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It is fair to admit that some parts of the headline for this essay is not original. It is adapted from the 1978 song of the Afrobeat legend, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, in which he dramatized the daily travails of average Nigerians and their unyielding spirit. The song is over 48 years old but the lyrics still linger in the country, even more. Yesterday, Thursday, October 1, the nation marked 66 years of political independence from Britain. With the attainment of independence in October 1, 1960, Nigeria commenced on its journey to statehood. By any stretch of analysis, that is not a mean feat. It is a watershed in our history as a country.
Growing up, October 1 was a day we longed for. It was a day of celebration during which march past and other activities were organised for students in primary and secondary schools. It was a work-free day all over the country. To signify the importance of the day, broadcasts were made by the President/Military Head of State and Governors at the federal and state levels, respectively. The broadcasts offered moments of stock-taking, contained messages of hope and assurances of better future.
The symbolism of the day has not been entirely lost. Broadcasts are still made and felicitations extended by the leaders. But that is, perhaps, where the euphoria ends. Every other thing is a mere caricature of what it used to be. Except for public service workers who celebrate the day as public holiday, October 1 has essentially remained the same as any other day in the calendar.
You may not blame hapless citizens for the lethargy. The country means many things to its people, depending on how one encounters it. Some insist that Nigeria is a great nation, in fact, the giant of Africa, apparently based on its size, population, natural resources and other latent features. Some, on the other hand, see it as a lilliputian, lacking the will to maximise its enormous potential. Others simply dismiss it as a crippled giant that has not been able to stand on its feet. They are all correct!
Here is an entity that is blessed with everything for growth and development but has refused to grow. If anything, Nigeria seems to be perpetually in reverse gear, losing whatever gains it had recorded previously. Instead of standing firm, Nigeria has been tottering, existing on sheer Mother Luck and providence, hence the fact that it has been wobbling and fumbling.
Each time I do an article related to October 1 and Nigeria’s shaky journey to nationhood, I recall my encounter with one of the foot soldiers of the country’s march to freedom, the late Melie Chukelu Kafundu (MCK) Ajuluchukwu, particularly the paradoxes of nostalgia and regrets on his face, while recounting their excitement on Nigeria’s independence on October 1, 1960, and what turned out of the country later. MCK, an accomplished journalist, had told a touching story of the dreams of Nigeria’s founding fathers, especially their vision of a giant enterprise that would champion and protect the cause of its citizens and indeed, the black man all over the world. Propelled by the attractive visions, the nationalists, leading thousands of youths and even the elderly who provided the raw energy and verve for the independence struggle, thronged the Lagos Race Course (Tafawa Balewa Square) hours before midnight of September 30, 1960, to herald the birth of a new nation.
By 12:00am, the lights in the arena went off. When they were turned on a few seconds later, a new era had dawned. Nigeria had become independent. The Green-White-Green National Flag had taken the position of the British Union Jack. Ajuluchukwu lacked words to explain the euphoria that seized him and others at the event.
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But when asked to make an assessment of the journey so far, the old war horse bowed his head in regret and uttered: “What people are pursuing now are not the things we fought for”. MCK belonged to the class of Nigerians that died with the pains of a beautiful dream they had for the country being bungled. Nigeria, “happened to him” and his colleagues. When the citizens, especially the youths and the urban elite come across a fellow citizen that has been hurt by the situations in the country or may have been handed the wrong end of the stick in business or political undertakings, it is common to say; “Nigeria has happened to him”. That is the situation that most citizens find themselves now. We have been made fall guys by the system.
That was the crux of the anger by the late revolutionary music star, Sonny Okosun, in one of his songs when he posed a rhetorical question: “Which way Nigeria?” remarking that after many years of independence, the country was still finding it hard to stand. Okosun asked how long it would take the country to get to the fabled Promised Land. The question was not answered and has remained unanswered. What has rather been the case is the continuous decline of the nation in nearly all development indices.
There is no doubt that there have been some gains here and there, like in the structure of the country, which at independence was a three-region arrangement – East, West and North, but now a 36-state entity, and the Federal Capital Territory. There have equally been expansions in the number of educational and health institutions. The population has, of course, grown beyond the level it was in 1960. There are other factors of growth but in essence and substance, it remains a matter of debate if Nigeria has made appreciable impacts, considering its size and the quantum of resources at its disposal.
Truth be told, at 66, Nigeria is literally on all fours. Indices of development that should have been on the rise are retrogressing. Compared with China with which it shares October 1 as National Day, Nigeria is nowhere yet. China’s nominal current GDP is approximately $20.85 trillion, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), while Nigeria posts a paltry approximated GDP of $377.37 billion. The margin is wide and drastic. Let us bring the message home: have you noticed that almost all the failed portions of internal roads in major cities, are being taken over by colonies of women, at times with children, begging for money or food? In Lagos, the sordid sight is becoming the norm. But there is another disturbing dimension to the trend, which involves men in clusters, brandishing banners with such inscriptions as “Ebin pa wa”, which, according to a friend with better understanding of Yoruba language, translates to “we are very hungry”. When a country of 66 years of independence cannot feed its citizens, something is abysmally wrong. That is the piteous point Nigeria has been reduced to by successive administrations in the land.
The political terrain is not better. In place of tested and committed leaders of the First and Second Republics, Nigeria has been afflicted at all tiers with characters that ordinarily, would not step forward for ward or council elections. Since 1999, Nigerians have witnessed 27 unbroken years of civilian administration. But this has not reflected on the lives of the people.
Elsewhere, democracy offers windows for good governance and rule of law. But here, with each administration, the system gets further entrenched in cronyism and prebendalism. The immediate result is lethargy among the electorate. Figures from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) show that presidential election turnout in the country fell from 53.7 percent in 2011 to 43.6 percent in 2015, 34.7 percent in 2019 and 26.7 percent in 2023. There are fears of the 2027 turnout taking deeper plunge, given the impression in many quarters that what takes place on election day is not voting, properly speaking, but manipulation and intimidation.
The pervasive rot in the system cannot be discussed without mentioning the ignominious role of its successive leaders. Literary icon, Chinua Achebe, was right in ‘The trouble with Nigeria’, that “the trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely the failure of leadership”. Successive leaders of the country have failed the people in no small measures. Getting it right therefore, requires a conscious return to the drawing board. The country must get its priorities correctly and work towards accomplishing them. There is need for ethical and value reorientation for the country to regain its lost ground. In doing this, time is of essence. At 66, Nigeria does not have that luxury.
