The Nation Newspaper

Tag: independence

  • State legislators’ sudden independence

    Suddenly in a number of states, the hitherto docile and dodgy legislators are acting independent. From Enugu to Niger, Bauchi to Ebonyi, the state houses of Assembly with few weeks to the end of their tenure, and that of the governors, have developed gusto and guts, and are calling for wrestling bouts with the state chief executives, who until the recent shows, were objects of trepidation. Interestingly, the legislatures are swinging from a state of subjugation to the whims and caprices of the  governors, to attempts at complete emasculation of the state executives.

    What could be the reason for this end-time excitements? Many have put their bet on money. Take the case of Enugu State, where the hitherto invincible governor, Sullivan Chime,‘aa lawyer, has condescended’ to call a press conference, to defend himself, from the impeachment treat by a faction of the state assembly, led by Speaker Eugene Odoh. Before now, I bet that Odoh could not go to bed, without seeking ways to beg and make-up, if he suspected that the governor showed a grudge against him, however minuscule.

    Indeed, for all the years Mr Odoh presided as the Speaker, the house he led, was literary, a mere rubber-stamp,to the wishes of the state governor, however fanciful.Such was the subjugation of the state legislature to the governor, until now.So, what could have caused the split in the house, between Odoh led 15 members, and the deputy speaker, Mr Oji led, nine members? According to the speaker, (well, I mean Mr Odoh, for I do not recognise the other fanciful prop-up, Mr Nwamba, who now lays claim, to be the new speaker) Governor Chime is after him and his faction, for refusing to give him, the approval to take a further N11 billion loan.

    One glaring confirmation that the members were previously in comatose, is the other reason proffered by Odoh and his group,forseeking toimpeach the governor. According to them, the governor allegedly forged 12 billion naira supplementary budget in 2012; but he did not bother to explain to the people,why he and his group did not raise such a grievous allegation against the governor, until the year.The Odoh faction, gaming as patriots,questioned why the governor would want to take a loan, when he has few weeks to the end of his tenure.

    Governor Sullivan, who after fighting-off his benefactor and predecessor,Governor Chimaroke Nnamani, in his first term, had enjoyed untrammelled power and influence, must be wandering how come,the Lion of the Lion House, Enugu, has become an object of pun and ridicule for his subjects; for the legislators were all these years,acting likeone. Until Mr Odoh and his group, recently, but strangely,found courage, Governor Sullivan brooked no form of opposition, as he reigned. His Excellency must also be wandering, whether it is the same house that he not long ago ordered toimpeach his erstwhile deputy, Sunday Ugwu,to show the latter who was in charge, that has suddenly turned against their master.

    As the Igbo would say: okuko chubagi na’ututu, gbawa, maka imaghi ma opuru eze na abani. Literary, if a chick starts chasing you in the morning, you had better take to your heels, for you do not know whether it grew teeth, the previous night. Indeed, speaking metaphorically, these legislators were until now, mere chickens, before the governor. In his defence, the governor denied forging the 2012 supplementary budget. He also claimed that the legislators had earlier passed a resolution authorising the controversial 11 billion naira loan, and that all he requested was for further confirmationfor the facility already in use, to re-assure the bankers, who asked for that.

    The governor who before now would have ignored both the legislators and the people of state, even as nobody would have dared such a sacrilegious impunity against him, in his hey days, went ahead to deliver what he considered a clincher. He alleged: “they (the legislators) felt the administration was coming to an end and it is time to make money. They came shamelessly and said I should give them money. They thought I was asking for the loan as a parting gift. This nonsense started when they could not get me to give them money outside their allowances”.The governor wants the rest of us to believe that they are no booties to share, as their tenures come to an end. Abeg,he can tell that to the marines. Now, the governor-elect, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi,according to reports,has weighed in to settle the combatants.

    As the grandstanding ricochets, the unspoken reality is that power has changed hands, from Sullivan to Ifeanyi; and the Ebeano political family in their tradition, choose to ignominiously dethrone the reigning godfather, and enthrone a new one. Sullivan’s faith is not new. Perhaps the newest introduction to the family tree, is that unlike in the past, the official assassins sought to hew the godfather, while he was still sitting on the throne of state governor. Previously, the decapitation of a godfather starts, after he seizes to be governor, but still lays claim to be the godfather.

    One intriguing practice in our current democracy, is the use of mere legislative resolutions to approve loans.Without much ado, legislative resolutions do not have the force of law. For state governments, a combined reading of sections 120 to 123 of the 1999 constitution, shows without equivocation that all state expenditures, must be by an appropriation bill. Mutatis mutandis, sections 80 to 83 deal with the expenditure by federal government. Finally, what is happeningin Niger, Enugu, Ebonyi, Bauchi and the other states, are efforts by the legislators, emasculated over the years, to get back at the lame-duck governors.

  • I’ll ensure economic independence, says Niger governor-elect

    I’ll ensure economic independence, says Niger governor-elect

    Niger State Governor-elect Abubakar Sani Bello pledged yesterday to ensure economic independence from the Federation Account allocation, by harnessing the state’s human and natural resources.

    He urged the people to be realistic in their demand from the government, considering its economic position, following the global collapse of the price of crude oil.

    Bello, who delivered his acceptance speech in Minna after he was declared the winner of last Saturday’s election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), said: “Niger State cannot afford to continue to rely on allocation from the Federation Account and related sources for up to 80 per cent of its income.

    “My administration’s priority is to pursue a strategic direction aimed at harnessing the abundant human and natural resources of the state, to ensure its independence from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) allocation. The indigenes will be part and parcel of our decision-making process.

    “We pledge to begin doing our best without delay. We appeal to the people to appreciate the gravity of the national austerity occasioned by the global collapse in the price of crude oil. This is having an impact on the state’s revenue. We need to become realistic in our expectations. This is your government and it will soon be at your service.”

    The governor-elect promised an all-inclusive administration, especially in decision-making, saying he would serve diligently and that his administration would be just and equitable.

    He hailed the fighting spirit of his major opponent, the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP’s) candidate, Umar Nasko and praised Governor Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, saying he looked forward to meeting him to discuss how to put in place a transition programme.

    The APC leader and Deputy Governor Ahmed Musa Ibeto attributed his party’s  electoral success to God. Said he: “Without God, it would have been difficult to defeat a sitting party.”

