Fifty-seven years may be relatively short in the life of a country, it is nevertheless long enough to showcase a promising nation; and present a country as a force to reckon with in the global community. Sadly, Nigeria at 57 is still a toddler, characterised by tottering steps, with more movement backward than forward. She has, in 57 years, presented herself in a form very much antithetic of the dream of her founding fathers, most of whom must be turning uncomfortably in their graves.
Pointers to this unfortunate status of the country include the current agitations by various groups either for a complete withdrawal from the union, or for a restructuring to redress perceived imbalance, injustice, marginalisation and inequality in the system; the spread of hate speeches; fanning of ethnic and religious embers; and of course recourse to violence for purely criminal purposes or for political advocacy.
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Indeed, the unity of the country has never been more threatened than it is now, partly because of the grievances, and partly because of poor handling by successive inept leadership. It is not for fun that a former President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Mamman Nasir said that Nigeria is at crossroads, warning that threats to dismember the country, as well as agitations for restructuring should not be dismissed as mere developmental challenges.
The cheery news in all these however is that it is not too late for the country to regain a true path of development, if all Nigerians can sincerely answer the question: “how did we get here?” What were the dreams of the country’s founding fathers? Are the dreams unrealisable, or were they sacrificed on the altar of selfish interests? Did Nigerians bend the rules in the middle of the game? Did they lose faith in the project Nigeria, and if so, for what reasons? Is the fault in the country’s political system or in the attitude of her leaders?
There is no doubt that the founding fathers had lofty ideas for Nigeria; and this informed their great sacrifice and tremendous efforts for independence, which they eventually achieved with their blood and sweat, certainly not on a platter of gold. They then worked assiduously to justify their agitations, bringing concrete development to the regions through a federalism that enabled the units to explore and exploit their resources for the benefit of their people.
The strike by the military in a coup in 1966, followed by a counter coup, months later, was a major setback that drew the country into a 30-month civil war that ended in 1970, following which the country was split into states. At the last count, there are 36 states. Military rule ended effectively in 1999, since when the country has been governed as civilian democracy. Even if the advent of the military into government was considered more of a retrogression, surely, an unbroken run of democratic government for 18 years should be sufficient to correct the aberration.
Unfortunately, the country has not fared better under civilians even when elections processes became fairer than they were initially. Instead, majority of Nigerians became poorer while a few privileged citizens unjustly enriched themselves. It was a question of time for sections of the country to become restless, as manifested in the Boko Haram Insurgency in the North East, militancy in the Niger Delta, perpetration of heinous crime all over the country and, lately, agitations for secession by some youth groups in the South East. The bottom line is that dividends of democracy are not available to be shared among hapless Nigerians.
An immutable fact that has emerged however is that Nigeria is not working to the satisfaction of all Nigerians; nor is she living up to expectations in accordance with her potentials – human and material. This is largely the genesis of the various agitations. And arising from this is that government cannot afford to treat the complaints with levity or with an uncaring attitude. To do that will simply heighten the complaints and prevailing mutual suspicions among groups.
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It is true that the country stands to gain tremendously if she is kept as a political entity. Her experience in the years past, particularly when she achieved rapid growth and development is that there is a lot of strength and unity in her diversity. The problem is that over the years, harnessing these advantages has been fraught with selfish interest, ethnic chauvinism and corruption, all of which have rendered the country’s wellbeing comatose.
Therefore, rather than beat their chest for ensuring Nigeria’s mere survival for 57 years, the country’s political leaders should seize today as an opportunity to revisit the country’s structure, as a way of addressing the nationwide agitations. There should be a forum for Nigerians to freely discuss how to live together cordially and how best to tap and utilise their resources. Efforts made in this regard by previous governments should be incorporated if found relevant.
As the government in power, the Buhari administration has a duty for posterity, to seek to genuinely address feelings of exploitation, injustice, unfairness and disequilibrium in the society, whether these are real or imagined. Failure to do so will most likely aggravate tension, and stall real development in the country.
The post Nigeria At 57: Restructuring As Way Forward appeared first on Independent News Nigeria.
Source: Daily Independent
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Title :
Nigeria At 57: Restructuring As Way Forward
Description : Fifty-seven years may be relatively short in the life of a country, it is nevertheless long enough to showcase a promising nation; and pres...
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