These lessons are particularly important for Nigeria. The country has been greatly weakened by ethnic and religious tensions, which have stunted growth, promoted violence, and derailed national progress. Unless this fracture is managed by a negotiated compromise where a power-sharing system among various ethnic groups is institutionalised, Nigeria will continue this sardonic march of folly. What we need is a consociational democracy that will guarantee an inclusive society, reduce tensions, and lay the foundation for building a true nation-state.
After coming under heavy scrutiny and criticism from northern elites on the distribution of federal resources and appointments, the Special Adviser on Media and Public Communication to the President, Mr Sunday Dare, published a “Corrected Neutral Framing of FEC Approvals.” Mr Dare’s chart punctured the howling vituperations of certain northern elites, revealing that 40.3 per cent of federal projects — twice as much as Lagos has received, and ten times more than the rest of the South West — have been invested in the North-West alone.
But while Mr Dare’s chart has left this group of northern elites scrambling for new talking points to advance their political agenda, a more worrying yet familiar injustice escaped public interrogation. Only 2.8 per cent of projects approved by the Federal Executive Council accrue to the South-East. That such brazen marginalisation has been normalised in a federation explains why our society has become deeply fractured along ethnic and religious lines.
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Sadly, politicians are exploiting these fractures as leverage to advance their careers and perpetually weld themselves to the corridors of power. They have abandoned policy debates for ethnic scaremongering and have turned our diversity into division. Elections have become battles of ethnic supremacy — where being different is to become the enemy.
Predictably, the politicians who thrive in this terrifying dysfunction are often visionless, bereft of reason, but pretentious crusaders of a forgotten and mostly imagined era. Hence, they do not campaign to improve the living conditions of their people but to defend them from “invaders” and perceived enemies.
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In such societies, like Nigeria, people are brainwashed (sometimes bullied) to ignore stagnation and retrogression “as long as our brother is in power.” The consequence has been widespread insecurity, mostly driven by anger, militancy, and insurrection. Beyond violence, this socio-political fracture has had grave economic consequences. Nigeria has become one of the poorest countries in the world, with only a third of Ivory Coast’s per capita income. Inequality has widened, with many households experiencing the most stifling cost-of-living crisis in four decades.
Although daunting, these challenges aren’t insurmountable. However, turning the corner requires acknowledging this fracture and mustering the collective political will to address the glaring dysfunction — without which stability and economic prosperity will prove impossible to attain.
In the 19th century, Switzerland was deeply divided by religion and politics. The Catholic Conservatives were so marginalised that they formed a separate alliance in 1845 called the Sonderbund to resist the liberal Protestant cantons who were pushing for a more centralised, modern, secular state. Then, in November 1847, the Swiss Federal Diet — dominated by liberals — declared the Sonderbund illegal and ordered its dissolution. Not long after, fighting broke out between federal troops and Sonderbund forces, leading to a civil war.
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Realising the devastating impact of the civil war, which was triggered by acute social and religious fractures, Switzerland decided on a more inclusive approach through a proportional representative system. The political elites borrowed a leaf from the Belgians, who had made a fundamental shift in 1899 from a majoritarian system — heavily dominated by the Catholic Party — to a proportional representative system. This deepened pluralism and gave fair representation to minorities.
A year after the war, Switzerland adopted a new federal constitution, turning the loose confederation of cantons into a stronger federal state. The constitution guaranteed cantonal autonomy, while also creating common federal institutions. This proportional representation system, which later became known as the “magic formula” in 1959, further deepened inclusion and stability.
Today, the Federal Council in Switzerland consists of seven members who collectively serve as the country’s executive branch. The President of the Swiss Confederation chairs the council but exercises no special authority. Rather, the position is one of first among equals and rotates among the seven councillors annually. This means the presidency is largely ceremonial, with real power shared equally among all members. The constitution requires that the Federal Council duly represents all regions and linguistic groups, including the four national languages — German, French, Italian, and Romansh.
These lessons are particularly important for Nigeria. The country has been greatly weakened by ethnic and religious tensions, which have stunted growth, promoted violence, and derailed national progress. Unless this fracture is managed by a negotiated compromise where a power-sharing system among various ethnic groups is institutionalised, Nigeria will continue this sardonic march of folly. What we need is a consociational democracy that will guarantee an inclusive society, reduce tensions, and lay the foundation for building a true nation-state.
Ayodele Adio is a media and communications strategist.
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