Nobody who participated or witnessed the senseless genocide that went by the name Nigerian Civil War, or the horrors in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, or the unabated anarchy in Somalia, would ever pray for war or for anarchy. While war is usually an organised battle with drawn lines and rules of engagement, anarchy is a ruthless dislocation of society where no laws or civilities are respected. Yet Nigeria is dangerously moving close to the two, while it stands blind-folded on the precipice.

This is not being an alarmist. Nigeria is in serious trouble. The staggering mass unemployment of highly skilled citizens which runs into several millions, and which figure still keeps mounting is a tickling time bomb!

The unresolved energy problem which has kept Nigerians in perpetual darkness and their industries on their knees is another major catalyst that will shut our gates to the civilised world. Energy alone or lack of it is responsible largely for the country’s mass unemployment and the attendant rising wave of criminality.

The insensitivity of the ruling class and the cohorts that wine and dine with this heartless club is another major irritant that may lure the hungry and angry youths, who are in their millions throughout the country, to take up arms.

The Boko Haram menace, a human eating disease to which the Federal Government has continued to apply wrong prescription and wrong-headed cure, if allowed to spread nationwide will be the ultimate inferno that will consume Nigeria. But before the consumption, there will be a free-for-all as the various militant groups in the country are already beating the drums of war.

Already, the Boko Haram phenomenon is a guerrilla war. The skirmishes are totally in defiance of conventional warfare and yet Nigeria sends bombs and air raids to dislodge a people who have sworn an oath of Death.

The fear of outright war is credible. So also is the fear of Nigeria descending into large-scale anarchy. Neither of the two scenarios is palatable.

Unfortunately, and really very unfortunately, the man whom fate has destined to take Nigeria out of the woods, or relieve the country of some of the mess which immediate previous administrations by the same ruling party, is grossly inefficient.

Our amiable President, Dr. Goodluck Ebeledeme/Ebelechukwu [?] Azikiwe Jonathan, evidently lacks the ability, the capability and the capacity to rule over a country as complex as Nigeria. As a man, Dr. Jonathan is one of the most pleasant human beings on the surface of the earth. His humility is legendary. His level-headedness is beyond reproach. And, by Jove, he is a most charming and attractive personality with a good taste in dress. And he knows book!

These personal qualities are regrettably not the credentials needed for good leadership.

We cannot blame Dr. Jonathan. And we have said times without number that those who had a hand in the conspiracy to expose Dr. Jonathan’s underbelly and create a burden too heavy for his neck shall never know peace. Even though the master schemer is already licking his wounds, and swimming in irreversible regret that will usher him to his ignominious end, the irreparable damage foisted on hapless Nigerians has taken deep root.

How on earth can over 250 innocent girls be abducted without a trace for three weeks in a world where there are spy planes that could have located their whereabouts and the heartless kidnappers rooted out?!

Dr. Jonathan never prepared for Nigeria’s presidency. Indeed, he did not prepare to be a councillor or deputy governor or governor, etc, etc. And if one is to recall what has now become the famous Kere-Kere prophesy propounded by the Lion of the West, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, on the occasion of some commissioning of projects in Ogun state where Dr. Jonathan was the special guest, that was the summation of Dr. Goodluck’s rare good luck.

On that occasion, the erstwhile Governor of Ogun state anchored his speech on the unusual fortunes of the then Vice President Jonathan. Said Daniel: “Our special guest is a special person in the eyes of his creator; he was a middle level management staff of the OMPADEC, kere-kere [gradual by gradual] he became a deputy governor, kere-kere [gradual by gradual] he became governor, kere-kere [gradual by gradual] he became Vice President, and if the momentum is to be kept, kere-kere [gradual by gradual] he will become…!” The audience roared in laughter. But the ‘Gradual by Gradual’ has reached its crescendo.

The other side of the coin of the kere-kere prophesy is that gradually, Nigeria has been ‘kere-kerely’ driven to the precipice. But no one should hold our President to be solely responsible for the depth of our morass. Our grouse against him is the refusal to accept his limitations and either employ the services and the proven expertise of more competent hands to help him out as the youngish Gowon did when he dragged the Awolowos, the Aminu Kanos, the Okoi Arikpos, the Enahoros into his War Cabinet, or bow out [a taboo to Africans] in dignity.

It is baffling that President Jonathan is ever considering remaining in office in the face of all the failures that have greeted his unenviable record of damning mediocrity. It is more baffling that the party that brought him into office, a reckless party that could not find solutions to any of our myriads of problems since 1999, when the man who does not even know his birthday [my great-grand father did not know his either!] began the downward slide, continues to deceive itself that it can ever win [genuinely] elections in this robbed country.

It is baffling that those who should know do not know. It is equally baffling that those who should have seen the handwriting on the wall have refused to see.

We can avoid a civil war. We should avoid any situation that will trigger a war in this country. And much more desirable is the avoidance of anarchy. Anarchy is worse than war. And neither war nor anarchy should be allowed to further worsen our ‘suffering and smiling’. God bless the immortal Fela Anikulapo Kuti, the High Priest of Counter Culture. He had seen nothing when he waxed that classical song.

I will end this piece by going on my knees to beg all those men and women of conscience who can still save this country to stand up to be counted.

Mothers and virgins that will definitely be viciously raped and murdered in the unfortunate event of war or anarchy, the millions of respectable and highly successful men and women who will turn refugees overnight in the advent of a war, or the total loss of sovereignty and absolute break down of law and order in case of anarchy, should be sufficient considerations that should compel us to consider options other than war and anarchy.

•Chief Tola Adeniyi (shown in photo) is a former Managing Director of Daily Times of Nigeria. He can be reached via chiefadetolaadeniyi@yahoo.ca

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