Justice Begets Peace: Literature, Insecurity and Societal Reorientation

Abstract

In a speech he gave at the non-denominational service in Abuja on Monday, 29th May, to mark the 2017 Democracy Day, the Acting President of Nigeria, Yemi Osinbajo, told Nigerians to make personal sacrifices for the nation. He spoke eloquently about the benefits that would accrue to the country if people heeded this injunction. The speech reminds us of John F. Kennedy’s piece of advice to Americans to ‘think not what America can do for you but rather think of what you can do for America.’ However, many people in Nigeria believe that justice must be seen to be done everywhere in the country before people would feel committed to make self-sacrifice. Insecurity has taken its toll on Nigeria and retarded its development. Insecurity has almost destroyed the basis for national unity and sown the seeds of discord and suspicion among the different ethnic groups and religious groups, particularly Christianity and Islam. Militancy, youth restiveness, agitation for Biafra’s independence, human rights abuse, gender violence and rape as well as religious conflicts have created an atmosphere of insecurity all over the country. The dreaded Islamist sect, Boko Haram, classified as a terrorist group, has been the greatest and deadliest security risk the country has encountered, leading to the death of thousands of people and the displacement of millions from their homes. Nigerian writers, including the younger generation, have consistently explored the phenomenon of insecurity in all its ramifications with the aim of confronting and eliminating it so that social change, peaceful co-existence and societal re-orientation can occur.