By Jerome-Mario Chijioke Utomi

Evidence abounds that prior to the present decade, Nigeria and Nigerians paid little attention to what constitutes sustainable development. Such conversation, however, gained prominence in the country via the United Nations introduction, adoption and pursuit of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which lasted between the years 2000 and 2015. And was among other intentions aimed at eradicating extreme poverty and hunger as well as achieving universal primary education, promoting gender equality, reducing child mortality, improve maternal health among others.

Without going into specific concepts or approaches contained in the performance index of the programme, it is evident that the majority of the countries including Nigeria performed below average.

And it was this reality and other related concerns that conjoined to bring about 2030 sustainable agenda- a United Nation initiative and successor programme to the MDGs, with a collection of 17 global goals formulated among other aims to promote and cater for people, peace, planet, and poverty.  And has at its centre; partnership and collaboration, ecosystem thinking, co-creation and alignment of various intervention efforts by the public and private sectors and civil society.

Nigeria as noted in a recent intervention is plagued with development challenges. But of all, this piece will focus on, and discuss in detail a little known, yet most pernicious of these challenges called promotion of segregation by the nation’s political leaders. It daily fractures the nation’s geography into polarized ethnosyncrasies and idiosyncrasies.

Understandably also, some supporters of those in governments have at different times and places argued that the aggregation of members of a society in categories and groups based on superiority and inferiority in terms of specific criteria is a natural order of things.

To others, members of a society are never equal but fit into various layers called strata and the process of categorization and the way in which members of each stratum relate to one another is described as social stratification.

To the rest, even in societies that claim to be classless, there have always been some forms of hierarchical systems in the governance of the state, in the administration of industries and other social institutions like the church, school and even the home. Classless, non-hierarchical societies are largely the mental constructs of philosophers, the dream of museum-bound political prophets and the visions of religious idealists or the promise of the demagogues, they concluded.

It is true to some extent that across the globe, wherever leadership and followership are identified; there may be a kind of class differentiation, however, if what happens in other nations is considered a challenge, that of Nigeria qualifies as a crisis.

Here, because leadership is a product of bitter, relentless struggle/politics, they (leaders) are utterly merciless and ruthless without human feeling. They are reputed for using the opportunities, laws and public policies that flow from the position of authority they occupy to stack the political and socioeconomic decks against the poor and the disadvantaged.

A similar strategy is employed to perpetuate poverty, create division, promote powerlessness and other harsh principles that exacerbates the visible gully of segregation between the leaders and the led, the haves and the have- nots. Tragically unique is that their slanted policies ‘traps the poorest in the most desperate poverty as corrupt governments siphon off funds and prevent hard-working people from getting the revenues and benefits of growth that are rightfully theirs’

Regardless of what others may say, the truth is that any law that uplifts human personality is just. But ‘any law that degrades human personality is unjust. And all segregation statutes are unjust because ‘segregation distorts the soul and damages the personality. It gives the segregator a false sense of superiority, and the segregated a false sense of inferiority. To use the words of Martin Buber, the great Jewish philosopher, segregation substitutes an “I-it” relationship for the “I-thou” relationship and ends up relegating persons to the status of things. So segregation is not only politically, economically and sociologically unsound but it is morally wrong and sinful.

Making Nigeria’s case a reality to worry about is that it runs contrary to the detects, spirit and provisions of the nation’s 1999 Constitution (as amended) which provides for the rule of law-a provision that not only made the nation’s constitution “our king” but preaches equality of all Nigerians before the law.

Instances of such gradual and silent encroachment on, and outright abridgements of the masses’ welfare in ways that left them (Nigerians) wonder in dilemma by the President Buhari led Federal Government includes but not limited to; the electricity and petrol price hikes crisis which are inextricably linked both in their causes and solutions. The piece also remembers with nostalgia the Federal Government slanted attempts to increase Value Added Tax (VAT) from 5 to 7.5 per cent, re-introduction of Stamp Duty Charge, re-introduction of Stamp Duty on house rents and C of O transactions etc.

Away from the Executive arm, to the 9th National Assembly, the list of such anti-people decisions is endless.

Take as an illustration, in 2019, while Nigerians were still waiting for the commencement of governance, the leadership of the National Assembly began moves to procure operational vehicles for the lawmakers that make up its dual legislative chambers. Essentially, while there was no question that high-offices such as the National Assembly need operational vehicles to facilitate their responsibilities,  the stunning aspect of this episode going by reports is with the estimated current price of the chosen vehicle now N50 million. And the Senate needed about N5.550 billion to get enough quantity for its members.