  • Nigeria: True independence approaching

    Every country has its inner, intrinsic, structure. A country that is made up of one nationality (a people with their own homeland, culture, language, etc) is different from another country in which many different nationalities are combined. To exist in reasonable harmony, a country’s man-made structure (that is, its constitutional structure) must harmonize as much as possible with its intrinsic structure. When the leaders and rulers of a country organize their country in ways that are manifestly and defiantly disharmonious with their country’s intrinsic structure, they condemn their country to instability, discord, conflicts, and probably disintegration.

    The refusal of most Black African countries to follow this wisdom is the reason why almost all Black African countries have experienced instability, conflicts and violence since independence. European empire builders came in about 1900, each grabbed some expanses of African territory, ignored the African nationalities that inhabited each such territory, and called it a new country – with one name and one government. For the next 40 years or so, the colonial rulers were so busy trying to make profit from their venture, and they were so distracted by big troubles (two World Wars and a Great Depression) in their own continent, that they could not pay serious attention to issues such as appropriate constitutional structure for their African territories. In the course of the 1960s, under pressure from Africans who wanted colonialism to end, and from a world that was becoming hostile to imperialism, the European colonialists hurriedly cooked up some sort of leadership for their African possessions and left. That is the basic story of every Black African country until independence.

    At that point of independence, a great task fell on the shoulders of the new African leaders of each of these countries – the task to organize their country properly and give it a chance to be stable and peaceful, and to develop. The core of this task was that the new rulers should ensure that each nationality in their new country (no matter how small) would be respected in the country. In every country made up of many different nationalities and given only one central government by the colonialists, it was necessary to restructure by creating constitutions allowing the various nationalities to have some freedom to manage some important parts of their own affairs. That means we Black Africans should have chosen some sort of federal structures for most of our countries.

    Unfortunately, in not a single one of our Black African countries did the leaders even ask what needed to be done in this all-important matter of living together as one country. Just a few examples will do. In Black Africa’s first independent country, Ghana, the various nationalities asked at independence to be allowed to manage some of their own affairs locally; but their first ruler and great African hero, Dr. Nkrumah, thought that their requests were dangerous to the unity of Ghana, and he launched a political fight aimed at stamping them down. That led to crises and big trouble – all of which could have been avoided. The troubles destabilized Ghana and ultimately destroyed the great hero.  In nearly every one of our other countries, the leaders simply assumed too that their countries were already finished products, and that all they needed to do was to make their governments strong and capable of stamping down any show of freedom by any of the component nationalities. And the results since then in country after country have been conflicts, military coups and barbaric military dictatorships, mind-boggling corruption, pogroms, efforts at ethnic cleansing, or even genocide.

    South Sudan is our youngest country in Black Africa. After decades of brutal sacrifices in bush wars, South Sudan, comprising about 40 different nationalities, wrenched itself free from Arab-controlled Sudan and became an independent country in July 2011. Even before the day of independence, many leaders of the different nationalities had started to ask that the nationalities should be given some freedom to manage much of their affairs locally.  We were all very happy when the leader of the independence war, our brother Salva Kiir, as president of the new country, said during the independence celebrations that South Sudan would be a country “where cultural and ethnic diversity will be a source of pride”. Very many Black Africans (including this writer) rushed letters to the leaders of South Sudan congratulating them and begging them to be mindful of the fact that their country was a county of many different nationalities – and to avoid the mistake that other Black African countries had been making. Sadly, it has not worked. President Kiir soon rejected all advice about a federal structure of decentralization. His Vice-President and many others (belonging to nationalities different from his) accused him of aspiring to a dictatorship. The nationalities plunged into conflicts – and have been engrossed in mutual killings since then. International observers on the spot are now reporting that more than 50,000 (some say close to 100,000) have been killed – and the killings are still continuing.

    It is the same pattern as this in all our countries – with all sorts of variations of detail. The Nigerian story is easily the most bizarre and most painful of all. Nigeria is the Black African country with the greatest promise of prosperity and greatness – the home of one-fourth of all Black Africans, the most literate population at independence, and the land of enormous natural resources (including some of the richest crude oil and gas deposits on earth). To protect their economic interests in this naturally rich country after it would have become independent, the British colonialists sought to hand Nigeria, at independence, to “a friendly people”. Fearing the highly educated Yoruba and Igbo of the South, they manoeuvred the constitution, the population census, the politics and the elections, placed Nigeria’s federal power in the hands of the much weaker Hausa-Fulani Muslim elite of the North, and established the direction by which they would be able to use their control of federal power to keep controlling the country indefinitely.

    But all of those were the acts of British foreigners fending for their Britain’s interests. The duty of Nigerians was obvious and different – it was to make Nigeria successful. Unhappily, the enthroned group chose not to work for the success and greatness of Nigeria. They chose to use their federal power to entrench their sectional control eternally – in the Nigerian military, in the Nigerian federal civil service, over the states of the federation, to convert federal agencies (courts, electoral commission, police, etc) into their tools, to use federal money to corrupt, emasculate, and enslave prominent citizens, and to resist any attempt at evolving a true federal system. Even when some southerners (Obasanjo and Jonathan) have been allowed to sit on top of the system, they have been too enticed by it to make any decisive change.

    However, judging from the way Nigeria is now tottering fearfully, the rejection of the system has now gathered irresistible power. This could turn the coming election into a chaotic brawl. And, if any candidate does manage to win, he must tackle this overriding problem convincingly immediately or find most of Nigeria unwilling to accept him. The time for true independence has come – one way or other.

  • Utility Pen Boys win Independence Tournament

    There was a harvest of goals in the early hours of Tuesday at the Arepo Annual Independence Tournament as The Utility Pen Boys of Journalists Estate subdued their Voera Estate counterparts by three goals to two to win the trophy.

    The tournament which usually features all the estates in Arepo saw Journalists Estate facing Voera Estate in what at first looked like a repeat of what played out last year with the Pen Boys lifting the trophy by away goal decision after the 90 minutes ended 2-2.

    As defending champions, The Pen Boys stepped into Tuesday’s game with a superior game plan with Ben Alaiya, the Media Officer of the Super Eagles, deploying all the strategies he has learnt from Nigeria coach, Steve Keshi.

    However, against the run of play, Voera Estate savoured momentary victory as they capitalised on defensive error to register the first goal of the day.

