Secessionist agitations in Nigeria and Israel-Palestinian conundrum

By Dakuku Peterside

Perhaps no conflict in the world has lasted so long, generated as many news headlines, or engendered as much controversy as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

This conflict has received a lot of international attention, and it usually inflames passion from both the supporters of Israel and the Palestinians.

Most Christians usually support the Israelis for different reasons. On the other hand, an overwhelming majority of the Palestinians are Muslims, so they have support from a vast population of Muslims worldwide.

However, despite the high degree of international attention every Israeli-Palestinian conflict generates, the skirmishes are still widely misunderstood.

While Israelis and Palestinians and their respective supporters trade accusations, many outside observers remain confused by the conflict’s complexity and perplexed by the passion it arouses.

The latest fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza began on May 10, after weeks of rising Israeli-Palestinian tension in East Jerusalem that culminated in clashes at al-Aqsa, a holy site revered by both Muslims and Jews.

Hamas began firing rockets after warning Israel to withdraw from the site, triggering retaliatory airstrikes.

As of 13 May, Hamas had fired over 2,000 rockets and mortars at Israel (several which misfired, and most of which Israel intercepted with its Iron Dome air defence system, but some of which landed in Tel Aviv and other urban areas); and Israel had carried out hundreds of air and artillery strikes.

Hamas’s firepower, both in terms of number of rockets and their reach, far surpasses earlier escalations, and Israeli retaliation has been swift and devastating, making this episode’s destruction more comparable to the four earlier Gaza wars – in 2006, 2008-2009, 2012 and 2014 – than any of the flare-ups in between.”

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There have been talks of One-State and Two-State solution. Most observers favour the Two-State solution.

This essentially means creating two states for two peoples, Israel and Palestine. On paper, the Israel state would retain a Jewish majority, thus remaining a Jewish state, and the Palestinian state would have a Muslim Arab majority.

It should be clear to the leaders of the Israelis and the Palestinians that unless they embrace peace and work out a viable way to exist peacefully side by side, their children and generations unborn would inherit an environment of hostility, fear, angst, and permanent conflict. They should heed the call for a ceasefire immediately.

There are significant similarities between the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and crises among ethnic nationalities in Nigeria today. The land is a vital issue of contention between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

Land and perceived attempt to force people out of their land is one of the critical issues at the root of the agitation in Nigeria. History has shown that people are usually inflamed and emotional when encroachment or displacement from their original homeland arises.

Furthermore, Isolation and rivalry for influence and access to resources define the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The tension in Nigeria today revolves around different ethnic groups positioning for power and being denied or having greater access to national resources.

Given the activities and agitations of secessionist groups in Nigeria in recent times and the various conflicts with ethnic and religious undertones, what lessons can Nigeria learn from the Israeli-Palestinian brouhaha? What must we do to avoid a similar fate of either the Israeli’s or Palestinians?

The first lesson is the danger of cultivating and solidifying lines of suspicion and hatred among people of different ethnic identities.

This often leads to sowing seeds of generational crisis that will not go away. This is evident in the apparent suspicion among all the ethnic groups in Nigeria.

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This suspicion has held Nigeria hostage for years. It has led to ethnic champions calling for the secession of their ethnic nationality from Nigeria – (Biafra, Islamic State of West Africa, Niger Delta Republic and Oduduwa state).

Besides, Nigerians judge all appointments on an ethnic basis and every tribe clamour to obtain the ultimate political power and believes that whoever gets it is in the domination of others.

The second lesson is the danger of reducing complex issues to a simplistic competing single narratives.

The Palestinians claim that Israelis are occupying their territory, the Israelis claim that Arab countries want to wipe them out of existence and Palestinians (especially HAMAS) are terrorists. None of these narratives is entirely accurate.

Nigerians must eschew all forms of hate speeches. Those clamouring to secede from Nigeria should not use words that dehumanise other Nigerians who are not from their ethnic group or do not believe in their course.

The third lesson for Nigeria is that sub-national groups must learn to live side by side in peace, enjoying an equal measure of freedom and prosperity and de-emphasise areas of discord.

Anything that creates the impression that one group is trying to dominate another can lead to unpredictable consequences.

With all of Israel’s military might, Palestinians do not mind dying instead of allowing what they deem the domination of Israel and annexation of their land.

The fourth lesson is leaders should know that people are not stupid, and they read in-between the lines to isolate strategies dominant power uses to achieve its military objectives.

For instance, one can argue that Israel benefits from conflating the Palestinian struggle for freedom with Hamas’s Islamist ideology and indiscriminate rocket fire at residential areas.

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It can use the latter to justify responding with even greater force, highlighting the severe power imbalance between the two sides and dodging responsibility for its attacks on civilians.

It is claiming that Hamas, a designated “terrorist” organisation, is using Gaza residents as “human shields” for its military facilities.

Operation python dance and other similar operations used against some ethnic militia by the military are evident to all.

Besides, the seemingly non-conviction of marauding Fulani herdsmen across the South sends a conflicting message to people and spurs the claim of domination.

Government adopting equity and fairness will help to douse tensions during periods of ethnic suspicions and hatred.

The fifth lesson we must learn is that when you want to destroy yourselves, the world will watch you, and you will not be their primary concern.

We are watching how lives are wasted, infrastructure destroyed, property incinerated, and the world powers have been holding meetings and calling for a ceasefire from their faraway capitals.

The real casualties are the Palestinians and the Israelis. Nigeria should learn from this. When we allow conflict to engulf Nigeria, we will be the ones to suffer all the consequences.

The sixth lesson for Nigeria is understanding the superiority of technology and economic growth over religiosity and ethnic irredentism. Israel, a state berthed less than 70 years ago, is dominating the whole Middle East.

It is interesting to point out that this small nascent nation developed its economy to become part of developed nations globally and is a leading nation in science and technology.

Nigerians’ over-reliance on religiosity and willingness to even kill in the name of God should be examined and reduced to the barest minimum. We should embrace science and technology and work hard to build our country economically and militarily.

This way, we can cope with and resist external aggressions from Boko Haram and other terrorist elements within and outside Nigeria.