Nigeria’s troubled 53 years of independence

THE commemoration of Nigeria’s 53rd independence anniversary today offers another unique opportunity to reflect on the country’s past and plan for her future. For the third time in a row, the anniversary will be observed solemnly at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, instead of the Eagle Square, Abuja, where national events are usually held in grand style. Though, like previous events, it is expected that official statements will be about the sacrifice, legacy and the hopes of our founding fathers to build a nation “where no man is oppressed” and “where peace and justice shall reign”, the story of Nigeria so far has been a tragic narrative of a divided country. Almost a century on, Nigeria is still not a nation, much less a united one.

Though President Goodluck Jonathan took his cue from his predecessors to promise Nigerians another false dawn last year, what we are getting instead are dark days. “We weathered the storm of the civil war, we have refused to be broken by sectarian crises; we have remained a strong nation. I bring to you today, a message of renewed hope and faith in the immense possibilities that lie ahead,” he had said.

But today, our collective social existence is gloomier than what it was in 2012. Apart from a rent-seeking ruling class living in a fantasy land, the future too promises scanty hopes as the country appears stuck in a myriad of contradictions.  It will, therefore, be unfortunate indeed if Nigerians are still deceived by such a rosy hue from an insipid government.

Jonathan is not alone in this annual deception. About three decades back, the then President Shehu Shagari was always quick to predicate his government’s achievements on “peace and stability.” Now bereft of even that peace of the graveyard, Nigeria is teetering on the precipice of disintegration. In its April 13 edition, The Economist magazine of London compared the country to a heavyweight boxer who has gone too many rounds, but sometimes seems punch-drunk. “One minute it acts like a champion by virtue of the size of its girth and the smile on its face, the next it could be flat on its back, groaning in anguish. On the whole, the country is tottering along, acclaimed as much for its massive potential as for its actual achievements. It is still a sick man all the same.”

The uncomfortable truth is that Nigeria is not only sick; it is on a life-support machine. Corruption has become her most deadly virus. If the mark of success for any nation is how well her people are doing economically, socially and morally, then Nigerians are worse off today than they were 53 years ago. How could independence make things better in a sharply divided country with pillaging elite, awful governance, and poverty-ridden citizens?

Take for example the primary functions of the State, which are to maintain peace and security within the country and ensure the welfare of the people. Despite Nigeria’s rich resources, corruption, ineptitude and horrific levels of sectarian violence have rendered her one of the world’s poorest nations. With an estimated Gross Domestic Product of $415 billion (at Purchasing Power Parity) and per capita income of $2,500 (2011), Nigeria is an underperformer, given her vast natural resources, her 167 million population, the dynamism and diversity of her people. Some other Third World countries that were at comparable levels of development with her in the 1960s and with considerably less natural endowments have left the country behind. South Korea has a GDP of $1.164 trillion and per capita income of $31,700; Malaysia has GDP of $453 billion and per capita income of $15,000; and Singapore, GDP $314.9 billion and per capita income of $59,700. Add these to a toxic cocktail of kidnapping, armed robbery and terrorism, then you have a country aptly described by the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo as “a mere geographical expression.”

Since the country has been virtually taken over by a coterie of criminal gangs, foreign countries regularly advise their citizens against all travels to substantial parts of the North and  all but essential travels to other parts of the country. While there is a high level of threat from terrorism in the North, there is equally a high level of threat from kidnapping and armed robbery throughout the country. Other armed attacks targeting oil and gas facilities, ships and oil rigs at sea off the coast of the Niger Delta region are also threatening Nigeria’s economic lifeline. A hate-fuelled religious ideology has placed Nigeria in the bloc of malevolent states such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen and Iraq where life is “short, nasty and brutish.” In the last two weeks, more than 300 Nigerians have been murdered, including at least 50 students killed in their sleep on Sunday in Gujba, Yobe State. Now our tears fall silently as we no longer publicly mourn the dead.

Though burdened by her own leadership deficit, it will be too simplistic and perhaps uncharitable to blame President Jonathan for Nigeria’s litany of failures.  Ruled mostly by military and political predators since the Ibrahim Babangida government of August 27, 1985, Nigeria has become notorious for everything obnoxious and deficit in everything virtuous. The woeful inefficiencies of many Nigerian institutions are easily traceable to an obscene culture of corruption elevated to a state art during the Babangida regime’s nine unbroken years of ruthless pillaging. This was immediately followed by other venal rulers, especially the Sani Abacha criminal gang that reportedly stole $4.3 billion and still counting from the national treasury during his four and a half years in power.

Every government since then has upped the stake. It is estimated that these crooked rulers helped themselves to about $500 billion between 1960 and now.  Corruption has, indeed, brought the economy to the edge of ruin. Yet, national monuments named after these felonious rulers that dot Nigeria’s landscape are stark but grim reminders of a soulless and morally bankrupt society. This is a land where thieves are celebrated even in religious gatherings.

Right from the tragic “mistake” of the 1914 amalgamation through the gruesome civil strife that raged between 1967 and 1970 and 28 (staggered) years of military rule, our attempts to forge a united and prosperous nation have not worked. Also, since 1960, the country has always been on a political knife-edge at every election year. While the controversial 1964 Federal elections and 1965 Western Regional poll sounded the death knell for the collapse of the First Republic, the flawed 1983 presidential election became a handy excuse for the military to sack the Second Republic on December 31, 1983. Presidential elections in 1993, 2007 and 2011 brought their own measures of bloodshed. Yet, as another national election year approaches, Nigeria’s ever fractious politicians are locked in another destructive argument of where the next president should come from and not how to rescue a sinking country. This is, to put it mildly, a dire situation.

What is to be done? How to avoid an explosive Balkanisation of the country should immediately attract the attention of our pretending rulers. Since most of our awful national indicators can be directly linked to public corruption, Jonathan should stop his political shenanigans and frontally tackle fraud.  We have also consistently made the case for a holistic re-engineering of this failed political structure. Time is, indeed, running out.

............. http://www.punchng.com