    However, the Pen Boys fought back and secured an equaliser to end the first half one goal apiece.

    More pressure from the Pen Boys in the second half paid off as they got two consecutive goals to silence the home crowd.

    Although Voera Estate converted one of their free kicks, it was not enough to give them a draw as the visiting team defended their last goal till the final whistle that saw the game ending 3-2 in favour of the Pen Boys of Journalists estate.

    Speaking at the post-match conference, the technical adviser of Journalists’ Estate stated that he couldn’t have spent the last two years as the Media Officer of the Super Eagles for nothing.

  • Unsung heroes of Independence

    Unsung heroes of Independence

    Many  Nigerians participated in the struggle for Independence.  But, some of them have not been honoured or immortalised. MUSA ODOSHIMOKHE examines the role of the forgotten heroes.  

    The battle for Nigeria’s independence on October 1, 1960 was fought by Nigerians from all walks of life. They were inspired by the love for their fatherland. Beyond the notable heroes and celebrated nationalists, there are countless others who are not so well known, but who equally paid a prize for the liberation of the country from colonial rule. Some of them suffered incarceration and even lost their lives in the struggle.

    At independence, many thought it was the beginning of a new dawn. With the advent of self rule, they thought the problems would disappear and the generality of Nigerians would savour the fruits of independence. But, it didn’t happen that way. The independence of the country has been preserved and some minimal gains have been recorded. But the dreams of the founding fathers have been dashed. Many of the heroes of the struggle have remained unsung.

     

    Adegoke Adelabu 

    Adegoke Adelabu was a strong and vocal politician from Ibadan. He was fierce and outspoken in his days and he made remarkable impact in the struggle for independence. He won a seat in the Western Regional House of Assembly and served as Minister of Social Services and Mineral Resources as a member of the House of Representatives. As a colourful politician, he left his imprints on the sands of time. He coined the word Penkelemesi, meaning ‘peculiar mess.’

    He was a member of the National Council of Nigerian Citizens (NCNC) led by Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe. He contributed to the socio-political development of Nigeria. He struggled for the independence, but he never lived to witness the attainment of that status. In the parliament and Council of Ministers, his ideas gave birth to productive agricultural policies, especially the River Basin Development, Mass Literacy Scheme and the indigenization policy, which he put forward in 1957.

    His death in 1958, at the age of 43, unleashed communal violence in Ibadan. He was the first opposition figure to die in office. Although, he passed on at a time the country needed his parliamentary service most, the country has done very little to appreciate his contribution as the opposition leader in the Western House of Representatives.

    The uncompromising politician had a turbulent career and was arraigned for 17 times for murder, but he triumphed in all the charges proffered against him.

     

     

    Mary Okezie

    Mary Okezie was the one of the prominent women that led the Aba Women’s Riot in 1929. She was a teacher at the Anglican Mission School, Umuocham, in the present day Abia State when the riot broke out. She was very sympathetic to the cause of the rioters. Nevertheless, being a civil servant, she could not directly participate in the protest against the census, which was widely regarded as a prelude for the imposition of more taxes by the colonial government.

    Okezie submitted a memo to the commission of inquiry on the reason why the riot broke out. She founded the Ngwa Women’s Association in 1948 to promote the education and welfare of women.

     

    Ladipo Solanke

    Ladipo Solanke was a political activist with unparalleled record. He joined the Union of the Students of African Descent and championed the cause of the emergent students of African descent. He led the West Africa Students Union (WASU) and was responsible for securing hostel accommodation for students in London.

    He taught Yoruba among Nigerian students in London, who did not show much interest in African tradition and culture. He later became a broadcaster. His voice was popular on the radio, where he utilised the Yoruba Language to dish out propaganda against colonial rule. His leaflets, written in English and Yoruba, also caused panic in the rank of the colonialists. He devoted a significant portion of his time towards the betterment of the life of the people. He travelled around the sub-continent to get relief materials for the West African students and achieved a considerable success. The student body he left fought relentlessly for emancipation from imperialist domination.

    Solanke however did not live to witness the independence of Nigeria; he died in 1958 from lung cancer.

     

    H.O. Davies

    Hezekiah Oladipo Davies, popularly known as H.O. Davies, was a nationalist and lawyer, whose contribution to the Nigerian nation was momentous. He was prominent in the emerging trade union in the country and fought colonial administration through legal protests.  His grandfather was from Efon-Alaaye, Ekiti State. He was the Secretary-General of the Lagos Youth Movement, which later transformed in the Nigeria Youth Movement (NYM). The NYM was a political association that became a thorn in the flesh of colonial government. He left the association in 1951 and formed his own political party, the Nigerian Peoples’ Congress (NPC).

    He later joined the NCNC, where he and his co-travellers impacted in the polity of the country. A successful lawyer, he was honoured by the Queen of England for his distinction. He was a delegate to the Economic Council of the United Nations in 1964.

     

    Sir Adeyemo Alakija

    Sir Adeyemo Alakija was a lawyer, businessman and politician. He was the President of the Nigerian Youth Movement. He was a co-founder of the Daily Time of Nigeria, an independent newspaper that shaped the post independence era. He was largely behind the success recorded the NYM in Lagos politics.

    The contribution made by the erudite lawyer to the attainment of independence through the NYM’s persistent struggle for self governance was remarkable. Alakija’s role in the brotherhood community of Free Masons was also legendary. The Egba chief was prominent in the formation of the Egbe Omo Oduduwa and he became its first President.

     

     Mukoro Mowoe

    Mukoro Mowoe was the President-General of the Urhobo Progress Union (UPU), which was founded in 1931. He rose to prominence in the 1920s through political activism. As a shrewd businessman and politician of the first generation, he deployed his wealth to negotiate a better position for the Niger Delta. He became a thorn in the flesh of the colonialists in the march to independence.

    He was elected from the Warri Province to the first Western Regional Assembly in 1946. His role could be compared to those of foremost nationalists like Jaja of Opobo, Nana Olomu of Ebrohimi and William Pepple of Bonny.

    The UPU, which he co-founded, established the Urhobo College, Effunrun, the institution that became the citadel of learning in the country. He never succumbed to imperialist intimidation.

