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Chidi Obineche
Former Military governor of old Rivers State during the military administrations of the late General Murtala Muhammed and General Olusegun Obasanjo, Major General Zamani Lekwot (rtd), has asked the people of Southeast geo-political zone to quit agitating for separation from Nigeria or crying over marginalization.
Instead, he urged them to “join a political party of their choice” and negotiate for the presidency of the country because power is not served a-la carte.
He also blamed the insecurity in the country, which has led to insurgencies, banditry, kidnappings, etc on the pervading air of impunity by the leaders of the nation.
He expressed shock that those who do not want to have anything to do with the 2014 national conference report have no alternative to give in order to solve the myriad of problems confronting the nation.
He also spoke on related national issues. Excerpts:
Nigeria can no longer be regarded as a toddler at 59 years. How would you assess the country in the last 59 years, having grown through the years alongside her and played prominent roles in her trajectory?
Along the way, mistakes were made. But it was not all about mistakes. Modest progress was also made. It is a mixed situation. Of course, as in all aspects of life, you learn from all your errors, whether success or failure, as one newspaper put it. So, right from independence in 1960,we have had the sweet times and bitter times, we have had ugly and beautiful scenes. In spite of all odds, Nigeria has continued to survive in unity and faith.
By your own reckoning, because you have lived through these years and also made contributions to the country, in which areas would you say the nation has made progress?
Ah! In terms of growth, we are better than we were when we set out at independence. You may say, growth without development. We have grown, the economy has grown, some projects have been established, roads have been built, new ports built, new universities established. Following the dissolution of the regions, new states have been created, and the creation of states has become a credible vehicle for development and competition among themselves. Although, I believe that the creation of states requires quite some fine-tuning to make it more responsive and in tune with our structure and overall goals, it has gone on well, so far. It has necessitated a review of boundary adjustment, which has created a handful of problems. We have made enormous mistakes and I know that efforts are being made to correct them. Nevertheless, new dimensions of our nationhood have evolved, like the question of insecurity. Alright? Many of the industries that were established are comatose, like the textile industry for instance. Cotton has disappeared from the countryside and, of course, the textile mills could not sustain themselves by importation. There were also spare parts shortages in the industry. This is painful. There is also the issue of electricity. Without electric power, problems arise. And, of course, the most important and disturbing of all is the population explosion. Nigerians are busy producing children massively that they cannot even cater for and that is putting pressure on the system. Once they are not educated, they try their hands on anything; they become a burden to the society in so many ways. Because we are in ICT age, most of them are taking advantage of the Internet to seek ways of making money without working for it. The level of their productivity and the pressure on the government to take them away from the streets is enormous. It is not possible. Planning has become a nightmare. The five-year development plan has been abandoned successfully by all the successive governments. The rolling plans for development are no longer heard anywhere. We appear to be groping in the dark without any anchor or template of development. Look at the issue of budgeting. Very close to the end of the year, the national budget has not been passed and this is a routine every year. We had robust dreams and plans, but they have all been eroded by lethargy and sheer inertia on the part of our leaders. So, truly, progress has been made in some areas, but we are still struggling in many areas. This calls for deep reflection and a resolve to amend our ways.
Looking at the Nigerian fratricidal war which came quite soon after independence and which some people have dubbed as the single most cathartic and retrogressive event that set Nigeria back and effectively behind most of the countries it started out with, what do you think were the mistakes that were made along this line that should have been avoided? And what steps should be taken to avoid a recurrence?
