THE 'GADDAFFI SOLUTION', NOT GOOD OR PRACTICABLE FOR NIGERIA?

There is the 'Rawlings Solution' which instilled discipline in Ghana polity! Nigeria nearly had the 'Orkar-Solution' which attempted to re-delineate Nigeria by chasing away some Islamic Sharia States therefrom; admitted the move was aborted when the Benue-State born Colonel got too drunk, lost his faculties and made a pre-mature announcement thereof while his coup was yet to consolidate? Nigerians of Anambra State last year toyed with the idea of a 'Soludo-Solution' for their Anambra State, but the idea died prematurely when the champion-candidate lost the election, aborting the solution before its efficacy was ever tested? Now the mother of all solutions, the 'Gaddafi-Solution', has been thrown into the mix; with the latest call by Libyan maximum/absolute Leader, Muammar Gaddafi, to divide Nigeria into two countries, along religious lines of Islamic North and Christian South, in order to permanently and forever solve the recurring religious crisis therein?

If any other African Leader had broached this idea, Icheoku would not bother or take notice; but not the Islamic religious fanatical zealot and 'King of Africa', Muammar Gaddafi? A man who has forcibly occupied the government seat in Tripoli since 1969 and have had his finger-prints all over every military coups and unconstitutional change of governments in Africa, especially the West Africa region? He also enthroned and financed Liberia's Charles Taylor's years of madness for as long as it lasted. Icheoku says, instead of the Nigeria authorities being dismissive of Gaddafi's call as evidenced by the allusion to 'Gaddafi's mental insanity' by the Nigeria's Senate President, David Mark, Nigeria should listen and be very alert as Gaddafi may be sampling the water with his bombshell? Such a puerile comment by Nigeria's David Mark belittles the seriousness that ought to follow this possible 'slip of the tongue' revealing what the Islamic zealot in Tripoli and his compatriots in pursuit of an Islamic world are up to as it appertains to Nigeria? Saudi Arabia are in-cohoot and is the reason Nigeria is where it is today; they have been championing the issue of an Islamic Republic of Nigeria for so long and this is the reason Nigeria was smuggled into the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) without any referendum or approval of the citizens of the country? They also took Yar'Adua hostage for over 90 days, where they brain-washed him into refusal to surrender his mandate to a christian Jonathan? The Islamic world led by Saudi Arabia and Libya have been trying to Islamize Nigeria since 1960; and with this objective now slipping away from their hands ever since Christians learnt to fight back, they are now considering their second best alternative of too many very bad options; including balknizing Nigeria into two and secure their Islamic Sharia North and thereafter, launch the mother of all jihads to secure the rest of the south, at a later future date?

According to Gaddafi's analytical reasoning on its head, “The only thing that could put an end to the bloodshed in Nigeria is the appearance of another Mohammed Ali Jinnah, who established a state for the Muslims and another for the Christians in 1947 India partition which yielded Pakistan?” Icheoku says, but unlike the then Pakistan region that had close to 99.9% Muslim population, none of the two regions in Nigeria has close to that population of any one religion? The north has only ten firmly committed Sharia states and about six other non-sharia states, with close to a majority practising Christians and animists? So if Nigeria is to be divided along religious north and south lines, what will happen to those non-sharia states in the north? Will for example, Yakubu Gowon, and Solomon Lar of Plateau accept to remain in Northern Islamic Sharia country despite being Christians? Will a Christian Theophilus Danjuma's Taraba State agree to remain in such an Islamized north? What about Joseph Tarka's Benue State which produced the Nigerian Senate President David Mark? Kwara State, Kogi State, Nassarawa State, Gongola State and Niger State including parts of Kaduna State (Kataf) might be very unwilling and impossible candidates for inclusion in the Gaddafi's contemplated Northern Nigeria Islamic Republic?

Now in the South, the southwest have a strong Muslim presence starting with the former governor of Lagos State Bolaji Tinubu, to reasonable number in Oyo and Ogbomosho States? Will Gaddafi-Solution force these states' re-location to the North? Except for the area known as former Biafra which astride the present day South-South and South-East which is near 99.9 percent non-Muslims, no such other region in Nigeria can claim this near-monotony of religion? So religiously speaking, Northern and Southern Republics of Nigeria is an impossibility as Nigeria have no clearly delineated lines on which to divide the country along religious lines. Moreover, Jos the poster-boy for intolerance is sandwiched amongst Muslims - located in the center of Muslim north and it will be impossible to extricate them in any arrangement with the southern Christians, except they will become another Vatican within the Islamic Republic of Northern Nigeria?

