Dr Ephraim Anyanate

For the past couple of years, when it comes to around the end of the month of May, several activities and write ups dress the pages of our news media. Taking a look at the pages of our newspapers in the past week, there appear to be so many headlines and captions as well as special reports on 10 years of Democracy. Commentators keep writing as if it is only a decade since Nigeria started democratic rule. From the write ups, it does not appear as if any one has a success story to tell over the years. The reports range from lamentations at the state levels to the federal level. Only a few speak about successes over the last 10 years and a critical look will show they are politicians who probably have gained from the system. Most commentators never talk about what we have learnt from practicing whatever the previous period will be called. It is true that there was military incursion into our political life. But the military have not been there all the time. They were also there with many civilians who we all know are the democrats of today. So where are the other years since independence? If Nigerian were a human being, at the age of 48, only being able to celebrate about 10 of this calls for a very strong rethink about our lives.

We have had democratic Republics since taking over from the colonials. Politicians list them as 1^st, 2^nd 3^rd and now 4^th. This current one is said to be the longest in our history, the reason is that we have been able to sustain the ‘democracy’ up to this point with no stop for 10 years. Is that what we are celebrating or another thing?

We have decided or a group decided that we should celebrate only from the period of 1999. Does that mean that there is nothing to celebrate for the period 1993-1966, 1979-1983 and the events of 1993? We all know that success is what we all desire. But you won’t know if you have succeeded if there is nothing like failure. It appears Nigerians do not like failures and anything to do with failure is thrown to the bins. As such we are wont to cover up where we have failed and celebrate only the successful ones. This will mean starting afresh at every opportunity. My worry however is the knack for us Nigerians to start afresh. My question is to all us Nigerians; WHY DO WE LIKE TO START AFRESH ALWAYS? This attitude has entered into us at all levels of governance. I am not surprised why every government that comes into power wants to do things afresh. Why is there no continuity? Is this not one country? Are the people who rule us not part of this country? Are they from another country?

We do similar things in our elections in the name of the constitutional provision interpreted by learned advocates. When a Governor gets sacked by a tribunal, and following a repeat election that same governor returns, he starts afresh, even if the speaker who acted in his absence belongs to the same party. But I thought that it is the party that wins election as has been argued in the Supreme Court. I am not a lawyer so I cannot say anymore on this. But this is us Nigerians. Any opportunity to perpetuate ourselves in a post will be highly welcome. 

Now let’s stop and ask our selves some more questions? What are we even celebrating? How many years is South Africa celebrating? How many years is Ghana celebrating? As a result of this celebration we would give ourselves a holiday. Money will be spent to fete ourselves. And thereafter what do we learn? Can we ask ourselves how many people have lost their lives as a result of this democracy we are celebrating? Is that a success story? It may be to some politicians. But who should celebrate this day? Is it the people or the politicians?

Let us remember that all the previous Republics have been brought down for one reason or the other even including the military regimes. I was reading Dr Braithwaite’s interview and he rightly pointed out that it was an inequitable imbalance of political franchise that brought so much chaos and tribalism into the country that more or less brought the First Republic down. So what brought the second and the third down? Have we learnt from the causes of the doom for the previous republics?

On May 29, 1999, Chief Obasanjo was sworn in as President and Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which heralded the fourth republic that ended 16 years of consecutive military rule. There were said to be many problems, including a dysfunctional bureaucracy, collapsed infrastructure, communal violence etc. In November 1999, the army destroyed the town of Odi, Bayelsa State and killed scores of civilians in retaliation for the murder of 12 policemen by a local gang. In May 2009, ten years after, the army has again killed scores of civilians and destroyed houses in Gbaramatu Kingdom still in Ijaw land because of militant agitation. The collapsed infrastructure is still collapsed, the dysfunctional bureaucracy is still dysfunctional and violence in the communities is still prevalent. This is part of the 10 years of democracy we are celebrating. I do not want to speak of electoral reform because our president says something is happening. Let us wait and see. It appears to me that the lessons of yesterday have been forgotten. No country can progress without looking back at previous experience. The people perpetuating the deeds that have led us to this phase of our development are rooted in the system. They have cloned themselves and keep changing their characteristics to suite the current climate in-order for them to be continually relevant.

If we have to celebrate our democracy, then God sons must move away from God fathers and have their own identities. Our infrastructure needs to stand; we must have a government for the people and by the people with an educated electorate that will abhour violence. Our youths will have to go for dialogue and above all we have to do away with the class of people who are chameleons!

Our coat of arms says “Unity and Faith, Peace and Progress”. As we can see, Nigerians have faith and that is what keeps us in forcing ourselves to be united. Is there any peace? Your answer is as good as mine. Are we progressing? May be we need another ten years to answer that.

Robot  # 1 | 04.06.2009 06:41

Dr Ephraim Anyanate For the past couple of years, when it comes to around the end of the month of May, several activities and write ups dress the pages of our news media. Taking a look at the pages of our newspapers in the past week, there appear to be so many headlines and captions as well as special reports on 10 years of Democracy. Commentators keep writing as if it is only a decade since Nigeria started democratic rule. From the write ups, it does not appear as if any one has a success story to tell over the years. The reports range from lamentations at the state levels to the federal level. Only a few speak about successes over the last 10 years and a critical look will show they are politicians who probably have gained from the system. Most commentators never talk about what we have learnt from practicing whatever the previous period will be called. It is true that there was military incursion into our political life. But the military have not been there al...Read the full article.