October 1, the independent day of Nigeria signifies an important and sober watershed in our march towards nationhood and development. It was a day negotiated for our political independence from British rule. Nigerians worked assiduously and enthusiastically towards the realisation of that day.
All our leaders, mostly in their 30s, across all regions fought relentlessly to ensure that the Union Jack was lowered and the Green -White -Green was hoisted with the high hopes that the independence would usher in peace and prosperity for all and sundry and that the new nation would be a country where the welfare and needs of the ordinary people would be met. The hopes were indeed high and so were the promises too . Indeed, nobody had cause to doubt the prospects and promises of the newly independent Nigeria.
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However, soon after the independence, politicians became embroiled in bitter and acrimonious crises which led to the collapse of the political system and eventually culminated in a 30-month civil war and protracted military rule.
Since 1900, Nigeria has been under one form of authoritarian rule or another, be it British colonial authoritarianism, civilian autocracy or military dictatorship. The implication of this is that the Nigerian people have not had the opportunity to internalise the virtues of democracy, they have not nuanced the culture of tolerance and consensus, of patriotism and nationalism. Hence, we have developed rag-tag democratic values which have in turn, negatively impacted our political outlook. We are crawlers in democratic practice when compared to Botswana, and we have not had a consistent history of the practice of democracy and democratization as along as a country like Angola or Mozambique, neither have we had a stable democracy like that of South Africa or Namibia.
All these indicators show that there is something fundamentally wrong.. It is also indicative of the fact that even the principles and thrust of what informs political behaviour in Nigeria is highly flawed because we are yet to get it right. Verily, getting it right has become a big problem since independence.
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We have been politicking with political reforms precisely because it is self-serving not to reform the Constitution. The fractured Constitution of 1999 serves specific interests and that is why certain social forces and interest groups are highly mobilised to resist its reform. The Constitution is supposed to guide our actions and activities, yet the Constitution is full of contradictions and inconsistencies. To this effect, Nigeria at 49 is a still a political experiment.
October 1, and the national broadcast have become meaningless to the people. The interest and enthusiasm to listen to the presidential broadcast is no longer there. People are unhappy and highly de-motivated. They want an inspiring and visionary leadership; the people are tire of rhetoric, they want Nigeria to catch-up with the rest of the world.
National development starts with an acceptance of nationhood, national pride and definition of a grand vision. It needs heroes and patriots; selfless people who will take the mantle of leadership and give direction. The direction which must be predicated on basic rules and standards that are respected and followed by all. This is how great nations emerge.
Every time any progressive or innovative ideas emerge in Nigeria, they are killed. We believe so much in Pull-him-Down (Ph.D) syndrome, rather than uplift our people and our system. Nigeria’s potentials are largely ignored because the leaders do not have a clue about how to tap the resources to the fullest advantage, they are concerned not with the public good but with personal and family interests. Greed rather than service has suddenly become the definition of leadership. This way, we “talk the talk”, but cannot “walk the walk”. Resources are squandered, human beings are wasted and the environment is abused through desertification, deforestation, de-vegetation and degradation.
While many of the new democracies are waxing stronger and consolidating, Nigerian democracy is still grappling with teething problems and appear stagnantly trapped in a gray zone between democracy and repression. There is so much insincerity and selfishness in leadership. Governance is restricted to the highest bidder. Above all, our leaders rule with a culture of impunity, insensitivity and recklessness. All this alienate the people and make them to become aggrieved with the system. Any nation that treats its citizenry with disdain and disrespect will not and cannot attain progress.
While I write this article, I struggle with myself on what should be my conclusion – a prediction of hope or a future of hopelessness? .Many people have predicted that Nigeria would soon break up into three but they forget the fact that Nigeria has more than three ethnic nationalities, They also forget the fact that if the underlying problems of the country are not resolved, the break-away regions would also inherit the problems and the beat would go on and on. You can only solve a problem by getting to the very root of the problem not by a temporary lackadaisical peripheral temporary solution.
Nigeria has been ruled by the most hazardous set of leadership - a leadership that feel that it is only they who understand the problem of the country and know what is best for the country, a leadership that fail to encourage the people , take responsibility for its actions and face the consequences of its actions and or inactions. The good news is that the future is great; but in order to achieve this, w e have to take our destiny in our hands and we have everything in us to reach our destiny. For Nigeria to progress and become a respectable member of the comity of nations, she requires a sustainable leadership; a leadership that respects its people, their wishes and aspirations - a true leadership and servanthood.
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