Last Sunday, Nigeria marked
57 years as an 'independent' nation. Fifty-seven years of flag
independence from the Great Britain. On October 1, 1960, it would be
recalled, the Union Jack was lowered in Lagos and the green-white-green
national flag hoisted gloriously in its stead. Two scores and seventeen
years later, Nigeria has changed for good or bad, depending on the class
- the poor or rich - to which one belongs.
A full-grown man of 57 years must have accomplished certain things in
life expected of him as an adult or senior citizen. It is often said
that life begins at 40! So at 57 such a man should have either achieved
something worthy of note or be considered a failure by his peers. From
1960 down to 2017, a whole lot has happened: coups and counter-coups,
civil war, military incursion into the polity, June 12 and the Abiola
saga, restoration of democracy, etc.
So last Sunday as tradition dictated and in the spirit of the
auspicious occasion, President Muhammadu Buhari addressed the nation. He
outlined the key policies and programs of his APC administration two
and a half years down the four-year span. He dutifully listed
the achievements recorded thus far and the challenges that lie ahead.
The speech was a long one and, in all fairness, a good one, but not good
enough!
For one, the President maintained his belief in one Nigeria, saying
rigidly that the country was indissoluble. For another, he chided the
elders and leaders of thought in the South-East for their inability to
control their wards manifesting their desire for a Biafran nation.
And for yet another, he declared the war against Boko Haram as almost
won and the one against graft as a work in progress. However, his
obdurate insistence on one unbreakable country based on the present
flawed federal arrangement is something to be worried about. Nigeria, as
presently constituted, cannot possibly withstand, for a long time to
come, the socio-political pressures for restructuring and struggles for
equity in the system. The President ought to know better!
Since taking official residence in Aso Rock Villa in Abuja on May 29,
2015, President Buhari has done his very best in terms of combating
militarily the Boko Haram terrorists up north. From having defeated them
“technically,” we seem to be approaching another phase in the armed
campaign against Shekau and his murderous boys and girls. The same goes
for his fight against corruption without let or hindrance. On these two
areas, he has performed above average, indeed, even though we note that
no looter of the treasury has ever been convicted. A High Court had
ruled that the government should publish the names of looters and the
funds recovered from them but nothing has been done to that effect.
The APC national government had promised sweeping changes (with a
rich broom!) in their party manifesto leading to the electoral victory
at the federal level. But today, 'change' has not occurred anywhere in
the lives of Nigerians. The 'change' promised can only manifest itself
when a majority of our people are lifted out of poverty by the provision
of employment opportunities, steady power supply, pipe-borne water,
good motorable roads, and affordable homes. The 'change' mantra has
become a vehicle of propaganda!
Economically, the Buhari regime has not fared any better than the
previous ones. We have witnessed recession, inflation, the depreciation
of the naira against the major world currencies. Hardship has returned
to terrorize Nigerians. It seems the President has lost control on the
economic front with assurances of a brighter future being eroded
by issues like the on-going feud between the Minister of State for
Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, and the GMD of the NNPC, Maikanti
Baru. The alleged contract worth $25 billion awarded by Baru without due
process must be investigated so that the truth shall come to light.
Last Sunday, I reflected on Nigeria at 57 and concluded that 'this
house has fallen'! One may be tempted, with disappointment and
discouragement in mind, to ask: What were we celebrating at 57?
Fifty-seven years of acute waste of national resources and
consequent arrested development? Fifty-seven years of our inability to
right the Lugardian wrong in 1914? Fifty-seven years of our lack of will
to put our house of commotion in order? Or our unimaginative
unintelligent inability to pull down the defective federal edifice and
start reconstructing same from the foundation?
Nigeria is a failed state, as recently acknowledged by the former
Governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi. We have collectively failed to
confront the mistakes of the past and present in order to chart a new
course for our dear nation. We have failed the generation before us and
the present one - of which we are members. The yearnings and aspirations
of majority of Nigerians have not been met because our leaders cared
less about us. We did not count much in their plans and actions! Our
leaders have failed us and mortgaged our future! Fifty-seven years in
the life of a nation-state ought to be enough to articulate the way
forward achieving unity in diversity and national concord in the
process.
But ours remains a hope dashed and the future compromised! The
conclusion that could be drawn here is that there is nothing to
celebrate about in the positive sense of the word. As long as some of us
are still unhappy staying inside the union and others murmuring
in silence over what tomorrow might bring then we have a long way to go.
We must avoid creating the impression that staying together as a nation
must always be enforced whether anyone likes it or not.
Nigeria lost its innocence ever since the jackboot invaded the
political space. General Ibrahim Babangida opened the floodgates of
official corruption in Nigeria in 1985. The unpopular detested man from
Minna stole millions of dollars and billions of naira retiring to his
magnificent hill-top mansion as a stupendously rich ex-dictator. He was
forced to relinquish power after causing the June 12 political confusion
that nearly ignited a second civil war!
And following in his ignoble footsteps, the late General Sani Abacha
did even worse cornering the national patrimony in a staggering
dictatorial heist only comparable to what the late Mobutu Sese-Seko did
in the defunct Zaire or what the late Idi Amin Dada did in Uganda.
Today, decades after his timely demise, the rough estimates of the total
amount pilfered and stashed away in bank accounts abroad is still a
subject of international controversy! Baptized "the Abacha loot," we are
still being regaled with stupefying figures of what was mindlessly
taken away from our national purse.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo never fared any better in the
imprudent management of the national wealth. OBJ, who came out of the
Abacha gulag a pauper, drained physically and mentally, suddenly became
the African Donald Trump! Obasanjo was smart enough to hide his loot
playing the statesman and even criticizing those in power he deemed
corrupt. He has had a running battle with the National Assembly over
corruption and emolument matters. Accusing the pampered overfed
legislators in Abuja of being "unarmed robbers" Baba struck a hard blow
which was instantly returned in kind. The Senate leadership labeled the
Aremu of Ota as the "father of corruption" in Nigeria.
Let us leave ex-President Goodluck Jonathan out of this for now. Now
that the jury is out on Diezani-gate and Dasuki-gate we must refrain
from reaching any conclusions until justice is done and be seen to have
been done. Yet GEJ must stand accused forever for allowing the huge
financial hemorrhaging of the nation under his watch. By declaring that
stealing was not equivalent to corruption in one presidential gaffe too
many Jonathan made name for himself as the weakest President ever to
preside over our national affairs. He was clueless, aloof, mediocre and
dour. He never inspired anyone nor made any lasting leadership
impression worth remembering for.
In our reckoning, Nigeria at 57 was all about noise and no substance!
There was absolutely nothing to celebrate about 57 years of waste.
Wasted years, wasted hopes, wasted dreams, wasted greatness and a
wasted generation. Since the leadership (due mainly to executive
mediocrity and corruption) has failed to show us the way, we must, with
determination and love in our hearts, find the way or make one!
We commend fellow Nigerians for our uncommon resilience and
perseverance in a climate of national paralysis. We salute our daily
demonstration of the power of imagination and creativity. Yes we can!