The civil war was very unfortunate. The killings, carnage, destructions were undesirable. They were things nobody wished for. The fact that the war had its negative impact on the nation cannot be denied, no matter how you look at it. Going down memory lane, you discover that all the great nations of the world have passed through that stage. So, you cannot look at the civil war without considering the cost. The main cause was the 1966 coup and the manner it was done. Those who staged the coup, one of them in a book entitled “Why we struck”, revealed that they conceived the idea when they were university students in Ibadan and the first place to put the ideas to test, according to him, was the military. They did not bother to consult anybody. They moved in to actualize their dream without thinking of the costs and consequences. Their failure to consider the unintended consequences was at the root of the crises that the nation was engulfed in. I believe that the nation is still reeling under the aftermaths of the coup till this day. The civil war was one the consequences. They killed innocent people, created divisions and hatred among the ethnic groups, set the nation on edge, created doubt in the unity of the country and set the stage for most of the challenges of nationhood we are grappling with today. They threw the spanner in the works. The military, for instance, that the British left behind began to degenerate. The British left behind a united military, which was organized and operated as one family. There were no differences. They acted as one in brotherhood without tribal, religious cleavages. We were one family. But when the coup took place, it tore the thread that held the army together. What happened? To make matters worse, the coup planners were not put on trial. One thing led to another and the unfortunate killings after the coup began. It led to so many other ugly things, including the counter-coups. Now, over to the civil war. It was a very, very difficult war, because the Biafrans and the Nigerians were brothers. We attended the same schools. We studied war strategies and tactics together. So, a war where a brother is fighting a brother is very difficult and painful. But we thank God that we came out of it without too much rancor and have since moved on as one country. Although the toll was monumental, this nation has been striving to put it behind. The slogan of “no vanquished, no victor”, helped in healing the horrific wounds on the people by putting a soothing balm on their pains and agonies in order to move forward. Honestly, we should learn lessons from the mistakes that led to it. That is the only way we can forge a common front in nation building. We should learn that putting forward violence to solve a problem is never a solution. Dialogue is the only credible option in solving problems and that dialogue has already started.
Has it really started? There are a lot of separatist organizations in the East of Nigeria claiming that they are being marginalized and they are agitating to leave Nigeria. If the dialogue has started, there would have been no need for these groups, because they would have been engaged in dialogue?
Let me explain myself. Those who are agitating are young people who were not around when the mistake of the civil war occurred. They did not see the horrors of the war. In 1970, when the civil war ended, General Effiong, the administrator of then Biafra made a statement. When later the late Ojukwu came back from Ivory Coast and joined the ruling National Party of Nigeria, NPN, he also made a statement. And these statements are instructive in the healing of the wounds especially the perceived wrongs. These statements had the capacity in holistically sealing off whatever wrongs that were done before, during and after the war and put the nation at peace. Now, the dialogue that I am talking about is among other things, the series of conferences that were held, culminating in that of 2014. The 2014 National Conference incorporated all the recommendations of all the previous conferences and put forward something that can be used as a roadmap. It is shocking that some people for whatever reasons don’t want to have anything to do with it. The more shocking thing is that they have not come out with an alternative. The fact that they have allowed the country to continue to wallow under tension is not believable. Here is a situation, where insecurity, unemployment, distrust, among Nigerians are on the increase and yet you don’t want to use what is available. We have made progress really, but mistakes have been made here and there which are setting the country backwards. What is required is to cross the “T’s’ and dot the “I’s”. No nation is perfect, including the developed world. In life, there is always one problem or the other and this is what life is all about – continuous struggle. People who are talking of separation they don’t know the consequences. They don’t even know what they are talking about. They should listen to their elders who saw Nigeria before independence, after independence, up till today. Now, we have so many ethnic groups in Nigeria. Each ethnic group cannot run its own affairs as country. It is not possible. What it entails is compromise, give and take. People who are talking about marginalization, we are running a democracy; they should join a political party of their choice and then negotiate, lobby to fly the flag of the party and then during election they can even star in the election in order to sell what they want. This is a democracy and you cannot sit by and be crying of marginalization. Winning in a democracy is not done a-la carte. It is not donated or done by force or military fiat. This is the aspect most people are not getting. In a democracy, you have a level playing ground for people to exercise their political fundamental rights. So, you don’t need to talk about marginalization in a democracy when you can put your best materials forward, lobby and get what you want. I don’t see the need to be repeating what needs to be done. Somebody made a statement that no country has ever survived two civil wars. That is a fact. If we don’t learn from history, then we are condemned to repeat the mistakes of the past. We must get it right this time.
Okay. But some people are beating drums of war. You just said that no nation has survived two wars. Britain did, Scotland did and many others. That is just by the way. Those who are beating drums of war apart from the insurgencies, banditry and kidnappings are bent on adding to the general state of insecurity in the country. What can you suggest that should be done to put Nigeria on the right path?
