Nigeria at 49: The pains of nationhood

Furthermore, by all accounts, our founding fathers set lofty standards on nation-building. For example, Dr. Azikiwe, a firm believer in true federalism (in his usual slogan “unity in diversity and diversity in unity”), was an exponent of one Nigeria, as well as Fabian tactics, as embodied in persistent struggle and nonviolence. Sir Bello reckoned with […]

Furthermore, by all accounts, our founding fathers set lofty standards on nation-building. For example, Dr. Azikiwe, a firm believer in true federalism (in his usual slogan “unity in diversity and diversity in unity”), was an exponent of one Nigeria, as well as Fabian tactics, as embodied in persistent struggle and nonviolence. Sir Bello reckoned with humility in service of the people and understanding of cultural differences as a means of achieving tolerance and co-existence in our plural national society. For Chief Awolowo, who espoused populist welfarism, he saw the path to Nigeria’s freedom as true federalism.

Looking back, immediately after our national freedom from British rule, the blithe spirit, hopes and aspirations of our expectant people were not in short supply. Given our abundant and diverse human and material resources, it was the vision of our founding fathers that Nigeria was to be a symbol of progress and prosperity in the developing world. They also envisioned a nation-state that will be a pacesetter in good governance, peaceful coexistence, cultural pluralism, rule of law, economic growth, technological advancement and sustainable development. With all these elevating indices, our country was foreseen, then, as destined to play a major role not only in African emancipation and renaissance, but also in the promotion of a just world order, as a member of the United Nations.

In spite of the moral visions, tactical skills and commitments of our founding fathers, it is notable that winning political independence for Nigeria did not automatically address the challenges of the country, particularly the challenge of meeting her people’s hope for improved living conditions. To make matters worse, the distractive forces of maladministration, corruption, nepotism, economic mismanagement, blatant rigging of elections, political intolerance and communal antagonism also crept into the polity, along with the instability and backwardness. These resulted, devastatingly, in a breakdown of law and order in the Western region (as captured in the “Operation Wetie” and the “Wild Wild West”), restiveness and violent uprising of ethnic minorities (the Tiv and Izon revolts), military insurrections (January 15, 1966 coup and the counter-coup of July 29, 1966 and other coups d’etat), Igbo massacre, the secession of the Eastern region and the outbreak of a bloody civil war between 1967 and 1970.

Since those sordid and traumatic events that marked part of our post-independence chequered history, we have not witnessed any respite as a people. This is on account of interminable, complex skein of crises that have engulfed the polity. These include acute leadership problem, economic mismanagement, corruption, external debts, decrepit and dilapidated infrastructure and poor social services delivery, frequent military incursion into politics, frightful political implosions (like the June 12, 1993 election crisis, 2003 and 2007 election furore), division and malfeasance of our political class, communal discord/recriminations, ethnic nationalism, (Niger Delta youth militancy, MASSOB, OPC, Arewa Youths), religious fundamentalism (like that of Boko Haram in the north), growing inter-regional rivalry and suspicion, social sclerosis (as marked by indiscipline, breakdown of traditional family values and rapid moral and spiritual decline amid religiosity of modern time) , rampant crime and criminality (as buoyed by abject poverty, unemployment, social inequality and moral decadence), staccato of grievances-driven strike actions (including the ongoing ASUU strike) and technological backwardness (as sustained by our mercantile, consumerist and contract-and-supply economy).

On balance, of all the crises assailing Nigeria today, our leadership problem, as attested to by commentators like Professor Chinua Achebe (in his work The Trouble With Nigeria), has remained the principal obstacle to our search for greatness since independence. This is because as John Cartwright asserts in his book Political Leadership in Africa, an individual leader’s actions, or his failure to act, can significantly affect the course his country follows.

Inevitably, in the absence of transformative leadership in Nigeria – a leadership that is honest, visionary, charismatic, pragmatic and people’s oriented — this is small wonder why we have been experiencing gridlock, misery and stagnation in the polity. Our leadership problem is also one of the reasons why at 49 today, the country is still like a toddler learning how to find her way in an increasingly dynamic, complex and competitive world of globalisation, globalised economy and stunning scientific and technological discoveries. This is despite the obvious fact that we are endowed with enormous resources, unlike other forward-looking countries that are, surprisingly, metamorphosing into economic and technological giants, such as China and those of South East Asia (Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, etc). This is not to mention African countries like Botswana, Mauritius and Senegal that have become the lampposts of sustainable development on the continent — thanks to their sound leadership, stable political order and prudent economic management. Also worthy of note are the signs of economic successes in other African states like South Africa, Egypt, Tunisia and Ghana, as well as Uganda, Rwanda, Mali, Namibia and Mozambique, which are just recovering from years of political turmoil and civil war. In the light of these examples, will Nigeria become the fabled Van del Winklle who was overtaken by sleep and later woke up to discover that his mates had gone far in progress, in Nigeria’s case, by other less endowed countries? God forbid!

As we mark 49 years of our nationhood, which has been accentuated by trials, tribulations and all sorts of pain, we need, with a sense of urgency,  to bring the issue of leadership (and followership alike) to the front burner of our national discourse/national question.

• Emeh sent this piece from Abuja. 08036895746, [email protected]