What is in one considerably different is the question; how can a nation spend over N5 billion on such a project in a country with slow economic but high population growth? Where excruciating poverty and starvation daily drives more people into the ranks of beggars? And where so many children are presently out of school?

As if Nigerians were never tired of receiving frightening packages from the 9th Assembly, at about the same time the world leaders were standing up with sets of values that encourage listening and responding constructively to views expressed by citizens, giving others the benefits of the doubt, providing support and recognizing the interests and achievements of its citizens, the  Senate came out with two Bills that critical minds and of course the global community qualified as obnoxious-the Internet Falsehood and Manipulations Bill, and the hate speech bill.

At the most basic level, the Internet Falsehood and Manipulations Bill, 2019, sponsored by Senator Mohammed Sani Musa,(APC Niger East), among other provisions, seeks to curtail the spread of fake information. And seeks a three-year jail term for anyone involved in what it calls the abuse of social media or an option of a fine of N150, 000 or both. It also proposed a fine of N10 million for media houses involved in peddling falsehood or misleading the public.

The hate speech bill, on its part, proposed that any person found guilty of any form of hate speech that results in the death of another person shall die by hanging upon conviction. This is in addition to its call for the establishment of an ‘Independent National Commission for Hate Speeches’, which shall enforce hate speech laws across the country.

The above defect is by no means unique to the Senate. In fact, if what is happening in the Senate is considered by Nigerians as a challenge, that of the House of Representatives is a crisis. Take, as an illustration, a glance at the history of attempts seeking regulation of non-profitable organizations (NPOs) in Nigeria will reveal that no bill has ever received the level of knocks like the 9th Assembly planned but now suspended re-introduction of the NGO Bill formerly sponsored by late Umar Buba Jibril of the out-gone 8th Assembly.

The reasons for such knocks were built on the fact that if passed, it contains far-reaching, restrictive provisions than its counterparts. But one point they(House) failed to remember is that Non-Profitable Organizations are not just another platform for disseminating the truth or falsehood, information, foodstuff and other relief materials that can be controlled at will.

Rather, it is a platform for pursuing the truth, and the decentralized creation and distribution of ideas; in the same way, that government is a decentralized body for the promotion and protection of the people’s life chances. It is a platform, in other words, for development that the government must partner with instead of vilification.

Looking at commentary, what also made the Bill a very controversial one lies in its quest for a regulatory commission established which shall facilitate and coordinate the work of all national and international civil society organizations and will assist in checking any likelihood of any civil society organization being illegally sponsored against the interest of Nigeria.

Weeks after the suspension of the Bill due to public outcry, the House in a related move declined the opportunity to promote local content- an expression that is daily preached within the government circle without compliance.

As the house refused to patronize the locally assembled vehicles by Innoson Group, said to have been recommended for them; and in its place, opt for the 2020 edition of Toyota Camry which will not only double the price of the initially recommended but, will cost a whooping N5 billion to purchase 400 of the Toyota Camry model needed by the house.

Essentially, aside from the rejection of Innoson brand of SUV’s initially recommended for members, and in its place, went for 2020 edition of Toyota Camry, that will gulp about N5billion of taxpayers money, what, however, made the development newsy is that the house going by the report has before now been at the forefront promoting the local content laws in the country. Of course, one strategic implication of the above is that it explains why what is today said at the floor of the national assembly hardly matters that much more to the people.

In the same vein, the House a few weeks after, through Honourable Odebumi Olusegun, of Ogo-Oluwa/Surulere federal constituency (APC, Oyo), pushed for the passage of a bill tagged; “Bill for an Act to Alter Section 308 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999(as amended), which provides that: “no civil or criminal proceedings shall be instituted or continued against the President, Vice President, Governors and Deputy Governors during their period of office.” And have the same provision extended to accommodate/cover Presiding Officers of Legislative officers during their period of office.”  This and many other worrying developments from the current 9th Assembly in the last year is in my view not the best way to legislate for the poor.

No nation, I insist, can develop under this circle of segregation called leadership.

Utomi Jerome-Mario is the Programme Coordinator (Media and Public Policy), Social and Economic Justice Advocacy (SEJA), a Lagos-based Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) and can be reached via [email protected]/08032725374