Elliot Ugochukwu-Uko
11. It began to go wrong a long time ago. Nobody sought to get it right. Our leaders put the wrong foot forward very early in the day. The journey to nationhood was without a compass, no knowledgeable, dedicated and able captain, and no well-informed or well-prepared team committed to uniting the disparate motley group of independent nations, clobbered together by the colonial master.
Suspicion, doubts and paranoia ruled the hearts of the early leaders. Even before independence in 1960, ethnic conflicts had been used effectively by certain regions, as a deliberate weapon of intimidation. This weaponised ethnic and religious riots were to be effectively used to force down and force through their whims, terrorize compatriots and even bring down the first military government in the summer of 1966.
12. Test ran successfully at the 1945 Jos riots and the 1953 Kano riots, these well organized mob attacks on compatriots and orchestrated ethnic and religious riots were to remain a common and permanent feature of the political culture of the country for decades, defining her future and her growth. The alleged partiality of the colonial master, during these seasonal blood letting, concretised the loss of faith in 1966, that inspired secession and then the internecine and fratricidal war of 1967-1970.
Yet the culture continued unabated after the war, the Matsatsine, riots, the sharia riots, and the jihadist insurgency that has weakened the economy, destroyed infrastructure and brought untold human suffering to millions. Even a cartoon in faraway Denmark, article about beauty queen in Thisday newspaper etc, all led to unnecessary carnage, arson, looting and destruction of lives and property. This weaponised riots designed to intimidate and subdue others, harmed in no small way attempts at bonding and rather deepened the divide, inflaming eternal hostility.
13. Total lack of interest in deliberate programmes and schemes that would unify the different peoples into one nation, removing and reducing distrust and suspicion, as well as the preference for rather divisive template, ensured a chequered future for the country. Political leaders abandoned the earliest thriving political party, the NCNC, immediately Herbert Macaulay passed on in 1946, and Nnamdi Azikiwe emerged the new leader. Exactly three years later, the AG and the NPC emerged to champion the interest of the West and the North respectively, as if the country was preparing for an ethnic war.
Instructive, is the fact that the N in the NPC didn’t stand for Nigerian, but for Northern. Suggestive of total commitment to the welfare of the North alone. This dedication and commitment to regional interests alone, weakened the much needed cohesion that ignites nationalistic patriotism, but rather strengthening and deepening the “them against us” mentality that negatively affects the unity of the country, even to this day. Some suggest it got worse six years ago. Unifying the country, had never been seen as a priority project.
14. This negative unhealthy ethno-religious cultural rivalry, inspired the Ibadan parliament cross carpeting of 1952 and the volatile Tiv riots of the 1960s, which actually inspired the first coup de tat. The vaulting desire and craving to eternally dominate others, more than anything else, destroyed the nationalistic patriotism that heralded independence. Unnecessary and unhelpful schemes such as taking the constitution to the privy council in London, to interpret between President Azikiwe, the commander in chief and Alhaji Ribadu, the defence minister, who amongst the two, the army should obey (resolved in favour of Ribadu), struggling to deny General Ironsi, (clearly the most qualified) headship of the army, until the last minute, when it became impossible to scheme him out, taken sides with Chief Akintola against the very popular AG led by Chief Awolowo, brazenly hurting the people of Western region, etc, inflaming the anger of the populace, all fueled the crises that instituted instability in our land till this day. Has any lessons been learnt?
15 Yes, the 1963 constitution remains the best for a multicultural, heterogeneous and complex country such as ours. But ethnicity and religious bigotry, deployed by unscrupulous leaders of the first republic, to dominate others and unduly hold on to power, established the “we against them” mentality, that bugs down the economic and political growth of the country, till date. Growing nepotism, mediocrity, impunity, corruption, sectarianism, prebendalism and sectionalism that brought us where we are today, dangerously splitting the land along religious and ethnic divide. No government since independence, had sincerely addressed the great need to unify the disparate peoples of this huge land. Instead, cabals, ethnic and regional mafia, and religious cleavages, had emerged over time within the corridors power, wielding and misusing undeserved influence, inflaming and further dividing the country, as they arrogantly threw their weight around, offending others. This inordinate desire to eternally dominate others, inspired the preference for the unitary structure that has almost crippled the country. Sad.
16 That’s who we are. Angrily denying the unflattering truth, won’t help us. Only sincerely accepting our past mistakes in humility and endeavoring to mend our ways, can heal the land now. Another great evil holding down the land and inspiring great resentment and bitterness, is the deliberate and well articulated vicious intimidation, religiously applied to and on the political class of certain “conquered region. Subduing them, though in a subtle manner, and forcing them to remain compliant to the whims and caprices of the owners of Naija, in order to be allowed to thrive undisturbed within Naija’s political firmament. Oppressing their people and making it difficult for their political class to ever raise their voices in complaint. That has been single-mindedly applied effectively by, picking and imposing leaders on the region, denying same region certain sensitive appointments that would make them powerful and influential in the country, finding them qualified only to serve as spokes persons of same agencies you carefully deny them headship, subtly threatening them with investigations by anti graft federal agencies, just to intimidate them, holding unto all and every sensitive, influential and powerful positions in government, and effectively making them outsiders and spectators. That way they remain eternally weak politically and permanently fearful of their very relevance and even survival within the system, boxing them into an unholy compliant mode, in order not to get into trouble of any kind. Finally, you ruthlessly apply a code of silence about their uncomfortable condition and effectively shut them up forever.
17 But this vicious formula of eternal domination, works well, only as long as there remains the absence of committed critical mass from the oppressed region, agitating for one thing or the other. When that happens, the pseudo leaders of the region, will find themselves exposed for what they are, pushed to mend their way or come in conflict with the oppressed agitating masses. That’s where we are now. The days when leaders of the region drive their political relevance in the system, by seeking and engaging only in positions that would please owners of Naija, are gone. The era where they don’t give a damn about the issues choking and suffocating the masses of their region, is gradually, but certainly coming to an end. The era where and when they were mortally afraid of presenting the truth to the world, will slowly become history.
18 Go tell it on the high seas, the mountain top and the roof top, that unless the country changes who we are, who we have been, and transform into who we should be, we will continue to crawl and stumble. We must exorcise our sins, show remorse, face the truth about our unworking unitary structure, draft and affirm at a referendum, a new people’s constitution, anchored on true federalism, devolution of power, and resource control, thereby enthroning equity, justice, equality, fairness and level playing field for all. For who we have been, brought us to where we are today. We need to tell ourselves the truth. It’s not just possible to continue that way. Who we are, how we have mindlessly ran the country for decades and our parochial mindset, inept governance habits and our disrespect for compatriots, created the mess we’re in. Only the truth shall set us free. Disagreeing with the unedifying truth is pointless, because the world knows that’s who we are.
To be CONTINUED.
