Four days ago, Nigeria as a country, celebrated
52nd anniversary of its political independence from our colonial masters. The
anniversary was celebrated without fanfare or pomp and pageantry in
acknowledgement of the global and widespread economic crisis that is top of the
agenda of most developed, developing and least developed nations.
It is also possible that the
avoidance of any form of gloating in our celebrations is a clear acceptance of
the argument of the majority that we are yet to arrive at our destination fifty
two years after the journey began.
Does any nation ever arrive
at its destination or is the life of a nation a continuous journey punctuated
by events whether remarkable or not? Yet again, one may ask, when did the life
of this country begin? Some would say it began in 1914 when the
amalgamation of the Northern Protectorate with its counterpart, the Southern
Protectorate was achieved.
At this juncture, it may
simply be noted that what is presently known as the Federal Republic of Nigeria
was not a country, at least prior to the amalgation of 1914. The indigenous and
heterogeneous groups often derogatorily refer
red to as ‘tribes’, which make up his country, existed independent of each other with different cultural and political systems. However, the Colonial masters, largely for economic and administrative reasons, felt that there was a need to merge the Northern and Southern Protectorates into a single colony.
red to as ‘tribes’, which make up his country, existed independent of each other with different cultural and political systems. However, the Colonial masters, largely for economic and administrative reasons, felt that there was a need to merge the Northern and Southern Protectorates into a single colony.
The fusion was achieved by
Lord Fredrick Luggard, the then Governor General. It has often been wondered in
several quarters whether the amalgamation was a political master stroke or an
unmitigated error. The Jury is still out. As has been acknowledged, every
journey has a beginning and it will be left to the discerning reader to
determine whether our journey as a country truly began in 1914.
Snippets from our colonial
history show that Lord Luggard made way for Sir. Hugh Clifford in 1919 or
thereabout. It was indeed Sir Clifford that laid the foundations of democracy
in the colony in that the first Nigerian Constitution of 1922 was appropriately
called the Clifford Constitution. That Constitution introduced a Legislative
Council and for the first time, enlightened Nigerians were afforded the opportunity
of a say in the political affairs of their country.
No matter how tenuous their
emergence in government was, what cannot be contradicted is that the 1922
Constitution was the first of many in the annals of this country. Historians
equally acknowledge that it was that Constitution that sowed the seeds of
nationalist movements at that time. The early Nationalists were the principal
actors in the struggle against colonialism.
Late Herbert Macaulay for
instance, is often referred to as the father of Nigerian nationalism. He was
later joined in the struggle by the likes of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chief Obafemi
Awolowo, the late Sardauna of Sokoto and so on. It is believed that even women
were not left out of the agitations that eventually led to the ouster of the
Colonialists. What is popularly known as ‘the Aba women riots of 1929’ was a
revolt against the involvement of women in the payment of tax.
Of course, the effort of
women in the achievement of political independence cannot be ignored and this
has been touted as one of the reasons for presenting the Amazons of
yester-years on the face of the proposed 5,000 Naira currency. Even though
suspended, it cannot be doubted that in the nearest future, an opportunity for
acknowledging the efforts of women in nation building will present itself.
What needs to be repeated is
that the combined pressure from men and women culminated in democratic self
rule, first, for the Western and Eastern Regions and later for the Northern
Region as a prelude for the independence of the nation from Great Britain.
However, in the light of the
fact that what calls for celebration is the 52nd anniversary of our
independence from Great Britain, it would then seem
incontestable that Nigeria was born on the 1st of October, 1960 and that it was on that date that its journey as a
nation began. A nation is akin to a human being, born naked and unable to do
things for itself, assisted for many years, weaned and let loose to cater for
his or herself.
For the human, it is those
who bring the child into the world that are responsible for its upbringing
including providing instruction as to how to survive in a competitive
environment. In the words of Hillary Clinton, formerly First Lady of the United States and new Secretary of State,
‘it takes a village’. If it takes a village to bring up a child, you may
wonder, how many persons or villages would it take to ‘bring up’ a nation?
All that can be said is
that: for a nation, the burden is often cast on the proverbial ‘founding
fathers’ whose dreams, wisdom and foresight propel the nation to greatness.
