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By Charles Okechukwu Ani
It should be remembered that everyone gave giant Nigeria speedy and highest chance to greatness and to lead Africa when it was granted independence on October 1, 1960. Without a doubt, the country was already on the part to prominence with first strides in Africa’s development in the three regions of East, North and West. How is it, then, that today the former British colonial bastion of agriculture, human and mineral resources including net energy exporter is a failing African nation with failed taxation, agriculture, transportation, health, education, energy, security, legal etc. systems and accordingly threatened by disintegration despite its assets?
Only the recently free competing unsubsidized telecom sector appears to be succeeding. This expose on both political and economic restructuring sees the answers and way forward for Nigeria on same ‘subsidy’ removal from vast arable landmass and population of immense potential, free competing localized economic systems through redressing the truncated hope and liberty of independence, and evolving new economic system that would maintain and improve upon that determination at patriotism of the first republic.
At that slightest challenge to nationhood in second half of the 1960s, it was wrongly thought that what was needed, and believing same till today, was a strong central government welding everybody and everything together in a utopian Nigerian political-economy; now clearly a failed idea. It must be understood that the present agitations including speeches ‘out of distress, and mawkish actions and rhetoric’ are natural concomitant of the state of affairs driven on the country. Nigerians are not born to hate each other, and do not actually dwell on hate speeches on each other. They result from failure of leadership structure including actions and inactions, both political and economic.
Hatred only comes out of perceived cruelty by another, arousing micro-nationalism and self-respect, and resentment at being lorded over. Nigeria must drive out of this path with the highest intelligence, greatest patriotism and considerable speed. Leadership must learn lessons and avoid the reactionary unintelligent ferocious steps applied to challenges of the past that cost the country so much. It must be known that any perceived communal and collective bullying and intimidation would create the strong willingness to endure the hardship of going it alone, and the determination to bringing about fresh living, no matter how minor. The right to self-determination is inalienable by the United Nations charter, and this authority should always be remembered and respected.
The discussions on restructuring and its definition, and whether or not it is desirable at this point and the modalities for implementation could be more visionary, and understood to be about how Nigeria moves to nationhood and prosperity from the present poor state of affairs.
A more in-depth debate should recognize that the various tiers of government, having been centered on persons instead of institutions, have displayed an instantiation of human fallibility. Their powers have necessarily been based on the human individual’s primitive propensity to abuse, subjugate, and enslave his fellow man. Not only being fixated on the form of restructuring, debates must address clearly the missing issue of content – patriotism, which absence is the root cause of abuse of office, distrust amongst citizens and loss of prosperity in Nigeria. Debates must address how leadership in Nigeria becomes knowledgeable and visionary including being expeditious and accurate, accountable, noble etc. in actions; summed up into patriotism in dealing with challenges of governance and national development in a free globalized competitive political-economic system?
Many Nigerians have come to affirming sine qua non standards for patriotism and prosperity from their various bases and fronts in the country including reverting to recognized 1963 constitution of less hegemony from the central government for continued existence of Nigeria. How does leadership meet these standards, remove subsidies or bailout system? These present the challenges and demand everything the leadership shall give.
Executive should continue to live up to the peace-loving pathway in intelligence, knowledge, civility and humility because it should be rightly bothered about patriotism in Nigeria. The judiciary and legislature might as well follow suit in doing justice and good laws, and not be dismissive and give the impression of resistance to the patriotic nostalgias of majority of Nigerians. The overall leadership must feel the nationalistic tempo in order to achieve the best outcome for the country.
It is often said that the road to precipice is paved with good intentions. A patriotic Nigerian is never so proud of his nation in which he lives as when it comes to mean to others as well as himself a place of hope and liberty. Blatant Federal, and then States’ hegemony on governance close to the people and injustice with impunity killed patriotism, and destroyed the fabrics of a united Nigeria. The agitations for restructuring or that States should be free from subsidies, especially reverting back to tested fiscal federalism of 1963 is about removing hopelessness and providing a platform for liberty in all its ramifications, and engendering patriotism and therefore, good governance and prosperity across the country. They are not competition of the ethnicities, and there must be esprit de corps.
Military deviations, conjured regularly of inexperienced persons despite the massive knowledge in the country were mostly blind about Nigeria, and thought intimidation and active control of the people was the way forward, albeit deceitful.
The military, with all due respect, were confident of their cause and impatient, but ignorant of the pitfalls and dangers inherent in a regimental socio-economic system of government. The arbitrary and centralizing constitutions they hoisted were bulky as they struggled to bring in everything that must style-control from one apparently ‘infallible field marshal’ – the federal government, even embodied by one imperfect individual.
The military, in desperation for legitimacy, simple-mindedly created a hegemony in the belief that building Nigeria in its traditional regimentation of enforcement and fear would produce the desired nation-state. It was not far-sighted, and a missed opportunity by not returning to real content of truncated first civilian rule including amended 1963 constitution to keep the States and balance the geo-political zones, in 1979 and 1999 handovers to civilian regimes. By today, Nigeria would have become a stabilized polity and precious time saved.
Whatever the leadership would agree to do currently must be visionary. Every Local Government Council can survive on its resources, how much more a State given the enabling environment, and Nigeria will experience patriotism in a whole new dimension.
The succeeding democratic polity is exploiting the cowed people of Nigeria and imbibing the regimentation learnt of the lengthy military interregnum. This has led to the present lackadaisical governance of ‘flawed’ individuals, lack of vision, abuse of office and attendant jaded socio-economic growth, dissatisfaction and lack of patriotism. The public office holders in the States and local councils operate seemingly as cooperating agents with those at the federal in a mutually beneficial, symbiotic relationship of selfish survival and dishonesty, and therefore their negative posturing on restructuring and conspiracy of silence on the way forward for Nigeria. Hence, the lack of confidence on the leadership to bring about any significant changes for the survival of Nigeria.
Ani, Physicist and Energy Planning and Policy professional writes from Abuja.
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atriotism requires every Nigerian, no matter his position, always to defend and respect diversity, plurality and at the same time indivisibility of Nigeria, not as idol to be worshipped blindly, but as idea that represents our common cultural, national and philosophical heritage. Only understanding that heritage [in fairness and liberty] will give Nigerians real respect for the indivisibility and our common destiny. If the day comes when Nigerians are made to refrain from criticizing structural imperfections and demanding changes due to fear of the ‘trumped-up’ law and its questionable enforcement or some dimly remembered custom of national anthem and flag, the country would have become merely, an empty geographical expression and would remain a notion-state rather than a nation-state.
At independence, Nigeria formed on the basis of political and socio-economic platform of fiscal federalism even at literacy level below 30%. Most of the current leaders are living witnesses that that course of action made possible a consensus nationhood of the ethnicities, and so far had created the best socio-economic dispensation referred to from time to time in the debate. The principle of social justice and limited federal government, and considerable economic liberty of the federating regions rested at the foundation of united independent Nigeria. In a profound sense, fiscal federalism holds the key to understanding ourselves, patriotism and the future and prosperity of Nigeria in the world. Our brilliant and intelligent founding fathers rightly came to fiscal federalism over a period of 2 – 3 decades of contemplation for united and prosperous Nigeria. Nigerians have less and less understood each other, and there has been more and more gap between the rich and the poor since the end of that fiscal federalism in the 1970s, hence the threatening discordance, missing harmony and lack of accommodation in the discussions.
