The sons of Lugard – A book review

Mr Ellakkawi writes in his book, an impeccable and mind-broadening treatise about the fate of the tribes of Nigeria.  Their amalgamation at the whims of Lord Lugard, their christening, in the bosom of Lady Lugard, and the lack of any proper orientation for them to work together, despite their being bestowed with plenty of resources […]

Mr Ellakkawi writes in his book, an impeccable and mind-broadening treatise about the fate of the tribes of Nigeria.  Their amalgamation at the whims of Lord Lugard, their christening, in the bosom of Lady Lugard, and the lack of any proper orientation for them to work together, despite their being bestowed with plenty of resources and talent.  Written in a readable prose, The Sons of Lugard interchangeably employs a mix of reality and fiction, at once weaving between known names and locations, as well as persons, and at other times lapsing into the realm of fantasy.  A provocative book indeed.  The style of writing is perhaps geared to enable us look at ourselves in the mirror, especially since the problems of Nigeria has been analysed from many logical and realistic perspectives, with little or no impact.

The sons of Lugard are Arewa Lugard, Afenifere Lugard and Ohaneze Lugard.  Who decided to do whatever they liked right after they came to consciousness of their brotherhood. Of note is the role played by Mr Lugard, their adopted father, who, bitter from the experience of his excision from his adopted children, decided to play a voyeuristic role, hoping for the failure of the union so that he can have his I-Told-You-So moment.  Looking into the future, the book analyses the predictions by some US-based intelligentsia, that the union of Nigeria will disintegrate soon. The book also explores several themes (other books are recommended to readers, histories and alternative histories, and especially, the conscience is pricked as to religious tolerance and our unity as a people).

The copy I have read is impeccably printed in fine material.  There are hardly any typographical or grammatical errors at all in the entire book – a great achievement when we consider the fact that even books written and published abroad, by the most accomplished authors, do come up with some of those.  The cover artwork is simple but catchy, the finishing of the book projects the image of Nigerians and Africans in a good way.  It is evident the author takes himself and his work very seriously.

Now the critique:  The book takes on a question – or questions – that are larger than life, but seeks to compress these issues into less than a hundred pages. This is an impossible feat, given the many ramifications of the problems.  As someone who has written about such issues myself, I know that a few hundred pages will not be able to explore all the issues adequately enough, for they are heavily nuanced.  And it is those nuances that we should explore.  For example, it is easy for anyone to say ‘Nigerians are Corrupt!’, but a nuanced approach will ask ‘Why are Nigerians corrupt?  Why are they considered more corrupt than other peoples?  How did the corruption start?  What can be done to correct the problems?’  You see, nuances expand the scope.  Exploring the nuances, the why, how, the history, of a problem, is the only way we can project into the future and proffer solutions.

The book is however pitched at our growing children, especially teenagers, and could be used as a good text for our secondary schools.  To that extent, it is perfect as a primer for those young brains, who can then explore further as they grow.  A recent outing with youths exposed to me that they know absolutely NOTHING about Nigeria, and often comment out of prejudices.  Perhaps this book – The Sons of Lugard – is a good place to start off in their quest.

The Sons of Lugard is a must-read for everyone.

ARE WE REALLY INCOMPATIBLE

I would want to be known, not as a radical or anything of that sort.  I would want my readers to know that I am non-align and for now, apolitical.  The themes of my writing is not about criticizing those in the seat of power – and there is a lot of paranoia these days.  I write because of the larger issues I see; the larger questions that face us as a people.  My general theme is about UNITY, about FORGIVENESS, about the need to begin to create a FUTURE.  I see that MOST of the people we have entrusted the leadership of Nigeria to, today, have but little vision in this regard.  As they say, you cannot give what you don’t have, so it is little wonder why we are where we are today.

I was shocked to no limits when I heard Mr Rotimi Amaechi – one of the few governors I truly respect in Nigeria, saying on TV, that he is ‘First a Rivers Man before being a Nigerian’.  I have heard this kind of talk from many people who hold – or have held – high positions in Nigeria.  I should think the president himself sees himself as First a Bayelsa Man before being a Nigerian.  We have heard too many times, how Nigeria is but a ‘geographical expression’, and not a nation (as said by Chief Obafemi Awolowo), and how we are a nation of incompatible people, thrown together rather crassly by the Brits.  Whereas I have explained many times before, that in the era when the Brits ‘captured’ our forefathers, we were slaves (probably still are), and no ‘master’ asks his ‘subjects’ whether to amalgamate them or not!  This should not be too difficult for us to understand.  African elites also had slaves and did not ask the slaves for their consent on just about any issue.  Also, many countries – including the great ones today – were formed by throwing any disparate ethnic group together.

These issues will be explored again and again.  The way we are carrying on in Nigeria, is as if when one is born into a certain country, we should insert a chip that will tell he is from that country!  There is nowhere that is done for now, and I don’t think that will ever happen.  What tells if one is from one country is the desire and the agreement to be a part of that country – apart from legalisms eg documents issued by government to that effect.

There is one thing that unites us in Nigeria.  We don’t have to look very far. WE ARE ALL HUMAN BEINGS.  And any group of human beings should agree to live together, or live in disharmony.  We have today chosen the path of disharmony, to our own detriment and if we are not careful, damnation.  I personally don’t see myself as any different from the person next door.  I don’t know if we breath different airs and so on, but my guess is that we don’t.  unfortunately, people who have so-called PhDs are the ones at the forefront of this hare-brained, hopeless thinking, perpetuating a grand fallacy that we are incompatibles. Absolute nonsense!