Following Nigeria’s 64th Independence Anniversary celebration on October 1, Yinusa Tanko, who happens to be the Interim National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement, during an interview with The Punch, spoke about the major challenges facing the country.
He listed the severe poverty and hardship many Nigerians are enduring, and called for bold measures to revitalize the nation. He also spoke about the essence of ‘New Tribe’ initiative, which himself and some other dignitaries recently launched.
When he was talking, he said ‘New Tribe’ is another great initiative, which is built on a set of shared beliefs, focusing on our values and traditional ways of life. He alleged in every village and town, there is a passed-down discipline that guides how people perform tasks and maintain their standards of living.
He said, “In Igbo land, if a person steals a chicken, the people will tie a noise-making device around them and parade the individual in the market square to showcase the level of disdain and shame attached to that person. This shame also extends to their family for generations. As a result, people are deterred from committing heinous crimes in the villages.”
Tanko claimed in the Northern region, if someone is caught stealing, they are guided by the teachings of the Quran, which help maintain the living standards of the community, especially among Muslims. And that people follow these principles because they know that anyone considering to steal what doesn’t belong to him will think twice, understanding he will face punishment for taking what is not his.
He said, “These values are what we need to uphold. Had we integrated these principles into our governance, much of the persistent theft of public resources might have been avoided.
What this is all about is to shape our culture and belief in contemporary life.”