he encouraged robust debates, which sometimes resulted in open and vehement disagreements.

The promotion of this culture is sustainable. Books are vehicles of ideas, albeit the application of those ideas and the quality and impact are just as crucial, and the main point of course, is to understand what the book teaches, and having the capacity to apply what is learnt. In a country where people usually stop reading after graduating from school, it is important to encourage those who take critical decisions to read and think. Those who hold this view will have no problems appreciating the #ReadingListNG initiative. The outcome is quite interesting.

Respondents recommended books dealing with governance, policy, biographical narratives, power politics, and history. These include Daniel Yergin, The Quest: Energy, Security and the Remaking of the Modern World; Daren Acemoglu and James Robinson, Why Nations Fail, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Reforming the Unreformable: Lessons from Nigeria; Joe Studwell, How Asia Works: Success and Failure in the World’s Most Dynamic Region; Robert Greene, The 48 Laws of Power; Nasir El-Rufai, The Accidental Public Servant; Steven Covey, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People; Olusegun Obasanjo, My Watch (Vol 2); Olusegun Adeniyi, Power, Politics and Death; Hernando do Soto, The Mystery of Capital; Franklin Zimring, The City that Became Safe; William Rosen, The Most Powerful Idea in the World;  Archie Brown, The Myth of the Strong Leader: Political Leadership in the Modern Age; Thomas Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions; Karlson Hargroves and Michael Smith, The Natural Advantage of Nations; Robert Caro, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York;  Zoltan J. Acs, Innovation and Growth of Cities, C.K. Prahalad, The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid; Nicos Komninos, The Age of Intelligent Cities, John C. Maxwell, 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, Malcolm Gladwell, The Tipping Point

Other recommendations include Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations; Malcolm Gladwell, David and Goliath, T D Jakes, Instinct, Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen, Thanks for the Feedback; Dan Senor and Saul Singer, Start up Nation; Richard Branson, Losing my Virginity; Muhammad Yunus, Building Social Business; Rashid Al Maktoum, My Vision; Muhammad Yunus, Banker to the Poor, Lee Kuan Yew, From Third World to First: The Singapore Story; John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath, Maccchiavelli, The Prince, Amy Wallace and Edwin Catmull, Creativity Inc., Gregg Braden, The God Code,  Moises Naim, The End of Power; Brian Tracy, Eat That Frog, David Osborne and Ted Gaebler, Reinventing Government; Spencer Johnson, Who Moved My Cheese?; Malala Yousafzai with Christina Lamb, I am Malala; Greg McKeown, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less; The World Watch Institute, Governing for Sustainability, Claudia Altucher, Become an Idea Machine; Dambisa Moyo, Dead Aid; Andrew McAfee and Erik Brynjolfsson, The Second Machine Age; William Easterly, The Tyranny of Experts, Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace; Jim Huling, Sean Covey and Chris McChesney, The Four Disciplines of Execution, Daniel Goleman, Leadership, Jay Elliot with William Simon, The Steve Jobs Way; Charles Colson, The Good Life; Goke Adegoroye, Restoring Good Governance in Nigeria; David Landes, The Wealth and Poverty of Nations; and William Easterly, The Elusive Quest for Growth.

 The foregoing list shows an eclectic range in terms of the subjects covered, and a fixation with foreign authors and publications. Except in about five instances, almost all the authors are foreign. But without any doubt, these are books of great value and penetrating insights. If I must add one more, I’ll recommend Break Out Nations by Ruchir Sharma. My concern however is the relative absence of Nigerian books, authors and narratives on the list.

The big problem with governance in Nigeria is not the lack of understanding of the catch-phrases of power, modern politics and policy, in fact it is fashionable to be seen to have read some of these books, the problem lies in a gross and pervasive lack of understanding of Nigeria itself. In addition to everything else, anyone who wants to govern Nigeria at any level, must begin with reading books on and about Nigeria: its history, people, geography, social culture. A starting point should be The History of Nigeria.

Those who occupy high positions should also read Nigerian newspapers, watch local television, and listen to Nigerian stories, and not restrict themselves to foreign media.  Every Minister must start by keeping abreast of the news: not summaries by media aides, but a genuine effort to know what the people want, feel or think at all times. Some of the people who suddenly become Federal Ministers do not know any other part of Nigeria apart from their ethnic enclaves. They have no friends outside their states of origin. They may never have travelled round the country! Nobody can govern Nigeria or make a difference who does not know the country. This disconnect is often the bane of performance.

It is also regrettable that when people get to high office in Nigeria, they soon get consumed with the minutiae and the ceremony of being powerful and as time passes, they devote little or no time to reflection and contemplation. Nasir el-Rufai revealed the nature of this dilemma the other day at the Ake Arts and Book Festival in Abeokuta when he told his audience that whereas he used to read a lot, now as Governor of Kaduna State, he can hardly find time to read: “In the last two years, I have been busy with opposition, new political party and elections. I used to read a book a week when I was less busy. But now, I just read files and documents and so on. My advice to anyone that thinks being Governor is nice, don’t try it. You don’t get to read; you don’t have a life.”

 Precisely the point: In a society where talk is so cheap and rumour-mongering is rife, perhaps our leaders need to genuinely find the leisure window to develop their mental capacity and personal horizons, so they can act and lead better. [myad]