NIGERIA NEWS :: THE OPTIMIST VOICE

Since then Nigeria stayed adrift?

Well more or less. During the first Republic Nigerians can hold their head up high anywhere in the world. There was a time in 1962 that a popular report was saying “three developing countries would within fifteen to twenty years develop because of the quality of their leaders; India, Brazil, and Nigeria. India had Nehru a decent gentleman and a fine leader; and Nigeria had Abubakar Tafawa Balewa a man of integrity both moral and financial. I forgot who Brazil had. Today India has made it. Nigeria’s development has been interrupted, disrupted, as well as stunted by the military. India is a nuclear power today, and competes with top nations in the computer industry, builds ships and manufactures planes. India produces more doctors than any nation today. India has the second fastest developing economy in the world, after China. And Brazil is no worse.

Brazil today has one of the most advanced and developed agricultural programs in the world. Now you tell me the status of Nigeria. Incidentally, Brazil and Nigeria established their defense industries the same year. While its counterparts build defense ships, our defense industry in Zaria, for lack of better things to do manufactures only furniture. Lack of leadership, in short, is what is wrong with Nigeria.

What Nigeria lacks are leaders with vision, dedication, and concern for its people. Leaders are becoming increasingly worse. Corruption has eaten deep into its fabric. The nation has since abandoned a key sector that will determine development, and that is agriculture. Any nation that can feed its population has dealt away with half of the nation’s problems. Before oil it was our strength. Before oil 70% of our national income comes from agricultural exports such as groundnut, cotton, hides and skins, and tin. Only 30% comes from palm kennel and cocoa. But today, the vision of our founding fathers of year round farming through damming has been castrated.

Oil has become both a blessing and a curse. People are money drunk. When we came to power in the first republic after independence we spend only 3% on the Legislature as a whole, and the greatest percentage on education and today our Legislatures are spending 25% on themselves, while education languishes far behind. How can our legislators set their salary and pay themselves 20 million naira monthly and work for you and me. They still find it hard to set a minimum wage of 18 thousand for the general public. How shameful.

Where does the hope lie, if there is any?

Well, in spite of the ugly picture I have painted I remain optimistic that the nation will change and pick up where meaningful development and vision has been lost. I have been calling for Cultural Revolution, meaning change of attitude away from all the negative norms, back to our positive self. Some people seem to think when I mention revolution I mean the likes of Mao Tse Tung and the rest, no. Attitudinal changes are necessary, to turn those negative sentiments around. It is very possible because when General Murtala came and initiated similar Cultural Revolution back to positive ideals in the 1970s he achieved remarkable results within just six months. And in fairness to General Buhari, he also did his best in reversing those negative traits a decade later, and his administration did not last long either. And that may not be a coincidence by the way.

I believe that it will take vigorous attitudinal changes, and the commitment of well-meaning Nigerians to divert the counterproductive trend. And you cannot get any meaningful change with this breed of present leadership. Personally I have more hope in the younger generation, and the youth, more than the so called regional and national leaders my age. Those promising youths just need guidance and mentorship, and personally, I have been concentrating my efforts on them literally.

When your leader is visionless, not concerned or committed, they do not take the time to work for what is right for the nation and its people. For example last year I was with the leader of Ghana at that time and he was asking me what my advice was for the nation, because they have just discovered oil. I said well what do you see? He said well we do not want to be like Nigeria, to be honest with you. Our perspective is, we know that oil is an exhaustive commodity, so we are thinking of using its revenue in building some other vital sectors of our economy which should be everlasting, like agriculture. We also need to use it in educating our people and providing security. We believe the level of education of a people determines the level of its development. And security is the prerequisite to prosperity. That is important. And yes, they are all important, for without peace and security, there would never be prosperity. That, in my opinion, is a demonstration of vision.

I believe we can change. But, practically to do that you need serious prerequisites for that change. And you cannot get any meaningful change with this breed of present leadership. If they would agree, I have always advocated if you want good leaders those that will respect the will and desires of those that elected them, then we need to instill: l (A) Afrocracy - an African kind of democracy. It will require some explanation, but in short I am saying presently the nation is practicing a Eurocentric kind of democracy. And the cultural parameters of a people should determine its style of democracy. (B) Six months before elections, the government in power should be dissolved and an interim government should take the reins and arrange an election that none of them should participate in. From that we might get truly elected representatives, who owe their allegiance to the people.

NIGERIA NEWS

PART TWO MAITAMA INTERVIEW

Hadiza Wada, DBA ...April 9, 2011

If the first civilian administration after independence was that promising, how did the Military come in? Where they of a different mind-set with their civilian counterparts?

