Politics: The journey of a struggling giant

In this piece, JOHN ALECHENU goes down memory lane to recall some of the political developments which has shaped Nigeria into a 53 year old struggling giant

Long before the British colonial rule, some 250 ethnic nationalities lived in hitherto distinct geographical areas.

From the mangrove forest in the South to the semi-arid desert of the North, these ethnic nationalities formed trade alliances and developed systems of administration they felt suited their needs.

Wars were fought over territory but trade amongst the people survived throughout these conquests.

 All that changed as the British; which became the dominant trading power across West Africa, decided to take direct control of the source of labour and raw materials for its industry.

Lord Luguard who superintended over its interests in the Southern and Northern protectorate, fused the two in 1914 for  administrative convenience.

 Thus Nigeria was born.

 After World War II and growing level of consciousness, Nigerians armed with western style education led the clamour for independence.

Nationalists such as Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Sir Ahmadu Bello and Nnamdi Azikiwe became some of the most vocal.

Precisely on October 1, 1960 the British capitulated and granted Nigeria political independence.

Since then, it has been mixed grills as opinion continue to differ as to whether real progress has been made after the  country’s quest for self rule became a reality.

It did not take long after the physical departure of the British before cracks in the polity began to manifest. After less than six years of civilian rule, the military began its long and unwelcomed foray into politics.

On January 15, 1966, mutinous soldiers led by officers from the predominantly Igbo ethnic nationality from the South East, killed prominent political figures from the Northern Region and the Western Region.

Sir Ahmadu Bello, Sir. Tafawa Balewa, Chief Samuel Akintola and Chief Okotie Oboh along with several military officers especially those from the north were also killed.

The aftermath of this action and events which followed, led to Nigeria’s three year civil war which led to the death of over 1 million Nigerians.

After several years of military rule Nigeria returned to democratic rule in 1979 that administration lasted for only four short years before the military struck again.

General Mohammadu Buhari and Brig. General Tunde Idiagbon took over power they were however ousted via a palace coup which General Ibrahim Babangida headed.

A leading Nigerian journalist, Dan Agbese, said in his book: Nigeria their Nigeria: “Nigeria, like the old France, is a patchwork of ethnic nationalities, some of whom live ‘in distinct geographical areas’ and all of whom speak different languages.

  “If it took a revolution to create the French from a multiplicity of ethnic nationalities, one wonders what it will take to create the Nigerian from a similar patchwork of nature.”

His argument stemmed from the fact that while the French succeeded in forging a French nationality through a bloody revolution, attempts by several of Nigeria’s rulers from 1960 to date appear to achieve a similar feat under different guises, appear to have been an enterprise in futility.

The military, he argues, “did not bulldoze the 250 ethnic nationalities into something sufficiently neutral called the Nigerian. They bulldozed thefour regions into 36 states and 774 local government areas.”

Nigerians came close to forging a nation when they ethnic and religious sentiments took the back seat as they trooped to the polls on June 12, 1993 to vote for Chief MKO Abiola and Babagana Kingibe as President and Vice-President respectively.

It was the first time in Nigeria’s chequered political history that Nigerians voted for a Muslim, Muslim ticket.

 Muslims in Kano set aside their ethnic considerations for Abiola instead of Bashir Tofa.

The General Ibrahim Babangia administration reversed this gain by annulling the elections considered the freest and fairest in the nation’s history. Nigeria is yet to fully recover from the effects of this gross violation of the rights of Nigerians to choose a leader. After Babangida’s inglorious ouster and the failure of an Interim National Government which Chief Ernest Shonekan headed, General Sani Abacha took over power. His five year rule remains one of Nigeria’s darkest moments as many Nigerians were either killed or forced into exile. His sudden death provided another opportunity for Nigeria to make a fresh start via a short transition programme midwived by Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, in 1998.

 Chief Olusegun Obasanjo emerged winner of the 1999 elections and was sworn-in as President, he ruled for two terms of four years each. He tried but failed to secure an unconstitutional third term.

