I spent most of the late evening of September 30, 2011 through the wee hours of October 01, 2011, combing Nigeria’s daily newspapers as the nation celebrates its 51 years of independence from British colonial rule. Most of the headlines were saying the same thing – that a reformed Nigeria is simply mirage. I would agree with what the analyst, commentators and a general public had seen as a failed state. The reviews of a collapsing state were fascinating from around which the newspapers all around the country did not stop writing on the subject matter – the nation’s 51st independence anniversary – some say there was nothing worth celebrating.
In Vanguard Newspaper’s October 01, 2011 edition, correspondent Uduma Kalu in Nigeria @ 51: “Nigeria, A Dream Deferred,” writes;
Our founding fathers did not negotiate that at 51, Nigeria would become the 14th failed state in the world. Neither did they agree that it would be among the nations with the least human development index, nor that it would still be crawling five decades after independence. Our founding fathers did not dream that their great grand children would be treated with contempt as a result of mismanagement of its abundant resources.
It is patently clear that Kalu’s comments above is impeccable; it is the simple truth that Nigeria is a failed state after 51-years of experimenting with varieties of running a thorough government. It is also sad to arrive into conclusion that none of the tested experiments have worked effectively and efficiently for the interest of the people in question.
Other headlines in the nation’s dailies were as follows: “Nigeria@51: Sambo Prays For God’s Favor For Nigeria,” by Vincent Ikuomola, The Nation; “Nigeria@51: This Is Not Nigeria Of Our Dream - Labor,” by Soji-Eze Fagbemi, Gbola Subair and Leon Usigbe, Nigerian Tribune; “ Nigeria@51: Nigeria Is A Pathetic Story,” by Clifford Ndujihe, Vanguard Interview; “Nigeria Celebrates Independence Amid Bomb Fears,” by Jon Gambrell, Associated Press; “Nigeria@51 - Birthdays Mark The Time Between The Past & The Future,” by Robin Renee Sanders, former U.S. Ambassador of Nigeria writing for the Huffington Post; “Nigeria@51: Jonathan Worst President Ever - Balarabe Musa,” by Abdulgafar Abalewe, Daily Sun Interview; “Nigeria Celebrates First Of It’s Kind Independence Day Celebration,” by Elizabeth Archibong, Next Group of Newspapers; “Independence Celebration Holds Inside Aso Villa,” by George Agba and Sunday Isuwa, Leadership Newspaper; and the list goes on and on of a “Nigeria@51” subtitles and headline news stories covering a nation at its independence day celebration which was overall low key for fear of the Islamic nihilists and hoodlums – Boko Haram and Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) that had sent an earlier memo threatening to bomb Abuja again.
The papers, interviews, including readers who expressed their views by way of leaving comments and conducted symposiums had the same line of thought concluding Nigeria is a failed state. In the Daily Sun interview with former governor of Kaduna State during the nation’s 2nd Republic, when asked “Nigeria at 51, where are we”? Balarabe Musa said;
Well, we are engaging in a virtually senseless ritual, senseless because it is an annual activity. You are asking me to comment on Nigeria, the state of the nation since October1, 1960. We have been doing this every year to certain extent that you the media make us to continually comment on whether we have anything to say about it, even though there is nothing to write home about Nigeria since 51 years ago except calamity. I mean for 51 years since Nigeria achieved independence from Britain, we have not demonstrated what other nations demonstrate to inspire ourselves and others.
Yes, “except calamity,” Musa, and from day one it has been so and we keep assuming it’s fixable without taking closer look at countries like Malaysia, South Korea, Singapore, and as Kalu mentioned, Brazil, and as the list goes on and what these nations have done in its little capacity compared to a nation with abundant natural resources and enormous human capital like a Nigerian state? And all said and done, as the pros and cons are now bent on ironing out the nation’s problems, grand and small, we must take into account the chronology of the nation’s events since its birth and judge and make sound decisions for ourselves. Before I go into that, I would like revisiting Kalu in his analysis, “Nigeria, A Dream Deferred.” Kalu again:
Today, the dreams and visions of that ‘Promised Great Nation’ flutters in the wind like a rag. Industries have collapsed. Some of them have fled to Ghana and other neighboring countries. Our youths have no jobs and no hope of a simple decent life in Nigeria. Some seek greener pastures abroad in droves. The dignity of Nigerians all over the world is spilled in the mud. We are like pests to all nations of the world. Oil, which was meant to comfort us, is now our albatross, our curse. Even in our plenty, we are among the world’s poorest. The UNDP report says we are among the least developed nations with high rate of illiteracy, mortality rate, life expectancy rate, among other ugly decorations that dot our independence celebration today. UNEP says the oil spills in Ogoni are the worst in human history and will require billions of dollars to clean.
