55 years of nationhood

Nigeria is 55 years old today. Normally, this should call for celebrations. But these are not normal times. The mood of the nation does not allow for celebrations. It is a very somber mood correctly reflecting the frustrations, the several missed opportunities, the false, misplaced or even squandered hopes, and the sleeping or crippled giant that Nigeria has become.

At the dawn of Independence in 1960, Nigerians had every reason to be proud and hopeful. By virtue of its size and population, the country was primed to become the pre-eminent black power, spokesperson and leader of the African continent. Fate also endowed us with abundant natural resources. Besides, Nigeria had a large pool of one of the best human resource bases in all of British colonial Africa, since the prevalence of malaria on the West African coast had made it inhabitable for large-scale colonial settlement and made the education and training of the locals for self-governance inevitable.

At Independence, therefore, Nigeria held so much hope and was looked upon as the natural leader of the continent and a potential black power. Countries such as the United States and the Soviet Union – superpowers locked in the politics of the Cold War – actively courted Nigeria’s friendship. Other African countries looked up to it with hope and envy.

However, hardly had the colonial administrators departed than the local political elites – who, in any case, were not so much interested in the development of the country than in the inheritance of the privileges of the departing colonial masters – began to mismanage the affairs of the country. In the struggle for power, positions and influence, institutions were being gradually destroyed and the basis of the unity of the country gradually compromised.

It was no surprise, therefore, when, in January 1966, the military intervened – a contagion from other takeovers in other African countries. Rather than stem the tide, the military, with no training or aptitude for governance, continued to deepen the crisis such that Nigeria had to fight a bloody fratricidal civil war to keep the country one and prevent the secession of a part.

Events and leaders thereafter showed that Nigerian founding fathers were saints. Unbridled corruption, embezzlement, mismanagement and misapplication of public funds have continued and have got worse. Virtually all the institutions that contribute to making a nation were pillaged and destroyed and the proceeds used for the benefit of only a few while the majority languish in want and deprivation. Despite the abundance of oil resources and the huge revenues accruing to the country from its sale, Nigeria still ranks amongst the poorest countries in key development indicators.

By 2014, gloom and despair pervaded the entire country. Since the return to democratic governance in 1999, the people have dared to dream, to believe, to hope that change was coming and the dreams they have nursed since Independence were about to be realised. But for the past 16 years, those dreams, those hopes, and those beliefs have all been dashed by insincere, visionless, corrupt and bankrupt leadership.

It was not surprising, therefore, when, during the 2015 general elections, Nigerians chose to vote into power a former military dictator but one who they regard as truthful, sincere, incorruptible, and a disciplinarian – Muhammadu Buhari. They chose to believe his promise of change.

Indeed, since his administration took off, we have noted the administration’s fierce determination to stamp out corruption from our national life, institute respect for the rule of law and mobilise the people for the tasks of rescuing the country so that it can be positioned to achieve its manifest destiny of being the voice of and leading Africa and the black world.

As Nigeria turns 55 today, we urge the Buhari administration not to waver in that determination and to complement its determined fight against corruption, insecurity, and impunity with sound economic management to ensure the quick liberation of the suffering masses of this country. The dreams of a better Nigeria may yet be realised.