A cursory look at our nation's history in the past fifty years of political
independence presents a sordid staccato of tortuous peristalsis. Albeit spiced with patchy records of success and occasional noble intentions, the overall aggregate of our historical journey so far, especially when viewed in respect of our God-given potentials, has been very awry.
A cursory look at our nation's history in the past fifty years of political
independence presents a sordid staccato of tortuous peristalsis. Albeit spiced with patchy records of success and occasional noble intentions, the overall aggregate of our historical journey so far, especially when viewed in respect of our God-given potentials, has been very awry.
October 1, 1960 marked a significant watershed in the history of Nigeria. It wasnthe day we, as a nation, became politically independent from erstwhile British colonial rule.
Documentary as well as photographic evidences attested to the radiance of hope and joy unspeakable on the faces of the celebrants- Nigerians of all but different ethnic backgrounds jubilated in a common cause in anticipation of a brighter and more glorious future. Souvenirs and memorabilia befitting of such an august occasion adorned a pride of place in many a home several years after the colourful celebration of our independence. My maternal grand-mother still had some of hers (souvenirs) until she gave up the ghost in 1983.
Whatever the alleged inadequacies, shortcomings misdemeanours or atrocities of the colonial administration of Nigeria, it was on record that they charted an orderly course for the country in both the private and public sectors. Health care, education, agriculture, trade/industry, transport/communication etc were each given an operational pattern- a legacy by way of a functional system with which to carry on the art of civil government and statecraft. And of course whose responsibility was it if not ours to improve on whatever legacy the British had left for us? Nobody did; and still does expect Nigeria to be coasting freely without setbacks and difficulties. To exercise such a thought would be rather naive and in fact very uncanny simply because the pathway of any kind of growth and development for any nation is inevitably fraught with diverse hydra-headed challenges but which could usually be overcome by its citizenry's collective political will of purpose. A political will of the type born out of genuine patriotism by the entire populace for the common good of the nation. The kind of collective self belief and determination with which the Tiger Economies have, against all odds, been able to provide basic infrastructure for their countries, thus making their countries attractive to international investors and transnational corporations. The Tiger Economies never had to employ professionally crafted words of propaganda to persuade and woo foreign investors. Today they are economic forces to reckon with; and have earned the respect of the international community.
We have since derailed from the path of coherent unified polity and national development owing to the amateurish and corrupt way in which we have been handling the affairs of our nation. We have been going down the chute of socio-political regression that seems not to bother the so-called ruling class of different political persuasions but in a "sworn conspiracy" to bleed our country to death.
Like many Nigerians, I utterly refuse to be pessimistic in spite of our having drastically fallen short of expectation. However, I refuse to celebrate the nation's golden jubilee even though it is a once in a life time opportunity. I suggest that October 1 2010 should be a period of sober reflections for all Nigerians. It should be a day to tearfully recapture the events of 50 years ago by listening to the inspirational speeches; and watching the video/DVD of that day for an honest unbiased self appraisal of our lot at fifty years of political independence against the backdrop of our enormous resources and potentials, which have been grossly mismanaged. By so doing we might come to our senses and begin to embark on purposeful and strategic exercises of damage limitation, not by way of propaganda, but by seriously addressing the problems of power supply, agriculture, industrialization, healthcare, education, road/rail transportation networks, corruption, security, technology etc. If we could expunge our "cancer" of corruption, open up and expand all sectors of our economy with massive cash injection (not meant for rogues' pockets) we would substantially alleviate unemployment as well as poverty. For a country in the process of development and with our kind of revenue, unemployment/poverty should be at the barest minimum if only we could ensure an honest accountability and prudent management of all budgetary/fiscal disbursements to various segments of the economy both in the private and public sectors at the federal, state and local government levels.
There are endless construction and maintenance opportunities that will employ workers through the cross-section of our social strata. Beside this, a lot of Nigerians are enterprising; and they know what to do for self employment which would in turn create employment for others if we had efficient power supply.
What exactly are we supposed to be celebrating? Is it our mega-stupendous
petro-dollar revenue for which there has never been an iota of transparent
accountability? I personally refuse to rejoice in the odious fact that the 8th largest producer of crude oil in the world has been unable to provide stable power supply- the most basic infrastructure for industrialization and economic growth/development, for her citizens. Today all the major manufacturing industries have relocated to other neighbouring countries where power is constantly available for for smooth operation. For years successive Nigerian governments, inclusive of the most draconian of the military juntas, have turned a blind eye to the immeasurable cubic litres of natural gas being flared daily in the Niger Delta. The copious amount of natural gas being flared can be easily converted to energy in order to alleviate the plight of our ever-ailing energy sector. Worse still only our country could tolerate the scale of environmental havoc wreaked by crass mindless modus operandi of the various transnational oil companies in the Niger Delta. We are all living witnesses to how the USA has held BP fully accountable for the accidental oil discharge from BP's oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. BP is being compelled to clean up its mess and pay colossal compensations to all affected businesses, individuals and communities. For years Nigeria has chosen not to expose clearly avoidable environmental disasters caused by sheer recklessness and apathy on the part of the oil companies operating in the Niger Delta to the international community. We have failed to attend to the root causes and core issues of the on-going problems of that part of the country. And yet, we have "officially" earmarked 10 billion Naira to celebrate 50 years of retrogression.
