In almost 55 years, Nigeria has witnessed 14 administrations. Eight of them were military regimes. One was an interim contraption; a mixed grill of soldiers and their civilian collaborators. Five were civilian governments. Today, the sixth civilian government, which is the 15th administration headed by Muhammadu Buhari, will start to lead the country in a new journey into the future.
Buhari was the military Head of State between 1984 and 1985. Before him was Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo, who also returned to power 20 years after he left as the Head of State.
The slow pace of development in Africa’s most populous country underscores, in part, the failure of indigenous leadership. Nigeria was projected to become a potential middle-level world power in the seventies, owing its vast natural endowment and other potentials. But, when its leaders failed to lay a strong foundation for a united nation, the country was threatened by disintegration. Nigeria has not become an economic miracle. Even the national question has remained unresolved. It has a great future ahead of it. But, only a dynamic leadership can take fulfill its dream.
At independence, the Prime Minister was the late Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa. Then, the country practiced parliamentary system. Barely six years after, the military displaced legitimate authorities. The First Republic was the era of the pathfinders who doubled as ethnic champions. The big three-Alhaji Ahmadu Bello (North), Chief Obafemi Awolowo (West) and Dr. Nnamidi Azikiwe (East)-coordinated that ethnic battle for relevance. They managed to agree on some basic federal principles. Although there were crises and tensions triggered by the hot battle for federal power, it was evident that, in an atmosphere of true federalism, the three, later four, regions were ready to develop at their pace, and within the limit of their resources.
However, the period was characterised by corruption, avarice, nepotism and rigging of elections, especially in the wild wild West. The ring leader of the coup plotters, Major. Chukwuemeka Nzeogwu, attempted to topple the Balewa Government. The project was hijacked by senior officers who later departed from the vision of the supposedly military modernisers. When Balewa was killed, soldiers of Northern origin were not happy. They sworn to avenge the blood of Bello and Balewa at a later date.
Gen. Thomas Aguity-Ironsi, the General Officer Commanding the Nigerian Army, became the Head of State in 1966. But, six months after, he was assassinated by ‘Northern’ soldiers. Ironsi came to office unprepared. He was not sensitive to the prevailing conditions and the differences among the regions, which have been aggravated by the first coup. The Head of State abolised the regions, thereby stifling the doctrine of theoretical autonomy. His unification decree was offensive to the political leaders. In fact, for six months, Ironsi could not set up a proper cabinet. He was killed at Ibadan by the gang of Theophilus Danjuma and Murtala Muhammed. Also assassinated was his host, Co,. Adekunle Fajuyi, the military governor of Western State.
The Army chief, Colonel (later General) Yakubu Gowon, assumed the reins. He spent nine years in office. Gowon did not anticipate the leadership responsibilities suddenly entrusted on his shoulders. His emergence, as claimed by the military governor of Eastern State, Col. Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, disrupted the seniority and succession pattern in the military. Brig. Babafemi Ogundipe, he insisted, should have succeeded Ironsi, instead of Jack. Also, there was pogrom in the North, with many Igbos as casualties. As the ego war between Gowon and Ojukwu persisted, Ojukwu plunged the country into war by declaring the East as the Republic of Biafra. For 30 months, the nation was at war with itself.
After winning the war, Gowon refused to set up a transition programme. Many top government officials have become so corrupt. In 1975, Gen. Murtala Muhammed toppled Gowon in a bloodless coup. Murtala stepped on toes. He was a man in a hurry. He thread the populist path, setting up a transition programme and waging war against corruption. On February 13, 1976, he was killed in a coup led by Col. Bukar Dimka. The Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters, Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo became the new Head of State. On October 1, 1979, he voluntarily handed over to President Shehu Shagari.
Nigeria practiced presidential system between 1979 and 1983. The civilians did not learn from their mistakes during previous 13 year-interregnum. They became more reckless in the Second Republic. When Awolowo warned Shagari that the ship of state was about to hit the rock, he was ignored. The economy was crumbling. Service delivery was poor. But, on December 31, 1983, the military sacked the administration. The first four years of presidential system became history. Buhari became the Head of State.
Buhari and his deputy, Gen. Tunde Idiagbon, the Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters, wanted to clear the Augean table. They waged war against graft in high places. All forms of indiscipline were not condoned. It was a government of financial accountability. Foreign debts were paid. Loopholes were bridged. But, the human rights record of the administration was poor.
In August 1985, Buhari was displaced in a palace coup by the Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida. The military President was in power for eight years. The General dribbled the country throughout his regime. It was another eight years of political, economic and social experimentation which produced no meaningful result. He set up a transition programme. A free and fair election was conducted. A winner, the late Chief Moshood Abiola, emerged. But, the exercise was criminally annulled. Despite the money wasted on the exercise, the military President subverted the project.
Babangida was succeeded after stepping aside by the Head of Interim Government, Chief Ernest Shonekan. He did not understand the setting. He was a nominal Commander-in-Chief. But, barely three months later, the Minister of Defence, Gen. Sani Abacha, shoved him aside and pronounced himself as the Head of State.
However, Abacha, who had wanted to transmute into a civilian President, died in 1998. He had waged the most cruelest war against democracy. The Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, became the Head of State. He hurriedly handed over to Chief Obasanjo in 1999.
Obasanjo ruled like a soldier that he is. He brooked no opposition. Court orders were worthless. In his first term, he tried to lay an effective foundation. He initiated a new anti-corruption course, setting up the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Matters Commission (ICPC). The two organs were later used to witch hunt political opponents. Electricity could not be fixed. Roads still remained death traps. Refineries could not be revived. Rigging became pervasive.
Obasanjo was succeeded by the late Alhaji Sheu Yar’Adua in 2007. He was slowed down by illness. He died before the expiration of his tenure. His deputy, Vice President Goodluck Jonathan, became the President. Today, he will bow out of office after six years in the saddle.
Jonathan will go down, not as a giant of history, but as a leader who could not live to the billing of leadership. Indeed, he was not adequately prepared for the massive task. Despite his high academic qualification, he could not make much difference.
The Bayelsa State-born politician was deputy governor under former Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha. He was the beneficiary of his boss’ impeachment. He was governor for a brief period before he became Yar’Adua’s running mate. When Yar’Adua was incapacitated by illness, he was liberated from the cabal and made the Acting President by Nigerians in accordance with the constitution. At work was the doctrine of necessity. Later, Dr. Jonathan succeeded his boss as the President.
In 2011, he contested his first election. As a candidate of the ruling party from a minority ethnic group, he elicited sympathy. He described himself as a shoeless boy from Otuoke, assuring that he will serve the poor. He defeated Buhari at the poll. But, there was a huge gap between expectation and reality afterwards. The challenges overwhelmed the President.
He ignored public outcry and demand for their sack. Nigerians started to have negative perception about the administration.
The ruling party was in crisis. The President could not wield it together. The Nigerian Governors’ Forum was in crisis. He took sides. For months, university, polytechnic and college teachers were on strike. Infrastructure battle stopped. During campaigns, the President’s men went to rallies with generators. Electricity was beyond reach. Corruption was on the increase. The President clarified that stealing was different from corruption. Irked by his style of leadership, former All Progressives Congress (APC) Interim Chairman Chief Bisi Akande described him as a kindergarten President. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar said Dr. Jonathan was clueless.
As 16 years of PDP’s rule will terminate today, eyes are on the new APC government. Will Buhari maintain a clean break from the past and reposition the country for excellence? Time will tell.
