To submit that Nigeria is burdened by its troubled past is an understatement. It is unfortunate that we the people relish in blaming the victims which translates to one another. The solutions to Nigerian problems do not lie in blaming any particular tribal group, as we are all victims of this arrangement. The series of unfortunate events that followed Nigerian independence have led to where we find ourselves today. It cannot be described as a triumph of any group over the other.
Nigerian peoples are not the first to pass through this road. Britain yoked under Pax Romana for centuries, and the Americans had to endure the oppressive regime of the British colonial masters as well. In Nigeria, genuine agitators for independence were fooled and rushed the completion of the Nigerian House without a solid foundation. No wonder then that the Nigerian House began to crumble since it was erected. It is unfortunate that we succeeded in breaking (or did we?) the chain of imperialism but failed to galvanize the much-needed ingredients for a strong nation. In order of necessity, paraphrasing late Hon. Adegoke Adelabu in his 1952 book, African In Ebullition, the new Nigeria needed intellectual awakening, economic, social cultural, ethical and spiritual revolution. Nigeria at independence was designed for only one reason - buttering the bread directly or indirectly of the colonial masters including masters disguised in the black skin as political leaders doing the bidding of our erstwhile masters.
As for the peoples - broken and demoralized struggling endlessly but nothing tangible to hold on to. It is the same story. It appears that the fate of Africans was sealed. It was this faulty establishment of a country that I was born into as a child of independence. I was assimilated, totally numbed to the tenets of my native cultural heritage. I was made to believe that western education, patriotic zeal in Nigeria, embracing either Christianity or Islam were all that I needed to be fulfilled in life. As I found my first words, I was made to curse Ojukwu as a war protagonist and later without explanation wore a cap with the inscription: "Gowon Must Never return to Nigeria". What a paradox. The seed planted over a century ago has finally germinated and the poisoned fruits it bears we are all forced to taste. The house is divided!
Since independence, the majority of Nigerian leaders have been consumed by corruption because they had focused too primarily on personal wealth rather than life-changing innovations for our nation. The glamour of power had deceived many from the pursuit of noble causes, thereby denying the citizens of the dividends of democracy. Available indicators of the quality of life for an average Nigeria against the enormous resources of the country, lead to one conclusion - failure. Nigerian GDP has grown from less than 5 billion US dollars in the 60s to over 250 billion dollars today and corresponding GNI from about $250 to over $ 2000. Human development indices – measuring standards of living, life expectancy rate, and literacy rate, among others – indicate that the Nigeria has not made significant progress in achieving the aspirations of our people over the past decades.
According to the UN Human Development Report for 2010 the mean life expectancy in sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria, is only 52 years, the lowest in all the regions of the world. Human Development Index (HDI) was introduced in 1990s as an alternative to conventional measures of national development, such as the level of income and the rate of economic growth. Nigeria's HDI is 0.459, which gives the country a rank of 156 out of 187 countries with comparable data. The HDI of Sub-Saharan Africa as a region increased from 0.365 in 1980 to 0.463 today, placing Nigeria below the regional average. The HDI trends tell an important story both at the national and regional level and highlight the colossal gaps in well-being and life chances that continue to divide our interconnected world. By comparison: Ghana is 35th (0.541), S Africa is 123rd (0.619), Egypt 113th (0.644) India 135th (0.541), Brazil 84th (0.718) USA (4th) and Norway remain number 1. In Nigeria, 70 % of the population lives on less than one (1) dollar a day.
More than five decades after independence, Nigerian governments (legitimate and illegitimate) have tried to bring about development and improve the living standards of our citizens.
Nigeria gained independence through dialog, endured oppressive military dictators, survived a senseless civil war and endured and still enduring dysfunctional democratic administrations. From Tafawa Balewa to Goodluck Jonathan, Nigerian leaders have introduced laudable developmental programs. These efforts often coined with captivating titles like National Development Planning, Operation Feed the Nation, Green Revolutions, SAP, ‘Better life’, Transformation agenda to mention a few have recorded some successes and many failures. Nigerians suffer in the midst of plenty. Late Professor Chinua Achebe said, while making remarks about the Occupy Nigeria protest a few years ago, “Nigeria is a complicated country with more than 250 ethnic groups. Protests are often a symptom of deeper rooted problems – in Nigeria’s case, resistance to a fifty year history of leaders essentially swindling the nation of its resources – $400 billion worth - and stashing most of it abroad with little in terms of infrastructure on the ground. Nigeria continues to be held back by the lack of basic amenities – there is epileptic electricity supply (often times blackouts for months), very poor schools, no standard water supply systems, bad roads, poor sanitation..Nothing works – life, schools, electricity, nothing”.
Despite our vibrant human resources, the vast stock of many failed projects in our over five decades of existence, the Nigerian leaders continue to speak without much in terms of doing. The 2015 election, represents a glitter of hope in the grim realities of the state of the Nigerian nation despite many hiccups and obvious irregularities. I am still puzzled, however, by certain fundamentals issues that question the authenticity of Nigeria as a nation. The problematic aspects of our nation building are still prevalent. For simplicity, these issues can be broadly grouped into five core interrelated issues as discussed below.
