Nigeria and the part of our past

By Abiodun Komolafe
Nigeria’s existent challenges are products of a analyzable interplay of historical, economical and societal factors, including a flawed foundation, mediocre governance and successive elites’ inability to amended the country’s infrastructure and institutions. This foundational weakness has hindered nationalist progress, resulting successful unimpressive improvement indices. Those successful powerfulness look contented with the presumption quo, benefiting from it recklessly, portion Nigeria’s governance appears to cater lone to astir 3% of its population, leaving the immense bulk to fend for themselves oregon simply “go and die.” 

To recognize the roots of these challenges, it’s indispensable to analyse Nigeria’s history, peculiarly the events surrounding the 1966 coup. The coup, led by Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu, lacked the meticulous readying and mentation that characterised the Free Officers’ coup successful Egypt successful 1952. In Egypt, the planners had been secretly gathering with professors and researchers successful the barracks for years, brainstorming an economical blueprint for the country’s societal life. Unlike subject leaders similar Gamal Abdel Nasser and Anwar El-Sadat, who altered the people of past owed to their preparation, Nigeria’s subject leaders had consistently demonstrated a deficiency of readiness to pb the country. 

In much unchangeable societies, a civilian warfare tin service arsenic a catalyst for nationalist rejuvenation, arsenic seen successful the aftermath of the American Civil War. However, this was not the lawsuit for Nigeria. Despite having entree to exertion during the avoidable civilian war, the Nigerian constitution failed to leverage this accidental for post-war maturation and development. 

Nigeria’s missed opportunities successful harnessing exertion person hindered its progress. A constitution prioritizing probe and backing could person propelled the state to go a large arms manufacturer. Sadly, the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON), envisioned arsenic Africa’s military-industrial complex, has been underutilized. Originally designed to thrust innovation and self-sufficiency successful defence, DICON’s imaginable remains truthful untapped that it’s present competing with Dangote successful the accumulation of brackish and allied condiments. It is that bad!

A country’s bequest is profoundly rooted successful its economical foundation, which successful crook shapes its citizens’ consciousness of identity. Just arsenic individuals deduce a consciousness of belonging from their household ties and investments, a nation’s individuality is forged by its citizens’ involvement successful the country. This involvement is often manifested successful tangible assets, specified arsenic homeownership and fiscal security, similar inflation-adjusted pensions. When citizens consciousness invested successful their country’s economical future, they are much apt to consciousness a beardown consciousness of nationalist pridefulness and responsibility.

One state that has made important strides successful gathering a beardown nationalist individuality is Brazil, wherever President Ignacio Lula da Silva has implemented policies to beforehand location ownership and economical growth. Lula da Silva builds a minimum of 1 cardinal lodging units a twelvemonth for Brazilians. By truthful doing, radical who thought they could ne'er physique houses successful their beingness determination into houses. So, what’s Nigeria gathering and what’s the Nigerian authorities giving its people? Obafemi Awolowo built the Nigerian Tribune successful 1948 and the paper inactive came retired for nationalist depletion this morning. So, Awolowo has a legacy! On the converse, what has Nigeria built and what projects bash Nigerian stakeholders person a vested involvement in?

One of the United Kingdom’s beardown pillars which is wherefore the state has a beardown nationalist cohesion is that its ideology is not based lone connected parliamentary representation, law monarchy and escaped elections. The cardinal halfway of ideology successful the UK, arsenic successful the Nordic countries, is wide home-ownership. That’s wherefore the UK has a beardown identity. Is Nigeria a home-owning democracy? Consider, for example, the thousands of young Nigerians presently embarking connected the nationalist work journey. Given the existent economical reality, it’s uncertain however galore volition unafraid jobs with a minimum wage of N70,000.00 template wrong the adjacent 2 years. 

Ghana’s stronger consciousness of nationalist cohesion and individuality presents a striking opposition to Nigeria’s experience. In summation to its affluent past and system that lend to its comparative stability, Ghana is besides a democracy. It has antithetic tribes, and there’s besides poorness successful Ghana. In our precise eyes, Nigerians proceed to roast Nigerians and it seems arsenic if cipher cares. But wherefore is that not happening successful Ghana? Are determination nary herdsmen successful Ghana? Despite conflicts successful neighbouring countries, wherefore are determination nary reported cases of herdsmen sidesplitting Ghanaians successful Ghana? Or, don’t they devour cows successful Ghana?

Kenya has inflation-adjusted pensions. Nigeria is not adjacent paying pensions regularly. What past are we saying astir nationalist identity? Again, what’s the modular of literacy successful 1966 and however overmuch beforehand was made successful 1999? Wouldn’t Nigeria person made amended advances if the lipid roar had taken spot adjacent nether the astir useless civilian government? Wouldn’t the monies accrued from it person been amended spent nether the 1960 and the 1963 Republican Constitutions? 

While authorities and governance successful a ideology are the products of the consent of the governed, ideology is inactive similar dictatorship; it has its ain discrepancies. For instance, erstwhile President Olusegun Obasanjo would ever task Nigerians’ tolerance by regurgitating the flock of sheep and the herd of cows helium near down connected October 1, 1979. He would privation to regale america with however helium met not lone an bare treasury but besides 1 riddled with the bullets of debt.

Still connected the issues surrounding our condition, Balogun Owu would privation to insult Nigerians’ corporate quality with the occurrence of indebtedness forgiveness. Unfortunately, helium has ne'er disclosed the value of the fiscal load handed implicit to the Shehu Shagari-led administration, oregon the expenses incurred by the debt-cancellation emissaries, who practically turned the airspace into their homes.

Once upon a country, Afenifere was an ideology and its members were not lone patriotic but besides futuristic. Today, the pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organisation belongs much to the self-aggrandizers, petty politicians and pretenders, with their reckless and unrealizable utopian idealism constituting different superior furniture that has been ruining everything for everybody. 

As if the gods are angry, Nigeria has go a moving momentum without lasting impact, wherever the outgo of surviving is sidesplitting the living, and wherever the aboriginal seems to person been frozen. The First Republic was truncated due to the fact that the governmental practitioners of that epoch were accused of being ‘ten percenters’. But what were Ibrahim Babangidas collecting that they could spend their Hilltop mansions? In the olden days, the Supreme Court’s dependable was revered similar a divine oracle. Now, the tribunal struggles to marque its dependable heard, but the radical are nary longer listening. 

In the modern governmental landscape, accepted rulers seeking relevance mightiness request to cognize influential figures similar Abdulrahman Fasasi, signifier alliances with salient families similar the Emeka Offors, oregon curry favour with the interests of almighty individuals similar Seyi Tinubu. Amidst these analyzable relationships, the Niger Delta portion feels its lipid resources are being utilized to payment the full nation, portion the North claims marginalisation, peculiarly successful enactment of herders. 
 
Tragically too, immoderate elements successful the Eastern portion of the state proceed to whet the appetite of secessionist movements, wrongly assuming that Biafra and bully governance are Siamese twins. Elsewhere, a dancing governor’s determination to prioritize his hometown’s improvement with authorities resources raises questions astir powerfulness and inequality. ‘Ìmólè’ continues to perpetuate uneven development, wherever immoderate areas thrive portion others struggle; and it’s arsenic if the principalities and powers of predetermination triumph are localized successful Timi Agbale’s kingdom.

In all, fixed the socioeconomic challenges and declining values successful our nation, however volition the past yet go a root of anticipation for Nigerians?
• Komolafe wrote successful from Ijebu-Jesa, Osun State, Nigeria ([email protected]; 08033614419 – SMS only)