It was basically a misconception. The crisis in the West (the Yoruba area) was used as an excuse, by the coup plotters to say law and order has broken down, and it was blamed on the North. They say it was a national issue, but my honest position is that all pointers show it was tribal. Law and order was never the issue, because we had similar experience with national crises before which were all resolved, and the country moved forward. And the fact that all that were executed by the coup plotters were Northerners except one Samuel Akintola, viewed as an ally of the North is another point. All the Southern leaders escaped unhurt. That truly betrays the intent of the plotters. Let me explain to you what I mean by my position that the breakdown of law and order in the West being tabled as a reason was hogwash.

For example, in 1956 there was a census and it caused a lot of crisis that threatened the unity of the nation. The issue was tabled at the parliament. It was finally resolved after the intervention and shuttle diplomacy from well-meaning and dignified citizens. In 1964 also, a controversial election was held, where NEPU, Action Group, UMBC, and NCNC boycotted it, which also resulted in crisis. NPC and its ally in the West UNDP the party of Samuel Akintola the Western Regional leader participated, and it was announced that the two won. NCNC Party Chair Nnamdi Azikwe, the Ceremonial President at that time revolted and said he would take over the county by force. Major General Christopher Everard, a British Chief of Army Staff refused to accept Azikwe’s orders, saying his position as President of the country since independence is only ceremonial and not executive, as such his orders meant nothing. He takes orders only from the Prime Minister.

At that time, well-meaning Nigerians waded into the crisis, most especially Sir Adetokumbo Ademola, and the crisis was resolved. Sir Adetokumbo Ademola was the first indigenous Chief Justice of the Federation. Places like Eastern Nigeria and the Middle Belt where elections were not held due to the boycott, finally held their elections. Their federal representatives took their place at the table and the country moved forward. Nigeria was saved.

So after the coup, Major General Aguyi Ironsi took over. Incidentally or otherwise, Ironsi shares the same tribal affiliation with the coup plotters. At first Ironsi said he was not with the plotters, but his true colors were revealed not long after. Several controversies followed, but one of the most prominent actions Ironsi took which became the final blow was the enactment of what was tagged “The Unification Decree.” That decree became the reason why Northern Nigerians finally rioted forcefully, what was popularly called “aware” (separation).

The North staged a counter coup in July. What the Unification Decree wanted to enforce is to deal away with regional governments and in its place create one united government that literally knows no boundaries. Every place is considered one and equal. Everyone can go anywhere for an appointment or position regardless of whether he is a local resident or not. They were even saying they can move the Emir of Kano and take him to Onitsha, and that of Onitsha replace that of Sokoto or Zaria.

And honestly, even at the time of the coup, the Prime Minister was working vigorously to end the crisis in the West. I remember quite well that even the night before the Prime Minister Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was abducted and murdered, the Minister of Finance Fetus Ekotie Eboh and Mr. K. O. Mbadwe the leader of NCNC Ministers were with the Prime Minister at his residence. They were there to discuss the Western Crisis. I remember well because I was there to see him and I was told to wait because he had guests. Madakin Bauchi at that time, who was a Senator and a classmate of the Prime Minister, was telling me this personally, while we escorted the body of the Prime Minister with him from the South to Bauchi, the Prime Minister’s State of birth.

The Senator told me that the Prime Minister at the meeting that night had hammered a plan and given it to Ekotie Eboh after that meeting, and told him to go and sleep over it, and that he planned to announce that decision to the nation. His decision was to declare a state of emergency in the West and appoint an Administrator for the Western Region and replace Samuel Akintola. That was the announcement he never made. Had he been allowed to announce it, the crisis would have been averted, and no one would have used it to derail a civilian administration.

How did the Military come to hold on to power, instead of bringing the country back on track only as they first promised.

They tasted power and they also allowed themselves to be misled. The civil servants at that time who called themselves Super Permanent Secretaries, working with the military leadership, became the first group to make embezzlement the norm. The military when they came in under Major General Yakubu Gowon, decided to appoint civil servants, which was not a bad idea. People like Ayida, Aseodu, Joda and the rest. They became so powerful. But since the military were not used to leading, they were misled. Some of those civil servants persuaded, in my opinion, the military who were not trained for leadership to enrich themselves.

Such Super Permanent Secretaries became stinking rich. I say that because I know when the Military manning road blocks in Nigeria would force anyone who made the mistake of trying to bribe them to eat up the paper money (like a goat) right there on the spot. So they were okay when they started. Gowon personally was not an embezzler, but when those aorund him veered off down the corruption path, he did not stop them. General Murtala Muhammad really wanted to change the course, and if he had stayed longer in power, Nigeria as a nation might have been brought back on track. He did not last long however.

After General Murtala’s promising but short lived era, came in General Olusegun Obasanjo, who brought back the same line of corrupt practices. The Military since then began pushing in civilians to prepare grounds for them to change into civilian clothes and come back in to enrich themselves primarily as politicians. It brought in the commercialization of politics. It became politics of money today instead of issues that plague the nation. Now we wake up to the era of militicians. I call them militicians, military-politicians. By that I mean the military dictating the directions of civilian politics.