(1) Weak Political Alignment of our People On Ideological Basis. Over the past years of our national life, the troubling incidence of ethnic nationalism has posed some daunting challenges. The high point perhaps was the Biafra revolt, the scar of which is yet to heal even today. The existence of multiple ethnic nationalities does not by itself necessarily constitute a problem or an issue with political consequences. This situation alters in the process of social transformation or modernization when the interest of ethnic groups becomes elevated to the political realm. But I believe that purposeful leadership could tackle the challenges which multi-ethnic nationalism poses for governance by ensuring fair play and inclusiveness. Transparency and dedicated detribalized leadership would lead to improved governance and conflict resolutions. Citizens must elect fair-minded and effective leaders across the board. Residence of any Nigerian in any part of the country must be guaranteed every right in that region regardless of the state of origin, religion or economic standing.
(2) Inadequate Education and Skill Deficits. In the present age, human resources and ingenuity have overtaken the mere industrial powers for economic advancement. Nigerians, however, are agitated over control of the black gold - petroleum and the natural gas. Needless to say that the current oil glut has exposed the foolishness of that mindset. Nigeria, like China, India, and USA is blessed with unique human resources who have individually and collectively demonstrated their equal if not superior intellectual prowess all in the world. Our universe has witnessed numerous transformations including political, industrial, agricultural and virtual revolutions. We are in the jet age, so labeled for the paced revolutionary innovations in technology. The humanistic values neither are left behind. Our interconnectedness is the only hope for brighter future for humanity. Failure to recognize this tide of change spells doom for any nation- particularly African countries. Intellectual property, technological developments and the quality the human resources of a country will drive its 21st century economy as it has been evidently proven by the many high tech startups. It is essential that Nigeria invests massively in our children's education and necessary infrastructures, as well as providing a secure environment for learning. These interventions will ensure that Nigeria succeed on the global stage.
(3) Lack of Opportunities for Upward Mobility. It is unfortunate that the Nigerian people are robbed of their dreams. The new challenge in Nigeria, today is building a systematic capacity, which will enable the people to live well, make progress and save their future. The recent economic growth in Asia happened not only by hard work, but the enabling environment provided by their political and business leaders. A system that rewards individual’s intelligence and hard work would promote healthy competitiveness. Socioeconomic programs that urgently address education, technical training, land ownership, credit facilities and equal opportunity in an environment of effective competitiveness and economic diversification would lead to a robust infrastructural development and wealth creation. It is worth borrowing money for these types of investments. Additional benefits include enhanced production capacity and scientific innovations, which would in turn grow the nation's economy by protecting our foreign reserve.
(4) Insecurity, escalation of ethino-religious intolerance and terrorism. These final issues constitute imminent threats to the evolution of Nigeria into a modern, prosperous state. The new leadership as a matter of urgency must improve security by effective law enforcement, judicial reform, and poverty eradication. The Interventions will not necessarily succeed without addressing our troubling youth unemployment. I have heard all kind comments and condemnation of the dastardly acts being committed against our people all over the country particularly in the northeastern Nigeria. Terrible as these are, there are equally terrible daily acts of wickedness being perpetrated against Nigerians including armed robbery, extortion by civil authorities, kidnapping and ethnically motivated killings in some part of Nigeria. Until recently, at the instance of the abduction of over 200 Chibok girls there was no genuine organized civil society's rejection of oppression or violence against any of our citizens in any part o the country. If these threats are not addressed, they can deteriorate into a consuming fire that may engulf the entire nation. These changes would not materialize if we sit down and expect Mohammadu Buhari alone to work miracles. Political, industrial and intellectual leaders must be held accountable at all levels. We must demand results for our collective resources, which they have been elected to manage. This issue leads me to talk about another problem plaguing Nigeria, which is Citizen Apathy.
(5) Citizens as Drivers of Change. The catalyst for lasting change is citizen awakening. In looking back at our national history up till now, I must emphasize the need for Nigerian citizens to be fully engaged in the polity. It is true that leadership is indispensable in the progressive evolution of nation states. It is equally true that the followership has a complementary role to play. All governments at all levels have duties and responsibilities to her citizens. All citizens equally have their rights and obligations. Our citizens seem to understand their rights as citizens partially. Repeatedly we seem always, in our pronouncements, actions, and inactions, to be unaware of what our responsibilities are. Our crisis of nationhood is in a significant sense attributable to this “citizen apathy. It explains at least partly the reason while our institutions are weak.
There are worrying attitude and tendency among Nigerians to see our country as an entity owned and managed for the exclusive benefit of the political leadership - past, present and future. This attitude informs the apathy and disenchantment amongst the citizenry and public servants. Genuine public advocacy suffers when many citizens' initiatives are hindered by this mindset. Citizens seem to accept limitations to their thinking and actions based on the perception of themselves as outsiders. The political leaders are seen as the owners and controllers of public policy. This mindset has spilled over into the electoral arena and explains much of our electoral problems to-date. Nigeria is a great country that has contributed significantly in many ways to our world. We still face a challenging future just because we have failed to lay a solid foundation for a cohesive and prosperous nation.
In closing, I want to leave my readers with a phrase that was shared with me by a Nigerian friend as we sat together recently in downtown Montgomery. It was late at night, and we were outside in an open restaurant. We were wondering if we could enjoy the same open leisure in different Nigerian cities these days without fear of robbery attacks. We were also asking if anything could be done to change the destiny of our country. He told me a lesson that he had learned from his mother. It was just a statement that was very instructive and inspiring and I quote “My mom said - when it comes to doing the right thing, it is never too late or too little; whenever each and every one of us do the right thing for our fellow citizens it is still timely". Apparently, recent political events point us in the right direction. We are blessed with human and economic resources that if properly managed would transform our country. Nigerians must realize that our destiny is in our hands.
Let us think about that statement as we start earnestly building Nigeria of our dream.