     

    Eniola Soyinka

    Eniola Soyinka co-founded the Egba Women Union with Mrs. Funmilayo Ransom-Kuti. Soyinka is the mother of renowned playwright, Prof. Wole Soyinka. The women activist played a prominent role in decongesting Nigeria of colonial manipulation. She was fully involved in organising workshop for illiterate Egba women to make them understand their rights as citizens.

    The contribution of this rights activist remained indelible in Nigeria, yet nothing significant has been done by succeeding administration to appreciate her efforts.

     

    Ernest Ikoli

    Ernest Ikoli hailed from Bayelsa State. He was a journalist by profession. He was one of the nationalists who fought for independence of the country. He could be described as a forgotten hero of the modern Nigeria. Ikoli, H.O. Davies and Samuel Akinsanya founded the Nigerian Youth Movement (NYM) in 1934. He rose to become the President of the organisation.  In 1942, he represented Lagos at the legislative council.

    He was not only advocating the end of colonial rule in Nigeria, but led an attack by over 1000 warrior against the Royal Niger Company trading posts. The attack on the British company led to reprisals, which eventually resulted in the British-Nembe war.

     

    Joseph Tarka

    Senator Joseph Tarka was one of the founding fathers of United Middle Belt Congress (UMBC). The union was dedicated to protecting the Middle Belt cause. By extension, advocating for self rule in Nigeria. He was elected to the Federal House of Representatives on a non party basis.

    He later became the President of UMBC in 1957 and ensured that the Nigeria got independence through legislative pronouncement at the House of Representatives.

     

    David Obadiah Lot

    David Obadiah Lot was a religious leader from Benue State. He joined the political scene in 1940 to secure better political bargain for Nigeria. In 1946, he was part of the Nigerian delegation  to London for  a constitutional conference.

    He used the Middle Belt Zone League (MLL) to pursue his dream of a better Nigeria. He was elected into the House of Representatives. Being a teacher, he groomed ardent followers who were sympathetic to the Middle Belt cause. He was equally vocal in the creation of separate state for the region in the Nigerian composition.

     

    Dr. Akinwande Savage

    The political activist was a member of the National Congress of British West Africa (NCBWA). He was resident in Ghana when the issue of independence for African states took the front burner. He returned to Nigeria in 1915 and entrenched the NCBWA in the country.

    Though, the congress did not perform up to expectation in Lagos. The domineering position of the Gold Coast group within NCBWA whittled its influence in Nigeria. The group supported local and tribal institutions to fight for self economic determination and governance.

     

    Mojola Agbebi

    Mojola Agbebi was a Baptist minister. He was formerly known as David Brown Vincent. But he later renounced the name during the wave of African nationalism. He was a strong supporter of self-rule. He used both religious and political platform to canvass for African rebirth and independence.

    He played a prominent role in the establishment of the native Baptist Church now (First African Church) in Lagos. He supported his wife’s effort in establishing the Baptist Women’s League. He presented a paper at the first Universal Races Congress in London in 1911, canvassing for the return of African churches and territory to their original owners.

     

    Chief Arthur Edward Prest

    Chief Arthur Edward Prest was a prominent Itsekiri politician from the Warri division. He was police officer before he was elected as member of the Western Regional House of Assembly.  He declared his support for the Action Congress in 1952, but left in 1957.

     

    Bode Thomas

    He was one of the founding members of the Action Group (AG). The politician called for strong regional based politics. This, according to him, would lead to competition among the regions for development and progress.

    The lawyer championed the adoption of true federalism for Nigeria.

     

    Gambo Sawaba

    The uncompromising and radical female politician dominated the northern politics, calling the authorities to recognise the role of women.

    Her bold initiatives came with useful results, as the Northern Peoples Congress (NPC) took into cognizance programmes that elevated the women folk.

  • Can Nigeria avert disintegration?

    Can Nigeria avert disintegration?

    Nigeria is marking its 54th independence anniversary, amidst the fear of insecurity and disintegration. Apart from the American prediction, recent events suggest that it is in deep trouble. Assistant Editor LEKE SALAUDEEN examines the issues threatening  national unity and their implications for the country’s future. 

    As Nigeria marks its 54th independence today, there are fears that the country faces the threat of disintegration. For some time now, a spectre of uncertainty has been hanging over 2015. The American prediction that Nigeria may disintegrate next year is beginning to sound realistic. This is considering the role the US played in the dissolution of countries like Vietnam, Korea and the Soviet Republic. Critics are always quick to refer to the US prediction as a pointer to the international validation of their position.

    To such groups, the political unrest  and seemingly intractable security challenges are signals of possible break up. But, the most potent factor for the possible break-up is the North-South divide . Sir Hugh Clifford, Governor-General of Nigeria between 1920 and 1931, described Nigeria as “a collection of independent native states, separated from one another by great distances, by differences of history and traditions and by ethnological, racial, tribal, political, social and religious barriers”.

    One of the founding fathers, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, had in 1947, referred to Nigeria as “a mere geographical expression.” A colonial document,which was  signed into law at the amalgamation of Nigeria in 1914, showed that Nigerian experiment was meant to last for 100 years, following which it should be reviewed. The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in 2006 wrote on Nigeria: “While Nigeria’s leaders are locked in a bad marriage that all dislike, but dare not leave, there are possibilities that could disrupt the precarious equilibrium in Abuja. The most important would be a junior officer coup that could destabilise the country to the extent that open warfare breaks out in many places in a sustained manner.”

    To assess the readiness of its military to respond to a civil war and conflicts in other African countries, the US military in May 2008, conducted a war games test called Unified Quest 2008. Later, a 2013 war date was set to test how Africa Command (AFRICOM) could response to a crisis in Nigeria in the event that rival factions and rebels fight to control the oil fields of the Niger Delta and government collapses. There was another security report titled: “Nigerian Unity in the Balance,”  prepared for the  United States Army War College. It warned Nigerian leaders against another civil war or an outright break-up. It said: “Having already experienced one brutal civil war, Nigeria is at risk for a recurrence of conflict of dissolution, especially since some of the underpinning motivations of the war remain unresolved.

    Despite all this, the US government keeps denying any linkage with the 2015 doomsday prediction. Former US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Terence McCully, insisted that America never predicted that Nigeria would break up by 2015, claiming that the prediction was made by a private agency that carried out a survey rather than the US government. McCully said the US government considered Nigeria a strategic partner in Africa, whose role in peace keeping operation in the continent had been pivotal.