According to that belief, it was the founding fathers of the United States who dreamt of a strong
nation propelled by the ideals of equality of all human beings, that government
itself is instituted for the welfare of the governed and that every person is
entitled to the pursuit of happiness.
The dream of America’s founding fathers has been
vigorously pursued by their successors in the course of several decades or even
centuries of democratic governance. In our own case, it appears that the dreams
of our founding fathers were encapsulated in that first National Anthem which
my generation recited effortlessly. We hailed Nigeria, our own dear native land,
and we pledged that though tribe and tongue may differ, in brotherhood we
stand.
We then agreed that we were
proud to serve our sovereign motherland. For reasons that have not been
completely satisfactory, that National Anthem which acknowledged our diversity
and affirmed our unity was hastily jettisoned. In its place, we are beckoned
on, as compatriots to arise and to obey Nigeria’s call. That call is to
serve our fatherland with love, strength and faith. We then resonate in the
belief that the labour of our heroes past shall never be in vain.
In unison, we confirm our
preparedness to serve our fatherland with all our might and to produce only one
nation bound in freedom, peace and unity. Whichever of the two anthems you
choose or prefer, there is no iota of doubt that the ingredients of a national
ideology are inherent in both.
The question at this time,
at our 52nd independence anniversary, is whether we have struck the chord
embedded in both anthems – the task of building a great Nigeria? In addition, can the
successors to the founding fathers of this nation claim to have fulfilled the
promise of the anthems recited by our youth?
The answer is not hard to
find and we do not need any rocket scientist to grant us any illumination into
our current travails in the build up to our independence anniversary. A careful
examination of our recent history and social condition will leave no one in any
doubt that following an incremental deterioration in our security situation,
there has been a downgrading of our individual and collective well being.
Were we statistically
minded, for instance, it would have been easy to quantify the havoc wrought by
unmitigated armed robbery, car snatching and allied offences. How do you
quantify the economic danger posed by the rise in kidnapping in many states in
the Niger Delta and South-East regions? Where is the barometer with which we
can measure the economic mayhem arising from sustained militancy in the Niger
Delta which fortunately, was ameliorated by the amnesty programme initiated by
the Federal Government?
What about the confusion now
generated by the random deployment of Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) in
different parts of the country leading to the dislocation of social and
economic life? What about the understated impact of strikes such as the one
occasioning a disruption of fuel supply to the nation’s capital which resulted
in trauma for several residents? What about the notable consequences of
national disasters such as the recent flood in Lagos and more recently, other
parts of the country?
Can we be oblivious of the
recent declaration of a state of emergency in parts of the Northern States? In
the aggregate, it cannot be in doubt that the security of the state is the only
guarantee for order, peace and good government. This was obvious to our
founding fathers for which reason our extant constitution, in section 14(2)(b),
declares that ‘the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary
purpose of government’. National security is inseparable from the welfare of
the people for which reason, it is accorded the status of a fundamental
objective and directive principle of state policy. Can a nation celebrate
without security?
In further answer, we may
borrow a few words from a book (Foundations of a New Nigeria) edited by two
great and celebrated scholars, Sam Oyovbaire and Tunji Olagunju. In their
introduction, they argue that ‘History is a succession of events in the life of
nations, of peoples or of communities. Historical events are social
cumulations. Fundamentally, one set of identifiable events in time and space is
as much rooted in a preceding set as it is the root of succeeding events’.
‘Similarly’, they contend,
‘historical events in one place could become the genesis of events in other
places depending, of course, on the critical nature of the former. In this
manner of conceptualizing events, history could be said to be unrestricted by
space and time.’ The authors further opine that history and historical events
are not amorphous or shapeless occurrences.
On the contrary, historical
events and processes possess uniqueness which marks them as much the product of
the past and of particular places, as they are sufficiently differentiated from
their antecedents. Such uniqueness of history provides both the basis from a
break from either the past or from events of other places, as well as the basis
of a completely new future history.
The decisiveness of the
unique nature and character of historical events and processes provides the
basis for the differentiation in history. They then affirm a truism, on which
basis our country may be judged, that a set of events and processes could be
quite profound and long drawn-out with the attendant consequence that existing
structures and values of a nation become completely broken or overturned, giving
rise to new structures, institutions, values and patterns of social conduct.