In as much as I would grade President Goodluck Jonathan with a confessional passing mark on how he has been handling the affairs of state of the nation, especially since the eruption of Boko Haram, allowing other aspects of the nation’s projects unattended, never minding a security detailed budget in place for nihilists and hoodlums like Boko Haram, the question here is, how has Jonathan shown to the Nigerian people that his administration is doing anything differently? What happened to his new political agenda with regards to the infrastructures he promised the Nigerian people that all would be taken care of in his era? What is holding back Jonathan and his coattails from its blueprint of ‘The New Dawn?’ And the new schools he pledged to build in every nook and cranny of the nation to elevate academia and making it affordable to every Nigerian; what happened, or is it still going through administrative bureaucracy typical of a lame duck presidency? When are his political ideals and projects going into effect? When his term expires and he’s out of office? These are reasons Jonathan is telling the Nigerian people that he’s no different from any Nigerian ruler, and not bound to do things differently by tackling aggressively a myriad of the nation’s problems, an indication when one takes a look at the nation’s chronology of events since independence:
October 01, 1960: Nigeria gains independence from Britain. Abubakar Tafawa Balewa of the Northern Peoples Congress emerges as Prime Minister. Nnamdi Azikiwe of the National Council for Nigerian Citizens becomes the first Nigerian Governor-General, and Nigeria's first president when the country becomes a republic in 1963. Obafemi Awolowo of the Action Group becomes leader of the opposition.
January 15, 1966: Prime Minister Balewa is killed in a failed coup led by mostly Igbo army officers. Many other top members of the government are also killed, including the premier of the Northern Region, Ahmadu Bello. The government collapses and the most senior army officer, General Thomas Aguiyi-Ironsi, takes over as head of state.
July 29, 1966: Northern army officers stage a "counter-coup". Ironsi is killed and Colonel Yakubu Gowon emerges new military ruler. Colonel Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, governor of the Eastern Region, refuses to accept Gowon's authority. Igbos and other south-easterners are massacred across the north.
May 27, 1967: After several months of political crisis Gowon announces the dissolution of Nigeria's four administrative regions and their replacement by a 12-state structure.
May 30, 1967: Ojukwu declares the former Eastern Region the independent Republic of Biafra. From this point on Nigeria is technically at war.
January 12, 1970: Biafran surrenders. An estimated two million had died in 30 months of civil war. Gowon declares "no victor, no vanquished" and announces a program of reconstruction and rehabilitation.
January 1970 - July 1975: Gowon’s-led regime is plagued with widespread scandals of bribery and corruption; and is toppled by Maj-Gen Murtala Mohammed while attending an Organization of African Unity summit in Kampala, Uganda. He goes into exile in Britain.
February 13, 1976: Gen Mohammed is assassinated in an aborted coup. His next in command, Maj-Gen Olusegun Obasanjo, becomes head of state.
October 01, 1979: Gen. Obasanjo hands over power to President Shehu Aliyu Shagari, who won that year's elections on the platform of the National Party of Nigeria, bringing to an end 13 years of military rule.
December 31, 1983: President Shagari is toppled in a military coup three months after winning a second term at elections marred by violence and allegations of widespread rigging and irregularities. The new military ruler would be Maj-Gen Muhammadu Buhari.
August 27, 1985: Buhari is overthrown by his army chief, Maj-Gen Ibrahim Babangida, who makes it clear from the outset that he prefers the title of president.
April 22, 1990:Babangida survives a bloody coup attempt by mainly junior army officers. In the courts martial that follow, more than 250 soldiers are sentenced to death and executed.
June 12, 1993: Nigerians vote in presidential elections to end military rule. The candidates are Moshood Abiola of the Social Democratic Party and Bashir Tofa of the National Republican Convention. Early results show Abiola with a runaway lead.