Now on Gaddafi's call to make Abuja the capital of Islamic Republic of Northern Nigeria, Icheoku states that Abuja is not in Sharia-Islamic North and hence cannot become the capital of a ceding North? Therefore if the north must secede, they must do so without the capital city Abuja, to avoid another Jerusalem-like imbroglio rising up in Africa? Abuja was also developed with oil-resources money from the Southern Niger Delta, so wherein lies the moral authority of ownership claim or interest to forcibly conscript Abuja, city of? Gaddafi, bereft of the true geography of Nigeria, was therefore wrong in calling for Abuja to become capital of a seceding Islamic Muslim Northern Nigeria. Abuja is not in the Muslim Sharia North but in the Middle Belt mixed-religion region of Nigeria as is presently constituted. A true Muslim capital would be one situated in the heart of the Islamic Sharia Muslim north of Zamafara or Sokoto or Kebbi States, but certainly not Abuja. The closest thing that could qualify as a capital city for a seceding Islamic North would be Birnin Kebbi, Talatamafara or Sokoto and even Kano? These are cities of Islamic Sharia north and their rightful place to establish their capital in event of their pulling out of the 1914 experiment which is not really working, in a reverse 'Orkar Solution'; but the rest of saner and more tolerant Nigerians will not allow these mallams to appropriate their Abuja under no circumstance? Moreso geographically speaking, Abuja is closer to Port Harcourt than it is to Kebbi, Zamfara or even Katsina State?

Icheoku says that instead of Gaddafi telling Nigeria how to proceed henceforth, the Orkar-Solution could mutually be agreed and applied to just excise these people out of Nigeria and possibly fly them out to Libya, Egypt or even Saudi Arabia on a one-way ticket of no return and thus, permanently solve the problem of raving Islamic lunatics. Icheoku however condemns the approval given to Gaddafi's call by the Yoruba social political group, Egbe Irapada Oodua; since such an option will not only be difficult to implement, but will be resisted by majority of Nigerians who have for a long time been asking for only fairness and equity in their country? This writer back in the day, lived in Birnin Kebbi while it was still in Sokoto State and happened upon an Igbo-man who have lived there prior to the Biafran civil war and ever before Nigeria's Independence in 1957. He had inter-married and fully assimilated that his grand-kids have Hausa-Fulani grandparents too? So now, tell Icheoku how to uproot such entrenched family ties without causing a tsunami of woes; and the story is prevalent throughout Nigeria?

The most resounding of all solutions is the one we affectionately refer to as the 'Icheoku-Solution!' It calls for the convening of a sovereign national conference where Nigerians' supposed federated co-existence could be re-affirmed, re-armed with every region and group putting their one-cent thoughts on what Nigeria, going forward, should look like? Each region shall be required to yield some powers to a central authority to run fiscal, armed forces and foreign affairs; while they are left to pursue their respective destinies including local security and power generation and distribution? There is nothing excellent about an idea to cut Nigeria into pieces since there is strength in numbers and Nigeria should instead try to harness this national asset of 150 million people to her advantage. All that Nigeria needs is for people in authority to stop using the masses and using issues of religion and tribe to sensitize the masses, drive a wedge and cause civil disturbances. Icheoku refutes and denies the assertion of the Yoruba group claiming that “the statement credited to the Libyan leader is the absolute truth about Nigeria, a country created by the wishful thinking of imperial powers, without the prior, free, informed consent of the people that live in it.”

There is no need to divide Nigeria along any lines be it religion or tribe or geography; the country could be better with a reformed constitution, improved civility, an election where votes count and with an army that is permanently banished from interfering in the political scene? Nigerians have since moved on from the idea of separation after Biafra was botched; with so many inter-tribal and sometimes religious marriages; as well as other forms of integrations that such idea as the partition of Nigeria is now too yesterday, stale! Also adherents of both religions are found in both regions, so simply stated, Nigeria have since become transformed into a mix-match of interwoven people and religiosity without any visible line for demarcation. Otherwise, majority of Nigerians would have wished to divide the country into three republics, along natural boundaries of rivers Niger and Benue as it confluences into the delta! But that too is now simply impracticable as some smaller minorities within the three 'federating' regions might not accept playing second fiddle to the dominating majority tribe within the enclave? The preferred solution would be for the system to be allowed to work itself out, starting with credible elections where natural leaders could eventually emerge from, to start forging the statehood of Nigeria. A type of Nigeria where people will be treated fairly and as one; where the divisive hot-button issue of settlers and indigenes will forever vanish; where jobs will become more of a right not a privilege of the children of the powerful and connected; and where the people of Nigeria cannot and should not be forced to abandon their own properties inside their own country. These are some other less drastic possible solutions to tackle the problem of a Nigeria in despair, intermittently fighting frustration-induced internal conflicts; and not the Islamic kite of a Pakistani Solution being flown by the Bedouin, Gaddafi!