RENAISSANCE IN A PLURALISTIC SOCIETY
Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua
Unity in diversity is a challenge in the process of making the world a perfect home for human beings. I have heard some people say that in every happy marriage, one of the couple could be playing the fool to transform tolerance into love. This is because of the way and manner the husband and the wife were trained and formed from childhood in different environments. In every community, families and human beings differ in many ways hence there need to be a credible leader who must enhance the peace of the community. Very often third parties are the problems of many families. These are people who do not mind their business as if they benefit from the conflicts in the family and the community. Whereas in the society, there are actors who ensure that there is peace and harmony, the sadists operate as dividers that rob human beings of happiness. This is why for the society to experience real change, there is need for renaissance through conflict analysis. The analysis tools would help to reveal those who are involved through their relationships and their various intentions. If a society can identity positive and negative peace, then the hope for conflict transformation would be visible. Negative peace is marked by structural conflict such as oppression, discrimination and inequality. Even in the absence of physical violence, what is certain is that there can be no peace without justice. Structural conflict which is asystematic injustice or inequality within a society or community, such as racism, religious discrimination and tribalism is an endemic corruption that should attract more confrontation by any serious government to bring about change at all levels of human existence.
Politics can play the role of third party in causing conflict in a peaceful society by using the tools of ethnicity and religious differences to divide people in other to earn their votes. The historical life of Jesus was attended by conflict with those who benefits from political manipulations. His life ended with apolitical execution. Crucifixion was used by Rome to kill those who did not accept unjust imperial authority. The cross had a Roman origin. The preaching of the coming of “the kingdom of God” (Mark 1:13-15) was a threat to the Roman imperial powers and the Jewish religious leaders. The kingdom of God was marked with peace and justice. This contradicts the kingdom of the world where politics is the easiest and cheapest way to earthly riches.
The kingdom of God calls for the transformation of a worldwhere leaders would acknowledge that they are ambassadors of God who expect them to be kings after his divine heart. You can imagine a world where a person with the heart of God is a President, Governor, Senator, Judge and all political leadership positions! If Jesus did not desire a political ideal world, he would have dropped the use of the expression kingdom of God in preference for “family of God”, or the “community of God”, or the “people of God.” Jesus longed for a political world of economic justice, peace and nonviolence. This is the world that God created but destroyed by human freedom. Because economic justice and peace can transform the world, Jesus had a passion for the kingdom of God. He commenced with theproclamation of this message after the arrest of John the Baptist (Mark 1:14). His entry into Jerusalem on a donkey symbolized a kingdom of peace which is the will of God for the world.
In our world today, every society can be transformed if politicalleaders who occupy the Executive arm of government see themselves as God’s instruments like Moses who led the people in Exodus according the will of God towards the promised land. The society can be change if the legislative arm of government akin to Leviticus are models of personal and corporate morality by showing how the law can be a source of justice and peace. The book of Numbers gives a democratic process and this could lead the people to shun all forms of electoral malpractices. In fact, if the political leaders create time to read the scriptures, the will locate equality under the law for kings and subjects in Deuteronomy, the need of integrity of leadership in Joshua, how to lead the people away from sin and the capacity of women in national leadership which is exemplified in Ruth. The first and second books of Samuel shows equality under the law while the first and second book of Kings present how leaders should be accountable to the nation. We can go on and on. I am only using the scriptures to demonstrate that every political leader who believes in the Sacred Scriptures have every reason to transform the society with the political opportunities that is given by God and the goodwill of the people who voted for him or her.
In case anyone would think that we cannot transform the world today like the characters in the Holy Scriptures, we can further refer to credible leaders who have emerged in the civilized world where the leaders of the poor countries run to when they are sick and where they hide the treasuries of their poor countries. Using the countries of Europe and America as example would not give a very clear vision to our enquiry into the renaissance we need in our society today. Perhaps we can look again Lee Kuan Yew’s strategy, “From third world to first world.” This book shows that a positive renaissance is possible in Nigeria like Singapore that was a third world country and perhaps poorer than Nigeria in human and natural resources. LEE KUAN YEW was able to unite his intellectual and political vision to raise Singapore from grass to grace. Much of this was accomplished through a unique mix of economic freedom and social control. Lee encouraged entrepreneurship, but also cracked down on liberties that most people in the West take for granted”. According to Lee, “We would have been a grosser, ruder, cruder society had we not made these efforts to persuade people to change their ways”. Lee focussed more on material prosperity, anticommunism, and international politics. His vision of stewardship especially in a multi-ethnic society is a lesson to developing nations.
Going through the second half of the book that explores Lee's personal courage in dealing with international leaders to situate Singapore in an independence context, I wondered if the railways, refineries, iron and steel industries in Nigeria could not have made Nigeria a first-world (developed) country by now if the governments that put them in place had a better knowledge of international politics along with a proper method of monitoring and evaluation. Perhaps Nigeria did not have enough qualified engineers then hence the recourse to foreign technicians who perhaps turned the Nigerian engineers into glorified apprentice. I pray that the present leadership of Nigeria will be allowed to build on the efforts of our past leaders and heroes. We can if we are collectively determined since nothing is difficult for a willing heart. Nigeria can be great again not only with a choice of credible leadership but more with a change of personal attitude and values.
The word "Renaissance" is derived from a French word “renaître” meaning "rebirth" or “revive”. The word refers to the rebirth of learning in Europe from the 14th century to the 17thcentury. In many parts of Europe, the Renaissance was an age of new discoveries in arts and science. Renaissance thinkers identify with the present and see how to invent new ideas towards transformation. They thought of what they would be known for by inventing something positively new. They thought of how to transform even the “classical antiquity” that could bring about significant changes in politics given that the political class needs the intellectual class to design the vision of a nation. “Renaissance” is akin to a great mind that beams hope on the future from the ugly past. This is why our voting should go further to the question of what do I owe my country. Let us contribute our little quota and forget about ethnic and religious differences.
Rev. Fr. Cornelius Omonokhua is the Executive Secretary of NIREC (nirec.ng@gmail.com)
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