SELFISH LEADERSHIP AT INDEPENDENCE: HOW AWOLOWO, AZIKIWE, AHMADU BELLO AND OTHERS FAILED NIGERIA

As were marked (not celebrate) 53 years of independent nationhood, one is forced to examine the time, lives and practices of the founding fathers of the nation. We read so much about them in books and social studies’ lessons where we were compelled to acknowledge their ‘sacrifices’ to the nation. I am now, having seen the reality of of the building whose foundation they laid, convinced that the structural design, execution and cost of the project called Nigeria is faulty. I ask: Did they fight for Nigeria or for their respective regions?  The answer is obvious!!!

The prominent ones were Obafemi Awolowo, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Ahmadu Bello each representing the major tribes and regions – Yoruba (West), Ibo (or Igbo depending on whom you are reading or listening to)(East) and Hausa (North). The names of other nationalist and actors are easily forgotten. You see them in pictures with Ahmadu Bello in the middle flanked by Awolowo and Azikiwe to the left and right or otherwise.

Let me be clear. They may by heroes in their respective regions but it’s hard for us to masticate that they are nationalistic heroes. Not for what is happening in Nigeria today. It is the tribal sentiments; unnecessary envy, contention and clamour for what gets to the regions, that were inherited and have now lead to the mass corruption, and agitation at the center in Abuja today.  One of them even described Nigeria as a mere geographic expression, meaning he had no faith in the nation. Nigeria is not the only country accidentally conscribed together by colonial masters for their selfish gains. Such other countries include: USA, Brazil, Singapore, Malaysia etc but while these countries have acquired real independence to celebrate, Nigeria is still shilly-shallying for a conference. At independence, the leaders of these countries believed in their new found ‘geographic expression’ and worked hard to build them but our folks were just selfish.

Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana for example had among his three goals upon independence, planned and executed a strategy to unify the four territories of the old Gold Coast. Ghana is a West African neighbor with an equally diverse and multicultural configuration like Nigeria. Only difference is our selfless leadership at independence. Singapore was and is also a multi-racial, multi religious and a multi lingual country yet their independence leader – Lee Kuan Yew orchestrated a programme that created unique Singaporean identity among the populace with religious tolerance and racial harmony. 

In moving forward and as the National Confab is being planned to hold soon, we must undertake a conscious move to correct our ideology of nationhood. Regional sovereignty is not a solution as minorities exist, and their agitation will become louder at regional levels. Nigeria of today is not the same 53 years ago where minority voices were subdued in the regional voices at the time. The conference must debate among other things on how to tackle corruption, how resources will be utilized for the majority of rural populace, income disparity, infrastructural development, diversification of the economy from oil, and the halt to importation of items producible in Nigeria. Importantly, the representations at the confab must be of the people, voices and segments of the society. It must not be a conference of PDP and/or Government apologies.

Long Live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Peace.