Standing elegantly before the visiting Princess Alexandra of Kent and Governor-General, Sir James Robertson, at the final lowering of the British Union Jack, in Lagos, in October 1960, Nigeria’s Prime Minister, Tafawa Balewa declared that, “… independence (for Nigerians) implies a great deal more than self-government.”
For the constituents of the new sovereign, it was the consummation of a struggle which only intensified with the termination of the World War II and the rise of Black Nationalism led by notable Pan-Africanists like Henry Sylvester Williams, W.E.B. Du Bois, Kwame Nkrumah, Jomo Kenyatta, to mention a few. Such was the enormity of the hope that Nigeria presents to Africa and the rest of the world in that era. The globe quickly took note of this potential power emerging from mother Africa, full of dynamic resources both human and minerals, with a firm promise to be a respected player at the international arena.
In the early days, Nigeria did not disappoint. Joining the United Nations as its 99th member in 1960, she stamped her readiness to provide the much-needed direction for Africa by making the continent the centre-piece of her foreign policy with the most important agenda of ending apartheid in South Africa and securing political independence for other African colonies at the time. In affirming her commitment to these goals; Nigeria was an active participant in the formation of the Organization of African Unity (O.A.U) in 1963, in Addis Ababa, and that of the regional grouping, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), in 1975. Nigeria also became a part of the UN efforts to maintain global amity by contributing troops as part of the first UN Peacekeeping Mission to Congo (1960-64). Nigerian soldiers have so far adorned the blue berets in more than two dozen UN operations worldwide.
From Dream To Despair
For ordinary Nigerians, however, the honeymoon was short-lived as series of incidents drew a dagger at the heart of the young State which have continued to shape the fate of its political nay economy trajectory till date. To begin with, politicians (post-independence) exhibited gross lack of maturity which was most evident in the social disruption that erupted in the Western region between Premier Obafemi Awolowo and his estranged former ally, Samuel Akintola, in 1965. The killings, arson, and looting that accompanied the political rivalry between the two led to a severe loss of lives and property. Furthermore, the subsequent hijacking of political power by the military in January 1966 is considered an anathema especially since the coup d’état was perceived as ethnic-oriented in some quarters. Third in the chain of events was the devastating Biafra (civil) war that broke out after an attempt to secede by the mainly Igbo ethnic race in 1967. An estimated one million lives were sacrificed in the war which ended in January 1970.
Sandwiched amongst these events was the discovery of oil in commercial volume in the southern part of the country. Many historians have argued that oil is a poisoned chalice to Nigeria as it opened a vista of uncontrolled gluttony to the custodians of political authority and solidified unbridled corruption in the public service. So much was the level of profligacy within the system that then Military Head of State, Yakubu Gowon, was quoted as saying Nigeria’s challenge isn’t how to make money ‘but how to spend it!’
Having reached its apotheosis a little too soon, Nigeria’s fortunes plummeted dramatically whilst the rest of the world watched in utter awe at the distasteful flatulence from the failing giant.
The Unanswered Question
Caught in the euphoria of shedding the toga of being a colony, the Nigerian state abinitio failed to answer a fundamental question: who owns Nigeria? This unfortunate oversight defines the colouration of what is termed ‘Nigerianess’ in/of Nigerians. It speaks to the dearth of a clear-cut structural identity; the vehicle which cascades a society into nationhood. It also, perhaps, explains the causal force behind the socio-political upheavals that appeared to have put the country in a state of perpetual sedation.
Many believe that the portmanteau: ‘Niger-area’ by the British through the 1914 amalgamation of the protectorates of the south and the north in the town of Sungeru is akin to what the Arabs called ‘Al-Nakbah’ – the Great Mistake. As was the case in many European colonies of Africa, the motivation for creating Nigeria was geared by administrative convenience without necessarily considering the cultural diversities of the ethnic components within the colony. That thus provides an understanding into Awolowo’s 1947 frustration in submitting that, “Nigeria isnot a nation, it is a mere geographical expression.”
A Broken Social Contract
For the mass Nigerian population, the state represents a creation of the oligarchs, fashioned to appropriate the collective patrimony at the expense of the weak majority. Morphed into a concert of zealous elites that turned into a neo-colonialist instrument of oppression and suppression, Nigeria’s social contract has – in the past sixty years – been desecrated, its trust abandoned, and the legitimacy of the political authority has become a subject of an interminable audit by different sections of the public.
The residual legacies of decades of leadership ineptitude, bastardized social institutions, wanton fleecing of common resources are far too unmistakable in vices such as sporadic ethnoreligious conflagrations, towering insecurity, kwashiorkor economy, youth restiveness caused by lack of access to western education and lack of job opportunities for able-bodied persons.
The structural insolvency in Nigeria is further pronounced with the distrust which has characterized the interactions between the government and the governed since independence. For renowned literary icon, Prof. Wole Soyinka, the relationship between the leaders and the led in Nigeria is based on deceit and at best lacking in “frankness.”
A study from the country’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) put the current inflation rate at a two-year high 13% while the unemployment rate is 27.1%. Combine that with the just-released Global Terrorism Index 2018 report which sits Nigeria in third place globally among countries most ravaged by terrorism, one then begins to see an unglossy picture of the exact stance of Nigeria at the moment. In those statistics exist a deluge of ingredients for socio combustion which has come to the fore in recent years, especially since the return to civilian governance in 1999 after decades of military interregnum.
Self-Determination or Self-Destruct?
Unattended to for years, the dissatisfaction of the oppressed has germinated into a chorus of clamour for an equitable and just society that now manifests as calls for self-determination by various ethnic spheres in the country. To coincide with the diamond jubilee celebration of Nigeria, a group of citizens of Yoruba origin took over major streets of capitals of the world in demand for a breakaway homogeneous sovereign to be christened Oduduwa Republic. The Yoruba call for separation is just the latest as the Igbo – through the activities of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) led by exiled Nnamdi Kanu – remain resolute in their quest for self-determination.
Negotiating Co-habitation
To survive the existential threat throbbing Nigeria’s soul at the moment, a few suggestions would suffice. First, there is a need for a national document that truly reflects the wishes of the people to live together. The notion that the indivisibility of Nigeria is ‘non-negotiable’ is a farce and should be discarded in search of a template for peaceful co-existence. Second, a return to regional autonomy in place of the subsisting quasi-federation is long overdue; the system is yearning for deconstruction to help redress its many conspicuous contradictions and the attendant deficient outcomes. This would afford the regional components opportunity to develop from within without necessarily being dictated to by the federal authority. Third, the ‘gentlemen agreement’ for rotational Head of Government should be constitutionally sanctioned to avoid making such a privilege an exclusive preserve of a particular ethnic group at the expense of others.
Unity in Diversity
As the drums of apocalypse sound louder in Nigeria, it is germane to say that, despite its intractable challenges, the strategic nature of the country makes it more appealing to remain one. The strength of its huge population is one reason which has over the decades made Nigeria a place of choice for trade and economic interests by many foreigners. For IPOB and its leader, Nnamdi Kanu the song remains ‘to your tents, O Israel’ due to “… mutual suspicion, mutual hatred, (and) mutual resentment (in the body polity of Nigeria).” In contrary, octogenarian politician, Bisi Akande views the ongoing development with some reservations even as he warns that dismembering Nigeria is a whirlwind that would only lead to further intra-ethno balkanization and depletion.