June 15, 1993:The electoral commission announces the suspension of publication of the results, citing a need to obey a pre-election ruling by a court, which had ordered that the election should not be held. The commission had earlier disobeyed the court ruling because a military decree had stripped the courts of their power to accept election-related lawsuits.
June 23, 1993: A statement from Gen Babangida's office declares the election annulled. For the next two months massive demonstrations organized by pro-democracy activists paralyze several Nigerian cities.
August 27, 1993: Babangida steps down as president under intense pressure. He hands over to an interim government headed by Ernest Shonekan, a civilian businessman he handpicked, and mandated to organize fresh elections.
November 17, 1993: The interim government is toppled by the defense minister, Gen. Sani Abacha. He dissolves all civilian institutions, including the national legislature and state governments.
November 10, 1995: Renowned writer and environmental campaigner, Ken Saro-Wiwa, is executed along with eight other Ogoni minority rights activists on murder charges, after a trail generally perceived to be flawed. The execution draws international outrage and the Abacha regime becomes an international pariah and Nigeria suspended from the British Commonwealth of Nations.
June 08, 1998: Abacha dies suddenly of apparent heart failure. He is succeeded by the most senior military officer, Gen Abdulsalami Abubakar, who pledges rapid reforms to restore democracy.
June 15, 1998: Abubakar frees former military ruler Gen. Obasanjo from jail where he was serving a 15-year term. He had been convicted in 1995 along with several military officers and civilians on what was believed by many Nigerians to be trumped-up charges of plotting Abacha's fall.
July 07, 1998: Abiola, who had been detained by Abacha since 1994 for laying claims to the presidency on the basis of the annulled 1993 vote, dies suddenly in detention of apparent heart failure. His release was being prepared by the Abubakar regime before his sudden death.
February 23, 1999: Nigerians vote in presidential ballot. The candidates are Gen. Obasanjo of the People's Democratic Party and Olu Falae, the joint candidate of the Alliance for Democracy and the All People's Party. Obasanjo emerges victorious, winning nearly 70 percent of the vote.
May 29, 1999: Obasanjo is sworn in and a new civilian government is inaugurated ending more than 15 years of domination of power by unelected military juntas.
And in-between this chronology, a whole lot more, tragically, has taken place. The rolling out of military tanks on university students, on a picket line under the leadership of National Union of Nigerian Students, Akogun Olusegun Okeowo, protesting increase in college tuition by the Obasanjo-led military junta. Students had demanded the democratization of education in the nation’s ongoing dictatorship. The public execution by firing squad of Batholomew Owoh, Bernard Ogedengbe and Lawal Ojuolape for a retroactive drug conviction during the Muhammadu Buhari-Tunde Idiagbon tandem of military dictatorship. The assassination by a letter bomb of Newswatch founding member, Dele Giwa, during the Ibrahim Babangida-led brutal regime. And the chaos after an abrogated 3rd Republic during Sani Abacha’s reign of terror. The civil unrests – Odi Massacre, Sharia Debacle, hired assassins, Choba, OPC mayhem, MEND, MASSOB – in the 4th Republic. And Obasanjo himself when confronted with growing tensions with neigboring Cameroon over the Bakassi Peninsula, long a Nigerian territory, decided to resist the advice of his aides who pushed for military solution, and to turn the dispute over to the World Court. Newspapers and journalists ridiculed Obasanjo. Bakassi, henceforth, would be Cameroon territory. Again, the list goes on and on.
Quite obvious, Nigeria is still a troubled nation on the above outlined framework. And what should be done with the concept of a country that in its nationhood differs significantly? Would that have arisen from a mistake of constitutional conferences mandate? It is, seemingly, pretty much so from all accounts. The problem, however, in my observation rested on the “Founding Fathers” who were either anxious or in a hurry, hence having to do with being left with one of two choices from a colonial mandate —“get the independence under our prescription” or stay right where you are and better not complain again. Somehow, it sounds likely the founding fathers succumbed to the British gimmicks ignoring the fact that an independent national state of different ethnic groups would result in total chaos and would leave the fabricated country permanently in a comma.
Nigeria @ 51, what changed? Absolutely nothing!
