Is there a reason to celebrate the 65th anniversary of Nigeria as an independent country? Some doubt it, mainly because of the many twists, turns and rocky rides. But, others contend that there are reasons to mark the landmark because the country has survived despite so many challenges that could have truncated the journey.
But, here we are.
The first indication that it would not be a smooth ride came soon after the Union Jack was lowered at the complex later named after the first Prime Minister, Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa. Chief Obafemi Awolowo could hardly hide his indignation in his memoirs as he recalled that he was tucked in a corner at the event, far away from where other main actors in the independence struggle sat. Pettiness at play.
Since the National Council of Nigerian Citizens (NCNC), one of the three major political parties opted to align with the Northern People’s Congress (NPC), leaving the Action Group (AG) in the lurch; it was obvious that some dirty fight lurked. Federal might was unleashed to dislodge the AG from the Western Region where it held sway, with a breakaway faction led by Chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola propped up to seize control.
The process started as early as 1962, when an externally-induced implosion was made to hit the AG like a dynamite. Soon after came the Coker Commission of Enquiry, the Treasonable Felony Trial, restriction and later jailing of the AG leader and founder, Chief Awolowo.
Those not blinded by partisanship knew going that route would not end well as Awolowo was a cult figure in the Western Region. Before the Federal Elections of 1964, the alliance between NCNC and NPC had disintegrated. Two broad alliances went into that election. The NCNC and the Akintola splinter group formed the Nigerian National Alliance (NNA) while the NCNC and AG formed the United Progressive Grand Alliance (UPGA). Obviously AG was the party of the Western Region, but the federal elections and the consequent regional election of January 1965 were ignobly rigged in favour of the NNA to dislodge the AG.
Politically, the trend has continued since then. Each election was hotly contested and rejected by the losers. It could hardly be said that, beyond electoral infrastructure put in place at so much cost, Nigeria has failed to mature on election matters over the years.
Apparently, for every action, there is a reaction. The manipulation of the polity led to the military coup of 1966. And, consequently, there was the pogrom, the counter-coup of July 1966 and the civil war that boiled over the following year. In the process, no institution of state was spared the accompanying desecration, including the military.
Although General Yakubu Gowon who was head of state when the war ended in January 1970 announced that there was ”no victor, no vanquished”, it was obvious that the Biafra secession bid had been quashed and there were consequences. Till date, the South East that sought to leave the union has continued to complain about marginalisation; at least politically.
Such political mistrust among the various parts of the country could not but have affected the economy, social relations, and thus, development. Insecurity, though diminished in some parts, is a concern in other parts of the country. In the North East, there is the Boko Haram and Ansaru insurgency that has raged for more than 16 years. It has claimed so many lives and herded many into poorly funded refugee camps. Happily, two kingpins of the groups have been nabbed. It’s progress.
It has spread to the North Central, especially in Plateau and Benue States, where some schools and targeted communities have not been spared. In the region, it took the form of religious intolerance, well-armed herders taking on farmers and wanton destruction of farms, homes and lives by terrorists. In the North West also, banditry and kidnapping have been the order of the day as enemies of state and criminals have continued to unleash their fury on the people. Kaduna State brandishes hope in the region and there may be a berth of peace in places like Zamfara and Katsina where there are still challenges.
In other parts of the country, the South West and South South, kidnapping for ransom has been on a lower scale. In all cases, the police and armed forces have recorded advances. Much work remains. The destruction of livelihoods has pushed more Nigerians into the poverty net.
Thus, until the Tinubu administration courageously came up with measures to check the periodic eruption of economic recession, it was as if successive governments, military or civilian, had no clue what to do. For two years now, the economy appears to have become stable, though it still has a long way to go.
The President said at the coronation of the Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, last week, that the economy has turned the bend. But, has it really? The macro-economic indices suggest that it has, with headline inflation constantly heading South month-on-month for about half a year now, and the GDP recording sometimes record increase. But, it is yet to percolate to the common man who, therefore, finds it difficult to believe the authorities. It is expected that the result would be more visible in 2026.
The story of the nation since independence has been a talent of official squandermania and brigandage, with little vision to plan and save. The subsidy scam and currency manipulation brought the economy to a state where we borrowed to pay routine government bills. Hence the task of rescue before the Tinubu administration thst has headed off the economic apocalypse with his reforms.
Obviously, where the economy has been in the doldrums for so long, the health and education sectors could only have received some battering. Neither has received up to seven per cent allocation from the budget in the past 20 years. Political leaders express disgust for the local health institutions by patronising foreign hospitals for the most common ailments.
When seizing power from the Shagari administration in 1983, General Muhammadu Buhari described our hospitals as ”mere consulting clinics”. Not much has changed since then, compounded now by exodus of doctors, old and young, who have chosen to export their services to other lands. Nigerian students, too, sell whatever is available to obtain higher education abroad. Until of course, the NELFUND initiative offering loans to students of the poor.
It should not be all about lamentations about missed opportunities. A lot could be done to salvage the situation as there is unanimity of opinion among experts that Nigeria has an abundance of human and material resources to draw it out of the wood. It has a population, all of about 230 million, mostly young people who are energetic and forward looking, as against 30 million in 1960. This is an asset that most countries lack.
It also has so much solid minerals in all parts of the country, mostly waiting to be tapped. Those being tapped are by criminals and foreigners. Crude oil that has been a blessing to other nations has been largely doom to Nigeria, owing to poor management and monumental corruption. Of late, though, crude oil output has ticked up due to work by our armed forces to curb criminals stealing our black gold.
If corruption is checked and appropriate persons are employed to ensure that Nigeria joins the league of developed countries, in a short while, Nigerians would be proud of their country again and we can stand tall in the comity of nations. The Central Bank of Nigeria’s handling of foreign exchange, the salvaging of corrupt practices have diminished instances of corruption as attested to by our captains of industry.
Nigerians should realise that pulling in different directions cannot help them. As we move towards the seventh decade after independence, we should realise that we owe future generations, and indeed the black world a duty to redeem our dignity by killing corruption and tapping resources available for development.
As Walter Rodney said, ‘every generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, fulfill or betray it.’ The reforms of the Tinubu administration is showing promise on many levels beginning with financial engineering whose success can trigger a wholesale rebirth. For instance, not long ago, critics were jittery and even gloating that the naira would dive down to N2,000 to a dollar. Now it’s below N1,500. Not there yet, but a sign we can reclaim our country.