Elliot Ugochukwu-Uko
19 For a pretty long time, commentators glibly decorated our founding fathers, as saints, angels and perfect leaders who were leading Nigeria to paradise, when out of the blues, very ambitious soldiers, upset the applecart and truncated our certain march to Eldorado. Well, nothing could be farther from the truth. The coup was bad enough, the sectional pattern of the killings, was wrong. But the country was drifting and the coup was welcomed with jubilation.
The foundation of the new country seemed to be deliberately manipulated to favour certain folks. The most impactful of all the colonial administrators, came here after a stint in the Sudan, where he encouraged and experimented “successfully” with the concept of using established structures on ground in administering the land, in order to save costs. Justice, equity and stability of the land, wasn’t on his mind. He used the stronger and dominant North to hold down the South, by simply cutting a deal with Northern leaders: Just do as we say and we won’t uproot your structure. Now, Northern Sudan was a satellite citadel for the propagation of one of the great religions from the middle east for centuries. The South were designated animists. So, they strengthened the hold of the North over the South by ruling thr land through them, thereby empowering them.
20 Replicating that here, was too tempting and irresistible to the colonial administrator. That would save the British empire, not just costs, but also administrative headaches. Again, he conveniently made a deal with the traditional institutions and preferred ruling through the traditional/religious leaders. A little digression, current events in the Sudan, have proven that the suppression of the South by the North, was actually the only thing that held the country together. When Collin Powell, as US secretary of state, helped John Garang by convincing President George W Bush, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, to push for a referendum for South Sudan at the UN, in order to weaken religious extremists and terrorists who used Khartoum as a base and bastion of further incursions into Sub saharan Africa, the reality of the situation becomes clearer to the world. Both countries reel under varying degrees of instability today. The North, because they don’t have Southerners to subdue and oppress anymore, the only thing that sustained them for centuries. And the South, because the entire leadership was blown up in the air, creating an avoidable leadership vacuum, as rookies struggled to emerge as leaders, throwing the new country into inevitable instability.
21 Back to over a century ago. Because Southern Nigeria was richer than the North, something definitely had to be done to hold the large country together. This experiment of indirect rule through established traditional structures, saved costs and headaches for the colonial administrators, but also not only strengthened those traditional institutions, but also gave the favoured chosen rulers, the impression that they would forever rule and dominate the new country as a privilege and a right. This born to rule mentality of: If we aren’t in charge, then we won’t be part of the new country, continued to rear its head at all the pre independence constitutional conferences. The colonial master who desired a very big colony, continued to pamper and indulge this particular region all through. Moreover, the seeming indolent disposition of the masses of this particular region, most probably due to centuries-old strangle hold of power over them, mostly through conquest, suited the colonial master, who naturally preffered to work with the region. He therefore deliberately subverted and undermined other regions in order to empower and enthrone his preferred region. From day one, when he assisted them through false census figures and rigged elections, he knew, it would be a helluva of a job, sustaining the unequal arrangement he patched up for his second most populous colony.
22 He had to keep a close watchful eye on the huge African colony. Moreover discovery of oil meant a huge economic and political interest in the new country. These were the facts on ground when the union Jack was lowered on 1st October 1960. The founders, perhaps out of excitement, certainly didn’t mark unifying the country as a priority project. The country is paying a heavy price today for that grave error. The things they did and the things they failed to do in the first five years into the life of the young country, brought us to where we are today. Aside the fact that they actually tried to develop the country through certain quite laudable projects and the fact that they stole very little from government coffers, in comparison with the gladiators of today, their introduction of sectarianism and ethnic supremacy, set the stage for the troubles that have eaten up the country. Plots to eternally dominate others snowballed into regional battles everywhere. The civil service wasn’t spared. Crushing opponents by all means and promotion of less qualified people actually began in their era. Chief Awolowo shouldn’t have been jailed. The Tiv shouldn’t have been brutally crushed. Leaders shouldn’t have seen their region as their country and other regions as foreigners. Scheming to weaken other regions by assisting clearly unpopular leaders to be imposed on them willy nilly, was very wrong. In this connection, Chief Akintola shouldn’t have been flagrantly imposed on the Western region.
23 Promotions and postings in the military and other government agencies shouldn’t have been inspired by the craving for regional supremacy. Political parties shouldn’t have been designed purely with ethnic and regional domination of others in mind. Leaders should have gone the extra mile to create programmes and initiatives that would instill love of the country over regional affinity and unity of aspirations and vision. It remains a grave sin for a regional leader, to stretch his hand into another region, in order to impose his preferred leader on them. We are suffering from the consequences of the many sins of our past leaders. It is simply not true that they were perfect beings who did no wrong. We are suffering from their mistakes. As a matter of fact, the ascendancy of the military boys and their own very evident bigger mistakes, emanated from the prevailing “winner takes all” frame of mind that encouraged nepotism, mediocrity and impunity. The soldiers, mostly in their 30s, inexperienced and largely politically naive, misused enormous powers at their disposal and drove the country further down the moral slope, deepening our problems.
24 The misgovernance template introduced and entrenched by military regimes, their penchant for audacious projects and the brazen manner, they bent the rules, changed the norms and twisted all known time-tested ethos, to suit their whims and caprices, broke all records. The ousted political class would always validate every military regime, by falling over themselves as they jostle for board appointments and other favours from the military boys. Everybody conveniently looking away from their excesses, in preference for patronage and accommodation. Slowly and gradually, the wrong, unkind and unhealthy culture of nepotism, impunity and mediocrity, effectively enveloped the land, as everyone was afraid of getting into trouble with the military boys. The country began to accept the new normal of oppression, bad governance, cash-guzzling white elephant projects, mind-boggling corruption, weak institutions and subtle born-to-rule ideology. Some Nigerians became privileged citizens while others who lost a war, are made to be grateful for any crumbs thrown their way. Unequal, unjust and unfair treatment of some folks didn’t raise eyebrows. We only complain when we are directly affected. Accordingly, nobody cared if the constitution would enthrone stability and rapid economic and political growth. The land drifted.
25 These anomalies, over time, gave birth to the iIl feelings, distrust, resentment, fears, bitterness and frustrations that eventually gave birth to doubts, anger, lack of interest, loss of faith and restiveness that fueled agitations. While not defending or even approving the errors and mistakes of the agitators, it is safe to say that driving their humiliation to the hilt, by addressing them as dot in a circle and five percent people, while dutifully excluding them in all things, was actually like putting pepper in their eyes and telling them “do your worse”.
The agitation can be contained, when we sincerely address the root causes. By claiming that our past leaders made no mistakes, we are inadvertently making it difficult, if not impossible to identify and correct past errors that brought us here. It is only through avoiding past errors that we can shape a better future.
To be CONTINUED.
