Restartnaija is a movement for socio-political enlightenment in Nigeria. It was founded on the belief that there is something great in all the ethnic communities in Nigeria, and thus they must distinguish themselves, in order to define why and how they want to unite in Nigeria. Thus, Restartnaija shares in the belief that each ethnic community in Nigeria must distinguish their rights and duties in the Nigerian partnership before arriving at an agreement to be one Nigeria. Among the rights to be obtained from the Nigerian partnership are the equal right to own and control of their private lands, resources, liberty and life. Among the duties to be performed by the ethnic communities for the Nigerian partnership are to support, defend, pay taxes and abide by the legitimately generated laws of the union.
Since tribalism is defined as the love and loyalty to one’s tribe of origin[1], Restartnaija advocates for a positive version of ‘ethnicism’ and tribalism. This is because a whole can never be better than its parts, instead a whole is a reflection of the integrity of its parts. When the internal organs of a human body are healthy and properly connected to one another in their natural order, they cooperate and work well for the whole body. But when some parts are not working well, or the heart seeks to take over the function of the liver, and the brain’s functions is distributed to other organs of the body, the whole body will be in disaster. So, each part must be distinct and properly functioning according to its natural function in order to provide its specific value to the rest of the body, and also obtain the value that is produced by the other organs of the body.
Restartnaija insists on the ethnic community representation in the Nigerian partnership because the ethnic communities are the true, original and natural custodians of the individuals, their culture and customs in a given society. The ethnic communities are made up of clans, which is a group of villages that consists of families, who are related to a common ancestry in a particular environment. Even though we argue that the natural order in the ethnic groups may not be perfect, they still retain the first principle of national growth. The brain is improved by knowledge, the muscle is improved by exercise, so the relationship within the communities will also be improved by modern social research and dialogue.
Restartnaija is not affiliated to any political party. It is a non-partisan movement for the realization of a formidable African society, which is made up of internally healthy communities that relate with one another on the basis of mutual respect and benevolence. It continues a research finding and disclosure through media broadcasts, interviews, songs and dramas on its YouTube channel and Facebook page.
[1] Cf. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 8th Edition