    He said; “Nigeria is a country of diverse faiths, and draws its strength from this diversity. In spite of this, perhaps because of it, some people seek to exploit religious differences in Nigeria. But, many Nigerians have reduced to let this happen. His views were echoed by his successor , James Entwistle Who, said: “I don’t see any sign of a break up. You have challenges in this country, but you are moving forward towards a bright future. Yes, your country had a devastating civil war just like my own country. It almost tore us into two. The idea that Nigeria is going to fall apart in the coming months is news to me. I am notsure where that idea is coming from.

    Nigeria’s fomer Chief of Army Staff Lt. General Theophilus  Danjuma dismissed the speculations about disintegration. He said: “Nobody has the mandate to scatter Nigeria and nobody must be allowed to scatter Nigeria.”

    Danjuma however, added: “Our society and economy are in tatters in a highly competitive world; our children are missing out in getting qualitative and functional education; the masses of our people are chained down in dehumanising and grinding poverty while we continue to maintain a few islands of false prosperity in a turbulent ocean of penury and squalor. There cannot be peace and harmony where there is wide disparity between the few rich and multitude of poor.”

    A lecturer at the University of Lagos, Akoka,  Professor Abayomi Akinyeye, shared Danjuma’s view. He berated the US over its prediction. Akinyeye said every country has its own problem; it is not peculiar to Nigeria. He said although there are indications that all is not well with us because of the rancour and acrimony all over the place, that does not mean the country will break up. The problems are surmountable, he added.

    “Those benefitting from the system are all over the country. They will not expect the liquidation of Nigeria. The country is their investment. Those who are benefitting from the contraption will go miles to ensure that it exists.

    “It is true we have problems bordering on the unity of the country. The resolutions passed by the National Conference, if implemented, will ensure equity and justice and address other grievances among the numerous ethnicities,” he added.

    Afenifere chieftain Chief Supo Shonibare warned that, if the security challenges persist, it may lead to disintegration. He said the insurgency must be addressed to avert collapse.

    Shonibare said: “What is going on now is beyond insurrection. In a situation where a religious group is taking over land and claiming to establish a republic, the continued existence of this country is under serious threat. It is a reflection of leadership failure over the years. But, if corrective measures are put in place to address issues of education, unemployment, insecurity and poor infrastructure, there will be peace and progress”.

    He called for a political summit that will chart a new direction for the country. “It is time we have a political summit, irrespective of party affiliations to take a common stand on all factors that could lead to disintegration

    Foremost constitutional lawyer Professor Ben Nwabueze (SAN)  said Nigeria is turning into a failed state.

    He said : “As someone who has undertaken a serious intellectual study of the phenomenon of state failure, I can say without fear of contradiction that, while Nigeria may not yet be properly classified as a “failed state,”  there are however, many signs that ought to put us on notice, with a view to averting the looming disaster because, given the right mix of factors  and circumstances, no nation on earth is immuned from the scourge of failure as it is simply a matter of causes and effects.

    Nwabueze added:“In one of the chapters of my book touching on the subject, it is clearly demonstrated that Nigeria is unusually resilient to have continued to endure as a single political entity. It seems the country has not crossed the irreversible line between life and death, a reality which raises the hope of eventual revival and restoration, if we have the right mix of responsive leadership and determined followership.

    “States elsewhere with far less debilitation and institutional abuses have already gone under. For this, we have the abundant petrol-dollars still flowing from the Niger Delta to thank. Without the free oil money, I doubt, if the story would have been the same.

    “Everywhere, there are glaring symptoms indicating that all is not well. It does not require rocket science to tell that anarchy has enveloped Nigeria. Just as it is possible for a physician to tell that a patient has malaria or cancer, judging by the symptoms being manifested, it is equally possible for experts on state management and constitutionalists to tell when a particular state has failed.

    “There are degrees of state failure, ranging from the partial to the total. That explains why long-term foreign investors have been scared away from the country and those who dared to come want returns on their investment and super profits to happen within the shortest possible time because the future is abnormally unsure or the country’s risk factor is too high.

    “Nigeria is in deep trouble. For example, our laws hardly reflect any moral judgment, but the whims of those in charge; the notion of separation of powers, which would have been helpful in checking some of these negative tendencies, is being flagrantly undermined; the executive is not able or is unwilling to faithfully administer the laws of the land without fear or favour as we have seen in the cases of wicked pension scammers.

    “The judiciary cannot be trusted to fairly interpret the laws in the crucial areas of official corruption; self-help and protective ethnic militias are becoming more credible than the official police force; a general sense of insecurity as created by Boko Haram, rampaging kidnappers; and finally people have lost faith in the ability of the state to protect their lives and property.”

    Another lawyer, Chief Niyi Akintola (SAN), shares similar views with Nwabueze. He said the tension among the ethnic nationalities is very high. He warned that, if the complaints by ethnic nationalities are not addressed, Nigeria may go the way of Yugoslavia.”

    Akintola added: “Like I did say at the plenary of the National Confab, many countries that had disintegrated were killed by over-centralisation of power. Our leaders don’t appreciate the immediate and remote causes of disintegration of countries like Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, Sudan and the likes.

    “Take, for instance, the case of United Kingdom. If not for timely intervention of political leaders from all shades of opinion, Britain would have broken into two. Look at the kind of concession made by David Cameron. For almost a week, the Prime Minister and the leaders of the opposition were on their kneels begging the Scots, making concession and devolving powers ,both executive, legislative  and even judicial powers,  to Scotland and Wales.”

    To avert disintegration, critics have canvassed some solutions. Nwabueze said: “Corruption is  endemic, the state is seemingly helpless and the population  is naturally despondent; ethnic loyalty has supplanted national  sentiments while anarchy has displaced law and order.” However, the legal luminary said that Nigeria can be saved, if  those in power accept the imperatives of its continuation.

    “It is certainly not beyond the President to initiate the process of national revival that is deeper than his present transformation agenda. He can re-dedicate himself to the cause of probity and transparency, promote the rule of law and social justice, open up decent and robust debates and adhere to the immutable principle that posits that sovereignty belongs to the people by boldly divesting himself of the strictures of petty partisan politics and make himself available to the populace, who are calling for a change of the decadent social order”, Nwabueze said.

    A sociologist, Dr Ibrahim Muhammed,called for the re-evaluation of leadership.

