Political Scientist and Leaders Urge National Dialogue as Critical Safeguard for Unity

In a powerful convergence of historical reflection and urgent political advocacy, a political scientist and prominent political figures have issued a compelling call for a structured national constitutional dialogue. They frame this not as a mere political exercise, but as an essential mechanism to safeguard Nigeria’s fragile unity and prevent a descent into another catastrophic civil war. Their warnings are grounded in the nation’s escalating security crises, profound economic distress, and deepening political fractures, which they argue mirror the preludes to past conflicts.

The urgent appeal was made during the poignant launch of a new memoir, “From the Waterside: A Nigerian Girl in Biafra,” in Port Harcourt on Thursday. The event itself served as a microcosm of the proposed dialogue, blending personal testimony with political analysis to underscore the high stakes of inaction.

Dr. Comfort Anigboh, the author, explained that her book draws from her harrowing personal experiences during the 1967-1970 Nigerian Civil War. She stressed that a primary motive for writing was the pedagogical imperative to teach this history to younger generations, for whom the war is an abstract event. “We risk repeating what we fail to remember and understand,” she noted.

Anigboh provided a stark catalogue of the war’s consequences, which extend far beyond battlefield casualties:

• Humanitarian Catastrophe: Mass deaths from starvation and disease, which arguably claimed more lives than combat, alongside widespread displacement that created a refugee crisis within the nation.
• Structural Collapse: Severe economic hardship and the devastation of infrastructure, the effects of which stunted development in the South-East for decades.
• Societal Fractures: The hardening of ethnic and regional identities, creating deep-seated divisions and mutual suspicion that have persisted into the present day.
• Psychological Scars: Lasting collective trauma, a legacy of pain and loss that continues to haunt survivors and shapes intergenerational attitudes.

“The conflict, initially perceived as regional, ultimately consumed and scarred the entire nation,” Anigboh asserted. “This is the fundamental lesson: no one truly wins a civil war. The nation itself loses.” She issued a direct plea for citizens to reject the rhetoric of war and for governments to proactively convene a genuine dialogue focused on reconciliation, restorative justice, and sustainable peace.

Echoing and expanding on this historical perspective, Dr. Nimi Walson-Jack, a former gubernatorial aspirant, performed the book review. He framed the memoir as a critical mirror held up to contemporary society. “The book forces us to confront the enduring, personal impact of political failure,” he stated. “The trauma, loss, and pain are not locked in the past; they are living realities for survivors and have shaped our national psyche.” He emphasized that the original conflict was a profound failure of dialogue, a lesson current leaders must internalize. His recommendation moved beyond a one-off event: he advocated for institutionalizing continuous dialogue as a core governance principle, creating permanent channels for grievance redress and consensus-building.

Adding a concrete political dimension to the call, Hilda Dokubo, the newly elected Rivers State Chairman of the Labour Party, pinpointed the legal root of the problem. She described the 1999 Constitution as “a document imposed in the shadow of military rule, largely unreflective of the diverse aspirations and concerns of Nigeria’s complex populace.” She argued that tinkering with amendments is insufficient; what is required is a “national reset” through an inclusive, sovereign dialogue that could produce a legitimate social contract.

Dokubo issued a grave warning: the myriad unresolved agitations across all regions—from resource control and restructuring to security autonomy and marginalization—are interconnected pressure points. If not addressed through a legitimate, inclusive constitutional dialogue, these tensions could feed off each other and escalate beyond control. “A dialogue is no longer a luxury of political concession,” she concluded. “It is a fundamental necessity for national survival.”

Collectively, these voices transformed a book launch into a significant political statement. They moved the conversation about national dialogue from abstract theory to an urgent, historically-informed imperative. The proposal is not merely for a talking shop, but for a credible, structured process aimed at constitutional rebirth—positioned as the most critical investment Nigeria can make to secure its fragile unity and ensure its future stability.