 As Nigeria celebrates its 53rd Independence anniversary today (Tuesday), legislators who are privileged to serve in the Senate of the 7th National Assembly last Thursday, reviewed the state of the nation and charged leaders to eschew greed and selfishness, and pursue only those things that promote unity and peace among citizens.

This followed the adoption of a motion sponsored by the Senate Majority Leader, Victor Ndoma Egba, and 10 others.

The Senate lamented that Nigeria has gone backwards from a producing and exporting nation at independence to a mere consuming nation 53 years after.

Senate President, David Mark, was more direct when he said ordinary Nigerians deserved to be congratulated for being so patient in the face of “frustrations occasioned by maladministration” experienced witnessed within the period.

Mark said,” We are genuinely worried about our country; across political, religious and ethnic boundaries, we are truly worried because some key aspects of our values and traditions have been lost.

“In the old National Anthem, we said ‘in brotherhood we stand.’ Do we still stand in brotherhood today? We used to be our brothers’ keepers, are we still our brothers’ keepers? The answer definitely is no. Instead, we do those things that hurt others now.

“We need to look inwards and begin to search our minds. The ball certainly is in our court as leaders to do what we should do to reverse the trend. We must shelve the attitude of seeking power at all cost. We do not need to get desperate about getting to the top. At any level, we must be ready to contribute our quotas.”

Mark who has equally been on the political scene first as a military officer, now as a politician also said it was sad that Nigeria was losing its abundant human resource to other nations largely due to the fact that the environment is becoming less attractive.

 Ndoma-Egba expressed the view that Nigeria deserved congratulations for surviving a series of challenges right from her pre-independence era through the civil war period to the long period of military rule and yet remained united.

However, Senator Solomon Ita-Enang did not share the enthusiasm shared by his colleagues. He expressed disappointment that the nation had retrogressed into of developing.

 According to him, Nigeria had not done well in all indices of development.

He said “there are things to look at in determining whether or not we are truly independent. First, what was the quality of our education and what is it now? What about our economy?

“Frankly speaking, we need to take steps to reverse all these if we want to join other nations in the class of independent nations.

“For example, at independence, factories were working well, but today, almost all of them have closed down and moved to neighbouring countries.”

Also speaking, Senator Gbenga Ashafa called on Nigerians, especially the country’s past and present leaders, to reflect on how “we brought ourselves to this level. Before it is too late, there is need to restore Nigeria to a status where the ordinary man can get succour.”

Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe saw things differently. He expressed the opinion that a major issue responsible for the setback Nigeria’s democracy has suffered is the absence of true democratic culture among politicians.

Abaribe lamented that even those who call themselves leaders have failed to accommodate the views of people opposed to their positions.

According to him, people see those few ones who accommodate opposing views as weak, and “this is why we need to commend President Goodluck Jonathan for being able to give a listening year to those opposed to his own ideas.”

No matter which way it is viewed, Nigeria is perhaps facing more challenges today than it did 53 years ago.

 The population has more than quadrupled ever since, the security situation has worsened so is the state of basic infrastructure.

On the security front, over 50 students were murdered in cold blood by terrorists masquerading as Islamic reformists seeking to establish Sharia law in the North.

Perhaps for the first time in 53 years, students of Nigeria’s 78 state owned Universities have remained at home for close to three months due to a strike action embarked upon by University teachers.

 This strike is unique in the sense that, this is the first time Nigeria will be marking an Independence anniversary with this kind of situation as unsolicited an anniversary gift.

Democratic institutions are still evolving even as some argue that less endowed nations who have similar challenges have grown pass the stage Nigeria is today.

Those who see this way argue that Nigeria is simply a nation which has continued to behave like a teenager at 53.

Most Nigerians look forward to a more prosperous nation as Nigeria prepares to celebrate its first 100 years since the amalgamation of 1914. Whether they are prepared to work towards achieving this goal is another matter all together.