Sixty-six years after attaining Independence, Nigeria is yet to fully fulfil the vision of its founding fathers. But now, there is hope on the horizon for the country, from all indications, under the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration.
It is wrong to uncritically conclude that the supposedly African giant has been static since October 1, 1960, when independence was granted after 75 years of colonial subjugation.
Contemporary Nigerians would hardly acknowledge the obvious progress the nation has made across sectors. They only focus on the errors that were committed by successive administrations, which have encumbered the pace of development.
Some critics also deliberately do so to blackmail the current administration.
Like most underdeveloped and developing countries, Nigeria is assailed by complex challenges associated with nation-building. They border on identity, political, and economic participation, legitimacy of government structures, and divisive distributive politics. While early leaders struggled to resolve them based on agreed principles of federalism, ambitious and impatient soldiers veered from the civil path and ruled the country with jingoistic recklessness.
Nigeria was important to the world in the sixties. It was a country to watch, based on its potential in human and material endowments; its population, which meant a big market; and the resilience of its competitive regions.
World powers predicted that by the mid-seventies, the country would have acquired the status of a medium-ranking power.
The prediction never came into fulfilment. Nigeria has been rising and falling. The sad turn of events has also denied Africa a clear and towering leader that could lead and strategically champion the cause of the continent on the global stage.
While the future was bright in 1960, civilian leaders, neck-deep in federal power struggles, created tension. It was in the days of substantial fiscal federalism. Instead of focusing on their regions, leaders converted national politics into a theatre of war. The battle for political control through foul means, ethnicity and monumental corruption on the part of the early leaders led to the collapse of the First Republic.
Power-thirsty soldiers, who were sensitive to the coups in Egypt and Sudan, decided to revolt. Their methods were dictatorial. With the barrel of guns, they foisted on Nigeria a centralised system of government that was antithetical to the federal principle. Their solution brought more problems, and up to now, Nigeria has not fully recovered.
The 1966 coup was evidently tribal. It threw up a political novice, Gen. Thomas Aguiyi-Ironsi, as Military Head of State. He thoughtlessly outlawed federalism. With the influence of ethnic advisers, he foisted on the country a unitary system that swiftly became unpalatable to every part of the country.
There was no justification for the bloodletting that followed. But angry soldiers of Northern origin suspected where the government might be heading and quickly drew the curtains on the inept regime. Their counter-coup plunged the country into more problems. The dissension that arose over succession patterns, ego and tribal prejudice led to clashes, which eventually culminated in the 30-month civil war, with heavy casualties on the federal and rebel sides.
The war ended after 30 months of intense fighting, culminating in the survival of the polarised and segmented heterogeneous country. But the military announced its survival by tightening its hold on the people without a thought for accountability. Instead of handing over on time, soldiers traded in coups and counter-coups.
The military also promoted tribalism, inequity, and favouritism, which manifested in the marginalising distributive process. State and local government creation was lopsided, and the census could not be held due to the fear of rigging the head count. Under successive military regimes, there was a combative regression to the pre-independence battle cry for restructuring at a time when developed countries expected the African giant to be a continental model of federal democracy. Soldiers of fortune promoted graft, and many of them acquired ill-gotten wealth in violation of their supposed corrective mission. For the first 13 years, Nigeria, in the military cage, witnessed the nationalisation of regional assets without compensation. When the soldiers left power in 1979, they merely moved to the sidelines. Their minds were divided between the corridors of power and the barracks. Of course, the civilian government of the Second Republic transgressed against the spirit of the constitution. The key actors indulged in unbridled corruption, perverted the conduct of elections, and behaved like inebriated sailors steering a rickety ship in stormy weather. Again, the fierce power struggle upset the country. Barely four years and three months later, the soldiers returned.
In their second coming, the soldiers attempted to restore discipline, which they believed was the major thing that was missing among the majority of Nigerians.
So, they declared War Against Indiscipline (WAI) and made the citizens imbibe the culture of maintaining orderliness in public places, especially under the Muhammadu Buhari/Tunde Idiagbon military leadership. The Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) leadership that displaced that government added the war against corruption to the crusade; thus, the nation got WAIC. It even floated the Mass Mobilisation for Self-Reliance, Social Justice, and Economic Recovery (MAMSER), a propaganda machine meant to persuade the citizens to key into its deceitful programmes. The IBB regime soon became more brutal. Its operators were not better than the civilian authorities they had illegitimately displaced. They were even more corrupt, promoting nepotism and stifling the growth of democracy.
A free, fair, credible, and transparent poll that was meant to usher in the President of the Third Republic, after the military’s dilly-dally under a diarchic contraption, was criminally annulled. Human rights were violated. As the military declared war on Nigerians, citizens also organised legitimate resistance until the soldiers realised that their popularity was at the lowest ebb.
In 1999, those who took over power were also created in the same military image. They had a faulty compass – a severely flawed constitution that lied to and against itself.