I am not a lawyer, neither am I a political scientist. I am just an ordinary elder. To answer your question, in my humble opinion, the impunity going on is what has been fueling what you have just quoted. The solution to that is to strengthen the judiciary. Let the rule of law work. Let order prevail. Today, the people break the law and nothing happens to them. People do what they like without the fear of the law or fear that anything can bring about justice. Impunity reigns everywhere. To strengthen the judiciary is to grant them their independence. Let them be in charge of their budgeting and everything. We should remove them from the apron strings of the executive. No nation grows without an independent judiciary. The judiciary is the third arm of government and I must say, the most important. Today, we see politicians interfering with what the judiciary is doing. It is not proper. Having done that, the next thing to look at is the security agencies. The Nigerian Police Force, they are very few on the ground. Something urgent should be done to make the Nigerian Police work for the people. The people should feel their presence all over the country. That was why the 2014 conference I was talking about recommended community and state police. I don’t know how old you are, but people of my age actually experienced local police. The unitary system we practiced under the military unified and centralized the police. Again, as I said in a recent interview, the traditional rulers are to be brought in. Before the advent of colonial rule the traditional rulers were very influential and exercised powers over security and the police in their kingdoms. They are the closest to the people and are the custodians of the culture of the people. They handled the judiciary and there was law and order. They appear to have been shunted aside. So, if we want law and order, we have to bring back on the rails, the judiciary; grant them their independence, equip them, and then more judges and magistrates should be appointed to ensure that speedy delivery of judgments is realized. Modern work tools should be provided to aid them so that those of them who are still writing in long hand will no longer do that. Justice delayed is justice denied. Having done that, the beam should now be focused on the police and other security agencies. The whole country is the constituency of the police. All the clogs in the discharge of their duties should be removed so that they will perform up to their optimum best.
How about the corruption in the police? Will it enable them to perform to the satisfaction of the citizens?
Okay! The corruption in the police is a reflection of what is going on in the system as a result of poor control measures. Things happen at the grassroots and the community police or state police are well equipped to intervene in those areas and address them adequately. Fighting corruption in the police can be done if the will is there. In the villages, everybody knows everybody and crime can be curbed through that. Take for instance, the infiltration of aliens into the country, some of them armed, if we have community policing in place, they will join hands with the immigration to protect our borders. The menace we are currently experiencing with herdsmen will not be there.
What is happening in our country is very unfortunate, because a visit to any of our neighbouring countries will show you that law and order are working. Discipline, especially in the armed services is in place. I do not know how the country so deteriorated to the extent that discipline has completely broken down. If the people charged with the role of maintaining discipline at the borders are doing their job, the situation will not be like this. Nigeria appears to be a free-for-all. It is incumbent on the authorities to make things work, not just at the borders, but in all aspects of the national life. That is the only route towards progress and growth.
A landmark 60th birthday anniversary will be done next year by Nigeria. Do you have hope that things will improve by then? What are the obstacles you have identified that may likely impede the realization of the objectives as you have enunciated?
The authorities should sit down and map out strategies that will lift the country out of the doldrums. If this is done and implemented, by next year, we shall celebrate the nation’s 60th birthday anniversary in a happy mood. No haphazard measure will lift the country up. It has to be well conceived and religiously implemented. The budget for next year should be announced and implemented on time. The question of the judiciary should be sorted out. The question of local government, state and community police should also be sorted out. The community policing is very important because there are so many unemployed youths who have nothing to do. If that is in place, it will target a very key component of the society. Unemployment will go down. Intelligence gathering and information dissemination will be improved upon. The current system where the nation is operating with scanty information in fighting crime and other ills will be done away with. Insecurity in the country is what it is, because of weakness in that area. What is more, every citizen has a duty to contribute to the security of the system by reporting the ills and things that are not working to the right quarters so that action can be taken. I am optimistic that if we get our acts well in this direction, we will start 2020 on a clean note. There is no need to despair. We will go into 2020 and celebrate the 60th independence anniversary with pride. This is my wish for the nation. It is now left for the authorities and planners to ensure that this is done. By the grace of God, Nigeria will overcome its difficulties. People who are talking about separation will realize that there is strength in number, ability in strength.