    He  said: “The leader should not be the office, but the office must be the leader. The office has the physical control of the territory that make the nation state, make collective decisions provide reasonable public services, and be able to interact with other nation states as a full member of the international community. All these are indicators of a stable and enduring nation state.

    “When a nation-state, through the office of its leadership can no longer perform its basic responsibility of provision of security and development, and has no effective control over its territory and borders, this nation state is termed a failed state.”

     

     

     

  • Nigeria still in the woods

    Nigeria still in the woods

    •54 years after obtaining independence, leadership remains the bane of a once promising country

    It is, again, that period of the year when it is conventional to take stock of national development. Every year, analysts and critics bemoan the state of the nation, but leaders keep dancing ballet, perhaps mocking the people. Little really has changed in the last 54 years.

    At independence in 1960, expectations were high that the country would soon soar so high that it would be the envy of the world. It was expected that Nigeria would assume a role that appeared so natural in pulling other African countries out of the woods and buoying the spirit and pride of the black race. Nigeria has therefore, by failing to fulfill its destiny, not only failed her citizens, but the entire black race. It has contributed to the derision with which black people all over the world are held.

    It had been expected that within the first decade after independence, Nigeria would have sorted out the basics and set the foundation for development. This has remained a pipe dream. It took only two years for the first set of leaders to lose focus and selfishly launch at one another’s jugular, rather than join hands to realise that the hopes of the people would depend on them. It was therefore no surprise when soldiers, without articulated vision, rolled out the tanks in 63 months to sack the rudderless leadership.

    Writers and analysts have over the years identified leadership as the bane of national development. Policies are unstable and short-term. Although it has often been said that a problem identified and diagnosed is half-solved, the Nigerian leadership challenge has defied this reasoning. The fundamental challenge has been narrowed down to ill-prepared leadership, wrong recruitment processes and procedures and lack of vision. Yet, nothing has been done to correct these ills.

    On the political plane, elections are still regarded as battles for which the contestants – both the political parties and candidates – are well fortified with all forms of arsenal and whose machines are lubricated with money usually taken out of the public till. Politicians do all within their power to pervert the process and the result is the emergence of the current set of leaders.

    Thus, the economy is a casualty. Funds appropriated for welfare and security of the people as well as provision of infrastructure are diverted to private accounts in preparation for the next election. Works done are shoddy as contractors understand the language of the leaders. No sector stands out. The education sector remains comatose; hospitals designated centres of excellence have become glorified mere consulting clinics, power supply continues to haunt big and small businesses; the roads are in poor state and infrastructure for economic progress remain a source of national embarrassment, performing below even regional standards.

    Perhaps the worst evidence of retrogression is the dizzying height to which insecurity has been taken. Life, as depicted by the Hobbesian state of nature, is truly nasty, short and brutish, as death’s shadow is cast on every inch of the Nigerian land. The Boko Haram insurgency has not only claimed thousands of lives, it has also seen daring terrorists hang their flag in parts of the country

    October 1 has thus lost its mystique; the symbolism of a nation, its authority and power are now illusory. Celebration of the day that Nigeria obtained independence is therefore now a hollow ritual. It is unfortunate that the youths who should represent the face of tomorrow have been led to romanticise the past, depicting it, despite leading us to this sorry pass, as a golden era.

    On the eve of another general election, we call on all Nigerians to see it as a patriotic duty to elect leaders who can rise to the occasion. The future is here once again. It behoves us to do the needful.

     

  • Nigeria @ 54: Fear and mutual suspicion factor

    Nigeria @ 54: Fear and mutual suspicion factor

    I am not one of those who believe that Nigeria has achieved nothing since independence in 1960. There is much to count on the good side- more schools, hospitals, roads, better houses etc. But nation-building is not only about the physical. There is also the intangible aspect which must be worked to promote national unity and development.  Generally, Nigeria has failed to attain half the height she ought to, given the vast resources at her disposal. There has been a lack of capacity and capability to solve problems that hinder nation-building.  The fear and mutual suspicion factor dominates the waves and deepens hatred and distrust across country.  Nigeria is yet to develop mentally and ideologically to rise above primordial issues and bond with the good and able to become a truly great nation.

    Consequently problems of the 1960s such as ethnicity, religious differences corruption that were there at cradle are still with us today in the 21st century. In particular, fear, suspicion and distrust which tended to drive us apart at the dawn of independence have remained unabated threatening the very foundation of the country. The result is disunity – endless desire for division and temptation for break-up. We still make our decisions, choices and preferences on basis of ethnicity, religion rather than character, ability or collective benefits. In a digital era we have been unreasonably tied to the umbilical-chords and prejudices of our grandparents of the pre-analogue technology age. This is largely elite’s failure over time.  As we celebrate Nigeria at 54, we must appreciate the fragile nature of national unity and urge the elites to cultivate a healthier attitude to nation building in the years ahead. Their ‘proclivity for secession’, rock the boat, or ‘to hell with the country’ syndrome must change.

    Nigeria was destined for greatness until the politicians sowed the seed of discord and retrogression and so delayed the flight to the Promised Land.  This came through politics of hatred and bitterness which extinguished the flame of nationalism, evaporated the high hope of independence and injured the glowing sense patriotism among citizens on the morn of freedom in 1960. ‘There was a country’ wrote the celebrated man of letters – Chinua Achebe – a country of great promise imbued with love, security, riches morality, patriotism, fair-play, justice, hard work, cultural and religious tolerance  and the prospect of hitting the moon earlier than others on the same level of development . Then things went uneasy and began to fall apart rapidly as a result of the many false steps and negative activities of the political elites. They failed to make Nigerians out of Nigerians but specialized in promoting anti-nation values.

    Nigeria is a collective heritage from the British on equal basis. Like other nations, it needs the love, care, hard work, know –how, dedication of citizens and development-oriented elite to make the desired progress. However by 1966 it was clear that the country was not moving in the right direction. For instance there was evidence of corruption, nepotism, poor governance, display of sickening opulence, tribalism, misuse of religion, injustice, disregard rule of law and fair-play. The mishandling of the crisis in the western region, the imprisonment of opposition politicians such as leaders of the Action Group by the central government, the lop-sided political structure that ensured the perpetual domination of a region over other regions combined, the ill –fated and unclean census of the time, provocative statements –all indicative of inappropriate atmosphere for national unity ignited crisis of serious proportion.  The military struck in 1966 to correct the situation, fought a civil war but to no avail.