With the history of Nigeria as a plank on which to
analyze her problems, Chief Arthur Nwankwo, a foremost nationalist and public affairs
analyst lambasts this country in his book NIGERIA: THE POLITICAL TRANSITION & THE FUTURE OF
DEMOCRACY as a nation in search of identity and consciousness. He argues that
the dilemma of contemporary Nigeria is mind-boggling. Nigeria is bedeviled by a myriad of
problems which require radical therapies.
In very strong words, he
compares ‘the enormous problems of the polity’ with ‘the reality of a tragic
dance of death; a ritual with no purpose and a rite in celebration of decay and
putrefaction’. Arthur Nwankwo further contends that ‘in examining the Nigerian
condition’, he is ‘reminded of that parabolic signification of communal ethos
in a society caught in the web of organized intrigue.
The belief that a disease
which is ravaging a land needs the blood of an animal matching its potency for
exoneration, exorcism and amelioration holds absolutely true for the Nigerian State’. In a tone brimming with
resignation and surrender, he alleges that ‘the only qualification to the
time-honored liberationist paradigm is that not even the blood of a mortal, and
a clansman’s at that , may have the efficacy of purgation, or the potency of
regeneration’.
As angry as his words
indicate, he however takes the path of a statesman and asks; ‘what are the
basic tentative measures likely to arrest the calm strive towards chaos and the
fatalistic journey into the molting abyss and morass of the unknown?’ He
concludes that Nigeria’s drift into chaos is both
attitudinal and institutional and his belief is that arresting the drift
demands the re-orientation of individual and collective awakening to realities.
I have listened to radio and
television discussions aimed at appraising Nigeria at 52. It appears that
there is a consensus that so soon after its Golden Jubilee anniversary, our
country is afflicted with pre-pubescent and adolescent problems. Some analysts
even remind us that the Jubilee was celebrated with an unprecedented bombing.
We need not be deterred by negative tendencies.
Touted as the most populous
black nation on earth, recognized as a country endowed with vast and extensive
human and natural resources, blessed with the potential to be what it can be,
we still suffer the misfortune of a burden of who will bell the cat i.e. the
cat of liberation from self-imposed stagnation and an unwillingness to march
into unrestrained prosperity. We are often in search of the ideas that will
give fillip to our destiny.
Thus, at independence, we
were given a constitution which tied us somehow to the Monarchy of Great
Britain. By 1963 when we parted ways with that constitution, we gave unto
ourselves a Republican Constitution. Then, anchored on allegations of
corruption and misrule, a coup d’etat overthrew that constitution and for
several years we laboured under military leadership and fought a bitter civil
war which deepened the schisms in the polity.
In 1979, the military
retreated to the Barracks in the belief that politicians had learnt their
lessons. On the last day of 1983, there was yet another coup d’etat, followed
by another in 1985 and 1993. Historians are familiar with the flip-flop in the
formulation of policies that followed including the failure of a well designed
transition to civil-rule programme.
Recognizing that it is the
inalienable right of the people to choose who should regulate their affairs,
the military again retreated to their Barracks in 1999 and have not given any
overt indication of an intention to return despite the predilections of our
politicians, some of which may sound as an invitation of some sort.
We are presently labouring
under the burden of electoral reform, constitutional amendments complicated by
dog fights at the National Assembly, a seemingly ugly cat and mouse game with
the Presidency, financial and personal insecurity and a legion of other problems.
But we are resilient and we will make it even if slowly and painfully. The fact
that we have had 12 years of unbroken civil rule is eloquent testimony to our
steadfastness.
Truly, it is a wonder that
despite our wobbling and fumbling, we have lived under the umbrella of one
Nigeria – an umbrella which is bigger than those of other rainmakers; an
umbrella that is bigger than those of ethnic jingoists and chauvinists; an
umbrella that is bigger than those of professional politicians, of certain
fraudulent professors and other professionals, and of even those who do not
like Nigeria.
I remember that date, 1st October 1960. As a primary school pupil decorated in a new
school uniform and brand new converse shoes, I took part in a march past on the
day that the Union Jack was lowered and the Green-White-Green was hoisted. That
flag will continue to fly, our frailties notwithstanding. It is my belief
that we will continue to hail Nigeria, our own dear native land.
Indeed, the labour of our heroes past shall never be in vain. Long live the
Federal Republic of Nigeria.
By Awa Kalu
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