By Ladi Ayodeji
The governing elites determine the political direction of every nation, for good or for bad. In Nigeria’s case, the story since independence in 1960 has been a very unpleasant one because the attitude of the political class, as we call the ruling elites, has always been self-serving.
Our struggle for independence was marked by ethnic phobias. The three regional leaders at the time, Sir Ahmadu Bello, Sultan of Sokoto; Chief Obafemi Awolowo, and Rt.Hon.Dr.Nnamdi Azikiwe, were perceived more as ethnic champions, than real nationalists who represented the larger national interests of Nigeria.
It was so because, their strong ethnic identifies overode the interest of the nation, so much so that the three dominant ethnic groups they represented, Hausa-Fulani, Yoruba and Igbo, saw things from the prisms of ethnicity. This predilection for ethnic, and by extension in recent times, religious hegemony, has undermined our long quest for national cohesion.
The political crisis in the West between chief Awolowo and his deputy chief Ladoke Akintola; the jailing of Awo for treasonable felony, less than five years after independence, combined with the ill-fated coup of January 15, 1966, the bloody pogrom in the north and subsequent revenge coup of July 29, 1966, set the stage for the 30 – month civil war.
Despite the declaration of No Victor, no vanquished by the then Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, and the reintegration of the Igbo into the Nigerian society, our fragmented nation has never seem to hold together ever since. The emotionally injured Ndigbo, who lost all their properties and investments due to the war, have never felt truly forgiven for the Biafran war. And, for a truth, it’s difficult to dispute this claim.
Ndigbo has been cleverly schemed out of the power-sharing system, such that the most powerful and sensitive government positions are off-limits to the South easterners. And where an Igbo holds such positions, they never stayed long. Of course, the Igbo Intelligentsia and political leaders are partially to blame. Most of them, like their colleagues in the South West and other aggrieved sections of our tribal configuration, always fight for their individual pockets, rather than the larger interests of their own people. Put simply, many Igbo leaders are traitors.
They are like their Yoruba colleagues who eat with both hands. Nigeria’s development has been very slow because the ruling political elites are not committed to the progress of Nigeria. Northern leaders use political Islam as an effective tool to oppress their own people, especially the majority almaijiri, and effectively lord it over other zones of the country, by using tyranny of the majority as a means to hold on to power perpetually.
The champions of Northern hegemony use the argument of a purported larger population and bigger land mass, to justify ownership of federal power in Nigeria. And they find willing collaborators in the treacherous Yoruba and Igbo elites, who would accept crumbs to sell-out their own brethren when power is in contention.
Yet, like it or not, we are stronger being together as one Nigeria. Though many would not like to hear this, because of the trauma of living in a nation where equity, justice and fairness do not govern our political culture. The balkanization of the country would not solve our problems either, because the same greedy, dishonest, corrupt and incompetent political elite would still be running Biafra, Oduduwa Republic and the Middle Belt nations.
You cannot solve a problem by running away from it. A genuine conference of nationalities could address the secessionist agitations, if the ruling elites are willing to resolve the fundamental issue that divide our nation. It’s a shame that after 61 years of independence, including a bloody civil war and several ethnic/sectarian conflicts across the country, we’re still unable to find the right formula for national unity.
The political class must be blamed for the present slide of our nation toward disintegration. We are more divided than ever. Things have never been this bad.
But our politicians are more interested in 2023 and who wins what, than how to end the economic mismanagement and disequilibrium that created terrorism, banditry and other street crimes.
What has compounded our problem is the failure of civil society advocacy groups. The generation of great civil right activists like Tai Solarin, Gani Fawehinmi, Beko Ransome – Kuti, Bala Usman, Clement Nwankwo, Olisa Agbakoba, etc is dead and buried. Today, many of the activists make noise to be noticed, some just want to get foreign grants to keep body and soul together; while a few target government jobs.
Most of our civil society groups are businessmen and women, who seek prominence to climb the social ladder, not to fight for the masses like the activists of old. No wonder, irresponsible power-seekers, touts and area boys/girls now occupy some seats of power. A former police AIG, Nuhu Aliyu, who became a senator, once lamented that some of the crooks he arrested and detained, sat side by side with him in the Senate chamber. If you have a polity that’s control by felons, crime would reign unfettered. That’s what is happening in Nigeria.
Many of our leaders should actually be spending their days behind bars, if our justice system is not dysfunctional and corrupt. How can you have peace in a country where some of your security agents would be selling weapons to terrorists and giving information to those who levy war against the state? Yet, no single traitor has been executed in Nigeria since the terror war began about ten years ago. No Governor, except the then Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole has ordered the execution of a single armed robber, or convicted murderer since the days of Gen. Sanni Abacha’s dictatorship.
Nobody is calling for bloodbath, but if we won’t kill those convicted of murder, we should scrap the provisions from our statute books. But we cannot deter criminals if the convict is not punished. The nation is at the mercy of terrorists and kidnappers today and our rulers have not been able to restore order. Things have become so bad that people in the South East fear IPOB more than the Governors. Nobody fears the police anymore because with peanuts, you can pay your way out of any crime.
The ruling elites have run the nation aground. Even if we replace President Muhammadu Buhari with another leader, little would change until the elite come together and resolve to change their mentality. Nigeria needs a new leadership attitude that looks at the whole picture; leaders who are selfless, focused, patriotic and truly nationalistic, to move the nation forward.
Until such genuine leaders emerge, Nigeria’s unity, peace and progress would remain a mirage even if we pray down Angels from heaven to intervene in our affairs.
Weekend Spice: Until you prove your mettle in tough crises, don’t call yourself strong.
Ok folks, let’s do it again next time. Covid-19 is still here, stay safe. Be highly motivated.
*Ayodeji is a Pastor, Author and Speaker. He can be reached on 09059243004 (Sms, Email & Whatsapp only).
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