    The concern is not that these problems arose at that time but their persistence since then. The elite have proved largely unequal to the task of nation-building. There has been crippling inability to deal with issues that have threatened the unity of our dear country and tendency for misdiagnosis and misinterpretation.  Contrary to conventional belief, Nigeria’s problem is not with her cultural diversity or religious difference but elite’s incompetence over time. Nigerians have had inter –tribal and inter religious cordial relationship even before colonial times. The failure of its elites to do those things that promote national unity and development  and create sense of belonging  accounts for the debilitating fear, mutual suspicion, discontent and endless desire for separation.

    The fear factor appears to be deepening and driving the nation nearer to precipice. It has been responsible for attempts to divide the country arbitrarily dating back to the 1950s. As Ademolekun notes, these include: the threat of the Northern region to break from the country over constitutional issues in 1950, and in 1966 over the introduction of unitary administrative system by the  military government of Aguiyi  Ironsi, the threat of the west to leave Nigeria over constitutional issue in 1953, the  June 12 1993 elections and Abacha dictatorship,  threat of the East in 1966-7 as result of the pogrom in the north against the Ibos, their exodus home and subsequent declaration of the Republic of  Biafra, civil  war of 1967-70 ‘to keep Nigeria one’, Delta peoples’ republic declared by  Isaac Boro in 1966 and the Niger Delta militant activities leading to the grant of amnesty in June 2009 by President Yar’Adua, the 1990 coup against IBB government led by Major Gideon Orkar  which cut  part of north off the country, the  Boko Haram  sectarian groups war against the state and subsequent  declaration of caliphates in 2014. It should be easy to see that there was hardly a decade without serious threat to national unity induced by fear and suspicion due to the insensitivity and ineptitude of the Nigerian elite over time. In Nigeria, today is always like yesterday- the same story with no lessons learnt, no change in the elite’s mind-set. History appears repeating itself.  As the nation clocks 54, the task is to remove the bug of fear and suspicion in society and to make the elites to change  old habits, turn a new leaf and make the necessary sacrifice in the national interest. The signs around are discouraging. The old habit persists- provocative statements, intolerance, disregard for morality and rule of law, injustice and inability to punish evil, fear and suspicion is still the order of the day. Two other challenges lay before us: the 2015 General Elections and the imperative of proving wrong the prediction that Nigeria could break-up. The attitude of the elites to national issues is critical because it is the irresponsibility and bitter disagreement of the elites that result in the backwardness or fall of nations. If the Nigerian elite remain lousy, selfish and unpatriotic as ever, things would go sour as predicted.   2015 provides opportunity to prove our mettle- a spring board to heaven or hell. At 54 years, Nigeria is at the threshold of history and the moves of the elites will either make or mar her.

    • Dr Abhuere is of Centre for Child Care and Youth Development, Abuja

     

  • Nigeria at 54: Writers’ lamentation

    Nigeria at 54: Writers’ lamentation

    As Nigerians commemorate the 54th independence anniversary today, writers say it is not yet Uhuru – more should be done to protect and empower the pen-pushers.  In this report, they described what independence meant to them and lamented the security challenges that have snatched some leading scholars in the comity of writers. Evelyn Osagie writes.

    right now, I don’t have a house…I don’t have a state… I don’t have a village… I don’t even have a country. Just imagine if there is a ceremony tomorrow in your family in the village, where are you going to hold it where you don’t have a house or a village, it has been taken over. You go to your state, nobody cares about you – in my state people are more concerned with politicking, campaigns and election than the problems of the internally displaced– your family is scattered all over the place. How would you look at yourself – would you look at yourself as a Nigerian? Would you say you have a nation, since your government is not forthcoming with all these crises you have passed through for over five years? You want to tell me the government is not competent enough to bring down these insurgencies with the kind of military that we have over praised and over-estimated and yet we cannot solve the problem.  Something is wrong somewhere in our psychology as a nation.

    I am a book freak; I have all my books, 3000 of them, stored in my library in my country home. As the insurgents took over my house, my library was vandalised, burnt and looted by them and others in the community.

    “My family of two wives, children and dependants, totalling 18, were ferried out of town in the midnight on bike and it took five hours to reach the next safe area where I could pick them away. In fact, a wedding ceremony took place in the chairman’s house – they did the wedding the way we use to do our wedding. They were cool and comfortable as if they have come to stay forever. They hate anything academics to the extent that they are looking for scholars, civil servant, looking for people working for government and so on, we have to run for our dear life.

    “Today, Nigeria is faced with its worst national tragedy since independence, we have a dehumanising government, a strangulating corruption, a decadent democracy and an army of ethnic lunatics and religion fanatics let loose on the entire nation with brutal and gruesome consequences. That no serious work of creative imagination has yet come out in response to these tragedies is an indictment of the relevance and sense of history of the contemporary Nigerian writer.

    These are the lamentations of Dr Othman Abubakar, a Maiduguri based scholar and writer. But the insurgency in the North-east is not new or spontaneous, but a mere re-enactment of an existing political theatrical script “poorly directed and dramatised by one Col. Gideon Okar who, in his schism and plutonian utopianism carved out a new Nigeria where he flushed out the north-east and consigned it to hell”, according to Othman.

    The problem is not entirely that of the writer but the harsh reality of people living in areas where there are insurgencies. If nothing is done to curb the crisis, Othman fears it could get to other parts of the country. In the wake of such precedence the writer is robbed of his patriotism and national consciousness, and “instead his vision is beclouded with abstract, spurious and alien ideologies”.

    Othman’s lamentation and fear are not new. Before now, many writers have paid the ultimate prize to crisis, insecurity, violence and “brutal murder”. Prof Festus Iyayi, General Mamman Vasta, Ken Saro Wiwa and Christopher Okigbo are notable Nigerian scholars that were murdered in controversial circumstances. But, for their death, they would have swelled the ranks of literary scholars that parade renowned writers such as Prof Wole Soyinka, Prof J.P. Clark, Gabriel Okara, Elechi Amadi and Obi Chukwuemeka Ike.

