It amazes me how foreigners – most know next to nothing about our culture, politics or unique peculiarities – come into Nigeria and make headway while citizens just ‘can’t get it.’ Even the most casual observer can tell you that this nation has potentials for greatness, but that’s where it ends, mere ‘potentials.’ The answer one old song provides “is blowing in the wind.”
An Indian businessman I interviewed while I was still a fulltime journalist told me that “there is money everywhere on the streets of Nigeria, but it’s only those with a different type of ‘eye’ that can see the money.” He used his business to teach me that lesson. He came into Nigeria with just a small briefcase and within years was able to build a multimillion naira business employing over 50 Nigerians then.
It is these potential that Dr. Mou wrote about in his book. The potential notwithstanding, he posed series of salient questions that often stands in the way of actualising them: Why have poverty, unemployment and insecurity continued to exacerbate on the Africa continent, including Nigeria, with all her developmental potential? Why has bad governance and abuse of human right continued on the continent? Why has there been no much difference even when they transit from military to civil democracy regimes? Why is democracy and good governance not succeeding very fast in Africa nations? What is required to make Nigeria to become truly the Africa Giant? Are there signs that this can be done or it is already happening?
This book addresses these questions by examining the relations between the state, politics and public policy in Nigeria. It also postulates some recommendations as to how these challenges can be tackled for Nigeria and indeed Africa, to move forward.
In a statement most might find controversial, the author points out that there is no question that the discussion of the state, politics and public policy in Nigeria in the book has shown that “Nigeria had great leaders overtime, military and civilians alike. They have also, in varying degrees, displayed a high sense of motivation, and dedication to their country’s progress and development.”
Why did he make this sweeping statement? From General Yakubu Gowon’s “First and second National Development Plan,” to Alhaji Shehu Shagari’s “Green Revolution” to General Ibrahim Babangida’s “Integrated Rural Development and Social Mobilization” and General Olusegun Obasanjo’s “National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy” (NEEDS), he believes efforts has been made to develop the country. Even the late Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s “Seven Point Agenda” and Dr. Goodluck Jonathan’s is “Vision 20:20:20 and Transformation Agenda” have positive elements.
The book relies on their massive interventions in the economy and society, as reflected in the catalogues of reforms, restructuring, liberalisation, privatisation, commercialisation and several other activities they had carried out. “It is obvious that each and every one of Nigeria’s Heads of states or Presidents believed strongly that they were trying to MAKE NIGERIA INTO AN AFRICAN GIANT!”
He critically examined their promises, agendas, policies, programmes and projects regarding economic, political and social development of Nigeria. In addition, he dispassionately analysed their policies concerning national security, public infrastructures, good governance and democracy. “There is also no question that even on these scores,” he wrote, “they have been very active and impressive given the scope and degree of actions they took on these subjects for the progress and development of Nigeria.”
In arriving at this position, he disagrees with what Claude Ake, who said in his topical book, “Development and Democracy in Africa,” that these leaders never intended to bring about development and democracy in the first place. He also took a counter position on Nasir Ahmed El-Rufai’s conclusion in his seminal book “The Accidental Public Servant,” on three administrations; Obasanjo, Yar’Adua and Jonathan.
El-Rufai had written: “We have surrendered the bulk of our political space to the dishonorable, incompetent and worse, to the criminally-minded. This is the basic problem of Nigeria. The bright Nigerian is either abroad, or at home in the academia… This is an undeniable fact; the dregs of our society dominate the politics and have created a negative image that makes talented people spurn helping the country.”
Not done, he also did not “accept completely” Martins Meredith’s deductions from his excellent book “The State of Africa: A History of Fifty Year of Independence” that “At the core of the crisis is the failure of the Africa leader to provide effective government. Few countries have experienced wise or competent leadership… Even when regimes have changed hands, new government, whatever promises they made on arrivals have lost little time adopting the habits of their predecessors.”
Neither did he object to “the gross generalisations” by Wale Adebanwi in his book: “A Paradise for Maggots: the Story of a Nigerian Anti-Graft Czar,” that with “the exception of his idol, Nuhu Ribadu, everyone else in Nigerian Government and leadership is ‘corrupt’ and living in Nigeria which to him is, a ‘Paradise of Maggot.’ Because his study is descriptive rather that explanatory, he fails to explain why corruption is so rampant in Nigeria and also why it has not been stopped thus far.”
On what plank then is his optimism about Nigeria’s greatness based? The answer- the book notes – will depend on answering this fundamental question: Are our leaders and therefore the Nigerian State acting autonomously, or has the Nigerian state been captured by the dominant classes and groups-local or international?
“Just like national security or any policy of government can be captured…the State itself can also be captured. When this happens, it loses its autonomy and all state actions and policies are made to serve the dominant classes or groups that have captured the State. No matter how hard political leaders or state managers’ work, their actions would be promoting the dominant interests. These interests are thus, defended and promoted beyond the interests of the subordinate groups or classes.
Based on theoretical and substantive analysis undertaken, the author believes it is obvious that the Nigerian state is under intense challenges arising from the contradictions of the Nigerian society. These contradictions, based on class and other social cleavages, tend to be worse when the society is experiencing security, political, social and economic crises like is being experienced now.
These developments – capture of the state and its policies by the dominant groups and classes – the author points out is what stands against Nigeria’s race to greatness because it violates the essence of good governance which essentially implies improvements in the welfare and wellbeing of the citizens.
This is “not happening fast enough…While the general national economic growth indices such as GDP are going up, the reverse is the case with those indices relating to issues that matter the most to the generality of the citizens, particularly poverty eradication and job creation.”
The major way out of the prevailing structures, interests and agents that now control, not just the state and its leaders and policies, with negative consequences for the destiny of Nigeria and the welfare and prosperity of her citizens – the book notes – is to reassert state autonomy.
It concludes with this: “as the security, economic, political and social problems and crises intensify; the Nigerian leaders, even if it is simply for their self-preservation, will be forced by the objective conditions, to move against the interests of these dominant classes and groups as well as their collaborators – strategically placed in key MDAs across Nigeria.”
Is this happening already?