“To be or not to be – that is the question” is one of the most popular and often-quoted phrases from William Shakespeare’s extensive corpus. Uttered by Prince Hamlet, the iconic soliloquy in Hamlet presents one of the greatest metaphors of a dilemma in human history.
As a final year student in 1998, one of my coursemates in Unilag, Tobi, became very popular immediately we encountered that phrase in our Shakespeare class. “To be or not to be” was his new name. Initially, Tobi, now a pastor, tried in vain to fight off his new sobriquet, but his resistance was in vain.
He was identified as “To be or not to be” until we graduated. In Nigeria today, “To be or not to be” is the unspoken, unanswered question on everybody’s lips regarding the country’s leadership architecture, headed by President Bola Tinubu.
Also, it refers to the country’s continued existence as one entity. To put it more directly, “to be or not to be” can be deconstructed to mean – should Bola Tinubu resign or continue to occupy his seat as the president of the country? Should Nigeria continue to exist as one country? Should Nigerians continue to die in the hands of terrorists, or should Donald Trump help us to wipe them out? Those are the questions.
The above questions will elicit multiple responses from millions of Nigerians. However, a conscientious observer of the socio-political and economic realities in the country knows what response millions of Nigerians will give in their hidden, undisclosed, private moments.
To say that Nigeria is tottering dangerously on the precipice is to put it mildly. I am not a fan of euphemism, that literary term always seeking to reduce the effect of what is said or meant.
To respond to the question of whether Bola Tinubu should resign or retain his position is a huge responsibility. One can say yes, he should resign based on justifiable indices. On the other hand, one can say, no, let him continue to stay based on measured, critical examination of the country’s leadership mechanism.
Those who think that Bola Tinubu should resign, apologise to Nigerians and return to Ikoyi are not in error because on the 6th day of November 2014, Bola Tinubu, through his official Twitter handle, urged Goodluck Jonathan to resign as the president of the country. According to the tweet, “Why should any part of this country be under occupation? In any civilised country, Jonathan should resign”.
Today in Nigeria, the conditions that warranted Tinubu to call for Jonathan’s resignation have quadrupled. On that score, one would be right to urge Bola Tinubu to immediately resign his position as the president of the country. On the other side of the spectrum, if Tinubu resigns, who will he hand over to as the new leader?
The prospects of any of the characters in the leadership hierarchy becoming the president of the country are nauseating and further reveal the depth of the country’s immersion in a political cesspool. Therefore, Nigeria is stuck in the middle unless the inscrutable divine authority has other plans beyond the scope of human comprehension. Indeed, many Nigerians would never care who becomes the leader in the event of Tinubu’s resignation.
They just want him out because, according to such people, his presence in Aso Rock inevitably exudes a negative, anti-climactic aura which further plunges the country into the abyss of untold morass. On the 14th day of April 2014, Bola Tinubu, through his official Twitter handle, also tweeted “The festering Boko Haram attacks on the North East and massacre of innocent citizens is concrete proof that Nigeria has no government”.
Today in Nigeria, following the daring, brutal and sadistic marauding of terrorists and bandits in the country, one wonders if Nigeria has a government. If, by Bola Tinubu’s estimation, Nigeria had no government in 2014 when the activities of terrorists and bandits were not as daring and tragic as they are now, it makes no sense for anyone to argue that there is any form of government in the country now.
During Jonathan’s era, I wrote essays to warn that if the activities of terrorists and bandits were not checked, the geography of victims would expand to include those who think they are protected by money, power and influence.
Today in Nigeria, terrorists are targeting military formations, decimating our soldiers through ambush and sophisticated intelligence. The mass kidnapping of school children has returned in all its fury and despicable orchestration.
In just one week, a Nigerian Brigadier General was ambushed by terrorists and murdered in the most gruesome manner. Four Nigerian soldiers were also cut down in their prime. In the same week, terrorists and bandits easily kidnapped 25 school girls in Kebbi State. The dastardly action was effortlessly carried out and no one harassed the terrorists, much less resisted them. They killed the Vice-Principal of the school and other teachers.
While concerned citizens of the country were deeply wounded by the sad developments in the country, Mr. President sent his vice, Kashim Shettima and other political heavyweights to Kogi State to welcome politicians who had just defected to the ruling APC.
On his part, Mr. President was busy welcoming the Duke of Edinburgh and having photo sessions with him in Abuja.
Such a level of insensitivity testifies to the character of a man who should have no business in the corridors of power. From all indications, Bola Tinubu’s conception and understanding of power is expressed through the pores of politics, dark arts, manipulation, subterfuge, and all forms of intrigues.
But that is not power. The APC government is only interested in retaining power at all costs, even if the country goes to blazes. Ordinarily, the country should be mourning.
The presidency should be covered with ashes and the president himself, the Commander-in-Chief whose troops are being annihilated by terrorists, should weep and react decisively. Given all these developments in the country, the proponents of Tinubu’s resignation may be justified and rightly so. Although it is an impossible proposition because resignation is an alien concept here, Tinubu’s resignation will open a chasm that may ultimately submerge the country. Therein lies the dilemma, “to be or not to be – that is the question”.
The tragedy of the Nigerian condition is exacerbated by a docile polity who have deliberately refused to see the country’s unhindered procession to perdition under the current government.
Except for a few people who cry day and night to highlight the gradual nightfall upon the country, millions of Nigerians are inexplicably struck by some kind of strange, mute paralysis, which has turned everyone into a deaf and dumb accomplice in the impending extermination of the country.
Where is the leadership, one may ask? Where is the sense of urgency, another may ask? Where is that commitment and empathy from the leadership corridors that smaller countries enjoy or take for granted? As the Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian armed forces, Bola Tinubu has failed woefully. There is no other way to say it. There are reports that terrorists occupy some parts of Northern Nigeria and collect taxes from the local people. Mr President swore to protect Nigeria’s sovereignty, but the country’s sovereignty is currently compromised.
We can also understand Shakespeare’s “To be or not to be” from another perspective – should Nigeria continue to exist as one country, or should the various parts that make it up assume self-government for the protection of the lives and properties of their people?
As Ola Rotimi reminds us in The Gods Are Not to Blame, “the crocodile likes water but not when it is hot”. I love Nigeria as a true patriot but when the country continues to suffer in the vicious grip of wicked men, when the people who populate the leadership chambers are indifferent, self-centred, and desperately egocentric, it calls into question the continued existence of the country as a single entity.
The US President Donald Trump recently indicated his intentions to invade the Sambisa forest and wipe out terrorists. In the most bizarre development ever seen in any civilised country, some Nigerians questioned Trump’s intentions and spread the sickening propaganda that Nigeria’s sovereignty must be maintained.
Where is Nigeria’s sovereignty when it is reported that terrorists control parts of the country? Of what use are the resources of the country when it is in the hands of demagogues who appropriate them for their selfish use? Terrorists who murder our soldiers will be rehabilitated and those who plunder our resources are lining up to continue from 2027.
Should Bola Tinubu resign or retain his position? Should Nigeria continue to exist as a country or disintegrate? If Tinubu should remain as president, what should he do to salvage Nigeria? If Nigeria should continue to exist as a country, what should be the equitable terms of engagement? These are the questions.
Promise Adiele PhD
Mountain Top University
promee01@yahoo.com
X: @drpee4