    Security and protection are not new issues on the nation’s front burner. But, the fact still remains that much needs to be done to tackle the issue head on. On the death of the late Iyayi, Soyinka observed that: “The world is watching…the world is waiting and watching if the corpse shown in that image will be interred without a coroner’s inquest. To allow this to happen is to make all of us accessories to a possible crime. It means we are now attuned to the culture of impunity and forfeited all claims to elementary citizen security. Tributes ring hollow if doubts are silenced… We remain haunted by the far too frequent, unexplained decimation in the ranks of the committed. A coroner’s inquest – that is where to begin.”

    As Nigeria marks another independence day, some writers spoke on what the day means to them.

     

    National President, Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Remi Raji:

    “To me, “Independence” is the state of being beyond dependence, that point of freedom where everything about development and growth is within reach. With “independence” comes the emergence of political, literary as well as economic traditions that is if it is a real independence.

    “The challenges are legion. There is the challenge of identity and status: the writer is almost always seen as a niggling critic of the system; whereas this might be true to some extent, it becomes an impediment to any complementary relations or engagement between “authors” and “the authorities”. On account of this and perhaps for some other imprecise reasons, the writer lacks institutional support the kind of which sustains and encourages creativity and industry. Over 50 years of Independence, we still struggle to secure governmental and non-governmental support for Nigerian writer and writing; till date, there is no single, deliberate and concerted effort at developing structures like residencies and fellowships for Nigerian writers and artists. Also, there is the virtual challenge of getting the appropriate support base for publishing and marketing. This is beside the related challenge that the writer faces in matters of copyright as piracy. Unfortunately, it has become a ritual for these challenges and impediments to be reflected upon without any hope of change or transformation.

    “No doubt, there is great insecurity in the land; for the writer, it is a symbolic double scare, first, to be literate and secondly, to be creative. In these times when education is a subject of fundamentalist aggression, the writer (this includes the journalist) is endangered. How do you protect a guild, a body of writers or even individual writers who you do not consider significant in any sense of the term to national development? Clearly, the protection of the Nigerian writer is very secondary, if not an afterthought, in the system.”

     

    Former Minister of State for

    Education, Dr Jerry Agada

    “To me, independence means freedom from the shackles of colonial influences. It means being free to be able to make decisions for oneself in terms of political, economic or even cultural considerations.

    As a writer independence to me means freedom to exercise my creative talents without undue influence or inhibition from any foreign quarters or outside influence. It means the freedom to write freely and comment freely on issues that will make for betterment of the society and world at large.

    “As Nigeria celebrates her 54th independence, the writer faces the challenge of asserting his or her rightful position in the affairs of the nation. The writer still struggles to be heard and appreciated. The writer faces the challenges of getting published due to harsh economic conditions. And of course the writer faces the challange of operating in an environment where there is poor reading culture and therefore lacks patronage for his writings.

    “The writer like any other Nigerian citizen faces terrible security challenges. There are bomb blasts here and there. Suicide bombers operate with reckless abandon. Terrorists and insurgents have taken over. In all these, the writer is endangered because he would be inquisitive to write about the happenings and faces the danger of being caught up in the process. Yet I encourage writers not to be discouraged for I am confident that through their writings they can suggest ways of surmounting the security challenges and bring about protection not just for the writer but for entire citizens.”

     

    Director of Book Development Agency, Niger State, B.M Dzukogi

    “If I want to pretend I would probably say it means something to me, today. As much as I want to feel its significance, I must admit that I do forget about it these days. In fact, I had to ask today what public holiday would be observed tomorrow. And a staff of mine said ‘1st October”. This is how tragic, Nigeria has become in our lives. When we were in the primary school those days; in the seventies, we waited all year round to celebrate it. Today, it’s all zero expectation about the anniversary of the independence of Nigeria.

    “The writer is increasingly getting abandoned. The society cares only when he/she has been able to make a mark based on his personal efforts. While a few governments are trying to create platforms for the growth of writers, a greater majority are busy pumping money to the film industry and nothing for the writing community. Popular culture and sex things are now more valuable to the hard core literature. How can we as a nation, retain our identity by copying the west? Can we ever beat them in music and all those? In time we will just lose ourselves and become second class dwellers of the world. Even the Bring-Back-the-Book of GEJ is a trash – a good idea now resting in the dustbin of Aso Rock. All they needed to do that time was to ask ANA to power the project through state branches with heavy funding but our colleagues (writers) working with the president aborted the project. We are on our own in Nigeria as writers. But in Niger State, we are a pampered lot.

    “Heavily vulnerable! There is no security in Nigeria today. As an individual, you are on your own let alone the writer who will want to assume the voice of the people, the risk is more. So, the choice of an option is personal to each writer. But we have no choice than to dare the consequences of being a writer in the face of all kinds of security threats. To do otherwise is to kill the society out rightly because vagabonds will take over power. You die only once.”

     

  • Pound falls on fears of Scottish independence

    The pound has fallen to its lowest level in 10 months amid uncertainty about Scotland’s future within the United Kingdom.

    The currency fell one per cent against the dollar in early trading to $1.6159, and also fell almost one per cent against the euro to 1.2480 euro.

    It came after a YouGov poll suggested supporters of an independent Scotland had taken a narrow lead in the referendum debate for the first time.

    Just a week ago sterling was trading at $1.66 against the US dollar.

    Shares in Scottish-based firms dominated the top fallers on the stock market. Edinburgh-based Standard Life fell three per cent, Royal Bank of Scotland slipped 2.4 per cent and Lloyds Banking Group, which owns Bank of Scotland and Scottish Widows, dropped 2.7 per cent.

    Perth-based energy supplier SSE, Glasgow pumps specialist Weir Group and fund manager Aberdeen Asset Management also all fell between 1.5 per cent and 1.9 per cent.

    “The latest poll is a big wake-up call for all the investors who had not yet priced in the risk of a vote in favour of independence,” said Alexandre Baradez, chief market analyst at IG France.

    Voters in Scotland go to the polls on Thursday, September 18, when they will be asked the “Yes/No” question: “Should Scotland be an independent country?”

    The poll, which featured in the Sunday Times, suggested that – of those who had made up their mind – 51 per cent would vote to leave the UK, compared to 49 per cent who would vote not to.

    There is considerable uncertainty surrounding what currency arrangements an independent Scotland would make, with politicians in Westminster saying a formal currency union would be impossible.

    Scotland could use the pound informally without control over policy in any case – as it could do with any other currency.