I opt out of the celebration of our inability, despite being the 8th largest oil producer, to successfully run our own refineries. Ours is probably the only major oil producing country that imports petroleum products. The petro-chemical industries that we ought have built at much cheaper costs many years ago now cost more than an arm and a leg to construct. Exporting crude is a senseless "dis-economy" that can only be embraced for long by people of "anal intelligence" regardless of how high the cost per barrel. When crude oil is refined, there are many other by-products (about 71) that are obtainable from the crude. All the by-products are very essential industrial consumables which are in perpetual global demand. Thus, we will always be at an economic disadvantage even if we get to sell crude oil at $250 per barrel. But I believe we can fare and do much better if we choose to. We are not a people of "anal intelligence" at all. On the contrary, we are highly intelligent people- a statement of fact attested to by Mr. Harold Brown, a former British colonial administrator in Nigeria in the 1950s. The Ajaokuta steel rolling mill that I have hearing of since my primary school days in the 1960s isn't yet completed not to talk of going into production. And yet we are earmarking ten billion Naira to celebrate fifty years of ineptitude.
Very typical of us, isn't it? After all a spooky press once claimed to have
conducted a survey in which Nigerians came tops as the so-called "happiest
people in the world". But every reasonable Nigerian knows that the phrase
"Nigerians as the happiest people in the world" was a euphemism of polite insult coined to describe our penchant notoriety for rapacious indulgence in sensual pleasures. I wonder why no press of international repute has done a similar survey on countless honest, hard-working, intelligent, well-educated men/women of integrity and culture- professionals, businessmen/women, scholars, sportsmen and women both in the diasporas and within Nigeria. If foreign media delight to portray us in a negative light, should we as a people continue to provide them with the ammunition by our incessant acts of thoughtlessness? Nigeria, the very worst in relative comparison among the world's major oil producers is the one that has voted an initial whopping 10 billion Naira to celebrate fifty years of our lurch on the tracks socio-economic development and political stability. Well a word of advice for those of celebrating before you start branding a Mr. Killjoy a.k.a the Scrooge. Do yourselves a favour by having standby heavy duty industrial generators in case there is power failure.
How can we be celebrating after we have lost our lead position in
the exportation of palm produce, cocoa, rubber, peanuts (ground nuts), timber etc? As a matter of fact, our country by now should be thriving with
manufacturing industries transforming the afore-mentioned raw materials into finished secondary products for export. Manufacturing industries are noted for employing large workforce; and manufactured gods earn higher revenue because they sell much more than raw materials. But rather than this being the case, we would soon be importing palm oil from a country that came to learn the science of palm produce from us in the days of our past glory.
I am not ignoring the fact that a vast proportion of individual Nigerians have made laudable achievements in all areas life. Nigerians have no doubt been the first in Africa to hold very high profile international posts. Individuals have excelled in the sciences,medicine, education, law, music, arts, sports, business etc both at national and international levels. We were the first country to win the under 17 world cup football tournament and have even produced the first African Nobel Laureate for literature. The list is endless. But we have not been able to jell together with the right political chemistry necessary for our socio-economic development and growth as a nation.
An improved replica of the Nigeria described by Mr. Harold Smith- the Oxford educated British colonial administrator prior to our political independence would be a cause of celebration for me. And I quote Mr. Harold Smith
verbatim:
"The Igbos were highly intelligent, full of ambition and drive. They were
restless but hardworking and confident"
"The Yoruba or the Lagosian in a secure senior Government position had the
character and demeanour of a very wise judge or professor. These were people of the highest character, often self educated to the highest possible level, yet modest and polite....Men of the character of H.O. Davies, the Lagos barrister whose acquaintance I had the honour to make, were extremely impressive by any standards. These men, and I think Awolowo must be the most obvious example, would have been exceptional leaders of men in any Western state"
"And if one thought Nigerian men were often brilliant, one only had to meet some Nigerian women to be stunned by their high intelligence, perception and wit. It would not surprise me if West Africans proved to be of a higher intelligence than many people in Western Europe"
The above quotes happened as far back as mid 1950s; and I sincerely believe that Mr. Harold Smith's statements are equally true and valid as well as applicable to all the ethnic groups in Nigeria without exception. What exactly is our problem that we have not been able to work together as one nation towards the common goal of national development, progress, unity and political stability.
I would want to round off this brief write with another quote from Titus Livy's (59 B.C - A.D 17) History of Rome:
"The study of history is the best medicine for a sick mind; for in history you have a record of the infinite variety of human experience plainly set out for all to see; and in that record you can find for yourself and your country both examples and warnings; fine things to take as models, base things , rotten through and through, to avoid"
The onus is upon us Nigerians to learn the good and beneficial approaches of certain countries that have successfully achieved national development,
progress and political stability in spite of ethnic plurality. We are not
supposed to ape any particular country but to to adapt a broad-based
ideological consensus from varied models for our own political efficacy.
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