The ruling party at the beginning of the Fourth Republic was aptly called the party of generals. The ex-soldiers apparently thought it appropriate to assemble under the same umbrella to continue their jingoistic exploits. The nation grappled with another 16 years of a unitary system masquerading as federalism. Elections became wars, and losers were declared winners due to the do-or-die antics of the ruling class.
The country bled. Oil, the acclaimed black gold and blessing, became a curse. The sixth largest producer of oil in the world could not boast of a single functional refinery. Successive administrations sustained the fuel subsidy regime, which was mercilessly exploited by the barons who held the country by the jugular.
It amounted to systematic loss of revenue to the country. Funding for education, health, and basic amenities, including potable water, electricity, medical facilities, and roads, was in short supply.
Life expectancy dropped abysmally. The quality of life among the citizens dropped even lower. Youths deserted the country for an imaginary golden fleece in foreign lands. Many of them perished in harsh conditions while attempting to cross the Sahara Desert or the Mediterranean Sea to Europe in search of scarce jobs.
Graft and sleaze multiplied. Foreign debt piled up. Foreign reserves were depleted. The manufacturing sub-sector collapsed. Nigeria became a laughing stock. People started having a nostalgic feeling about the constitutional order of the First Republic, saying that the presidential democracy had failed.
Later, Nigeria started battling with insecurity – banditry, terrorism, kidnapping for ransom, and other forms of organised violence. Ethnicity and religion became the willing tools exploited by unpatriotic elements to fan the embers of disunity. There was stiff resistance to change and progress.
But that change later came. Yet, after another eight years of the Buhari administration, there was no solution to fuel scarcity. Forex scandals persisted. Currency change compounded the situation.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu inherited the cumulative mess and burden on May 29, 2023. He had promised to turn adversity into prosperity during his campaigns. To fulfil the promises, he courageously took decisive actions.
The President embarked on reforms. It is a painful surgical operation. He sustained the removal of the fuel subsidy, daring the economic saboteurs. He also dismantled corruption in the foreign exchange market. The review of the tax laws and strengthening of the revenue-generating agencies marked a clean break from the past.
President Tinubu has been distributing the money to the states. It is up to the governors and council chairmen to demonstrate commitment, patriotism and discipline by channelling the money for the development of their domains. This is why the President urged the leaders at these tiers to wet the ground. It is puzzling to the common man, who is enjoined to be patient, that reform pains linger, and nobody seems prepared to understand the language of economic innovation that does not lead to food price affordability, no matter the macro-economic stability.
Rail transportation has been decentralised, but no region in the country has taken the bull by the horns. Certain elements of devolution are either being opposed or resisted. An example is council autonomy. Governors have developed cold feet.
A bridge-builder and detribalised leader, President Tinubu has united the country through the exhibition of national outlook and promotion of inclusive policies and programmes. These are visible in the distribution of appointments and infrastructural projects, the establishment of regional commissions, and the promotion of cordial inter-governmental relations.
The signature infrastructural projects of the administration include road construction across the six geopolitical zones. Of more significance now are the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and the Badagry-Sokoto road, which will open many communities across the regions.
Infrastructural gaps have to be bridged. A thriving and buoyant economy has to be sustained by connectivity. This is why an effective and efficient transportation system is key.
Reforms that can resolve the lingering energy crisis would be reassuring in light of the expected support for industrialisation or production, particularly the manufacturing sub-sector, which can yield the by-products of job creation, social progress, and high competitiveness.
The student loan scheme (NELFUND) prevents dropouts in tertiary institutions and rekindles hope about the ability of the system to offer and guarantee succour to indigent youths.
The Tinubu administration has fought terror with vigour and recorded outstanding success. The achievement has to be sustained.
To discerning minds, the restructuring that would restore federalism has begun. The prospects of state policing or multi-level policing may be the baseline. State police will soon become operational.
President Tinubu is also laying a firm foundation for a virile and better tomorrow. It is mobilising and planning for a better future.
The sanctity of the ballot box is being restored.
But there is clamour for the setting up of a special tribunal or court for the trial of electoral offenders. Also, election losers should be courageous to concede defeat, as done in some advanced democracies, instead of embarking on unnecessary post-election litigation that wastes the time of the court. If all election cases can be disposed of before the inauguration date, the nation would be the better for it.
For the eager nation, the question on the minds of many citizens is: Where should Nigeria be in the next 60 years? Would it become a technological giant, a great federal democracy, a secure country, a self-sufficient nation, a united nation-state, and a world power? The answers lie in the ability of the citizens to see their fatherland as a sacred heritage they would build and nurture for their children. This will only be achieved when everyone treats Nigeria with honesty and works diligently for its steady progress, not by a babel of complaints from dishonest minds.
NOTE: Views expressed by contributors are strictly personal and not of Theliberationnews
