Growing up in Nigeria left some indelible memories of what the country and the people used to be like and the great promises of what might have been. I knew Nigeria before her emancipation from a colonial power; there was a Governor-General in Lagos and a Governor each in the East, the West and the North. Every year saw the celebration of ‘Empire’ Day. My very first experience of this colonial ritual left some lasting impressions on the young, innocent mind of a seven-year old. The year was 1956 and it was my first year of school ever. There was plenty of rice and stew and meat, all prepared on the school grounds of Government School Auchi by some local cooks. Every student and teacher was in a celebratory mood. Many years later I wondered if that was one way the masters placated their wards, or captives, if you may. 

Then came Independence four years later. The political landscape had changed considerably, with such titans as Nnamdi Azikiwe, Obafemi Awolowo, Dennis Osadebey, Ahmadu Bello, Michael Okpara , Ladoke Akintola and fellow patriots striding the vast and beautiful terrain laden with promise and hope. Auchi, in Edo state, happens to be in the Savannah, which is comparable to the Prairies of North America. As a child the beautiful, endless acres of green grassland being caressed by a gentle wind was ever alluring and inviting.  I remember just how I could not wait to roll in the knee-high grass, totally oblivious of any possible dangers that might lurk below. Hopping all around were gigantic grasshoppers, which, allegedly, were eaten by the locals.

Up the hill from my school was the GRA or government reservation area, a quiet and organized expanse of land where the colonial masters and a few ‘top’ Nigerians lived. Most of the traffic here was limited to the residents and the hordes of servants going about their daily chores. And just across the street was this lone one-storey building that was, no doubt, the most beautiful structure around. I mention this building because in it lived a man who was a D O or District Officer. He was a graduate of UCI or University College Ibadan, as that Nigerian premier institution was then known. He drove a black Zephyr, which was of course the only automobile in the vicinity. I wanted to be just like him when I grew up.

That same year, 1956, Queen Elizabeth of England and the head of the British Empire and the Commonwealth, paid a visit to Nigeria and made a stop over in Benin City, which was then in the Western Region. My father, who was then a teacher in my school, traveled to the ancient city for the occasion. He came back with some souvenirs and told me stories about the visit. I also wanted to be like my father who could do just about anything! He was my hero. We were not rich, but were considered affluent enough to fit somewhere in what is today called the middle class. One cannot help wondering if that class still exists in Nigeria today. Your guess is as good as mine. Every family strived to send their children to school for the promise of a better tomorrow represented by this newly independent, sovereign and vibrant nation. Nigeria needed the trained manpower to sustain the young country. All hands, it seemed, were on deck.

The picture was not all rosy, however. Remember that Nigeria is a conglomerate of some 200 plus ethnic groups concocted by the British for whatever reason, including their exploitative economic objectives. The colonial masters, deliberately or inadvertently, sowed the seeds of discord, suspicion and rivalry among the groups very early in the experiment, if that is what it was. The ‘divide and conquer’ strategy had been very effectively employed in the past by the British to manipulate their ‘possessions’ around the world.  This was to be the undoing of Nigeria. Distrust, jealousy and rivalry had quickly set in among the ethnic groups, especially the dominant ones who wanted to call the shots. This witnessed the birth of tribal loyalty in Nigeria. Years later, as we all know today of course, this vice degraded to a dog-eat-dog mentality, with every man for himself. Forget the tribe. The rest, as they say, is history. 

Then petroleum or oil was discovered and this single event altered the course of Nigerian history forever. And then was ushered in the military interregnum which is now generally looked upon as the most unfortunate plague to have stricken the country.  Nigeria fought and survived a civil war. An innocent and unsuspecting nation was robbed of its youth and promise and plunged into the abyss of corruption and vice. Military generals after succeeding generals robbed and raped the country and institutionalized corruption as a way of life. One of them wondered openly why the Nigerian economy, which was then on life support after being battered into complete chaos and anarchy, had not collapsed. Yes, believe it or not, that statement was attributed to a ‘head of state’ who turned out to be the foremost architect of a depraved nation that has been on permanent life support ever since.

In spite of it all Nigeria’s heart stubbornly defied all logic and continued to beat. Schools at all levels became a mere shadow of the learning institutions that they were supposed to be. Student unrest and strikes became the order of the day especially in the higher institutions. In retaliation our visionless military ‘rulers’ shut the schools down, sometimes indefinitely.  One of the consequences of this dastardly act by the oppressive military was the fuelling of a massive brain drain that was already in the advanced stages of development. Yes, the Andrews and the Andreas were ‘checking out’ in droves, in pursuit of a friendlier clime. Nigeria had woefully failed them. Most of the Nigerians in Diaspora today, including yours truly, are all victims of that era.

Then finally in 1997 there appeared a momentary flash of light at the end of this seemingly endless tunnel, or so it seemed. The military losers had allowed a succession by an elected civilian government. At the helm, however, was one of their own, although cloaked in civilian garbs. It was no surprise at all that the unfortunate Nigeria was once again dealt a raw deal; some eight years of barbaric dictatorship disguised as democracy. And this was followed in April 2007 by the most flawed elections in the history of the country that saw the imposition of a selected government on the helpless people of Nigeria. Once again, Nigerians had been screwed, big time.

Now in conclusion the question begging to be asked is how really helpless is the Nigerian electorate? Here is a country that boasts the most literate citizenry in Africa and one of the foremost elite on the planet. It has been suggested that a people gets the leadership it deserves. And so if Nigerians cannot elect leaders of integrity and probity, but would rather embrace the morally challenged looters and kleptocrats who are in power today, then that says a lot about the current mentality of the people.

At the end of the day, it might be said that there is still hope for Nigeria despite the repeated abuse and rape by its so-called leaders.

May God Bless NIGERIA!  

Robot  # 1 | 03.02.2008 22:39

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Oghre  # 2 | 04.02.2008 09:50

“How really helpless is the Nigerian electorate?” Well, very helpless as you rightly observed, they expect everything to be done for them. They won’t even acknowledge the problem lay with them. The number of articles written and the many complaints about leadership, even the world’s “leading democracies” fail to place the issue of corruption and bad leadership on the laps of the Nigerian citizens. One would not have to look far to notice that Nigerians celebrate corrupt politicians and encourage them to steal so as to help their local chiefs, acolytes, families and villages. Wealth is celebrated more than integrity; corruption has eaten into the heart and fabric of the traditional Nigerian society like wild cancer. If you refuse to encourage corruption (eat I eat) you could be torpedoed from office by your subjects and managers. It is almost impossible to be a one man crusader these days because the country is now a forest of money with all scrambling to get their share. My uncle who served in government without dabbling in any sort of kickback is now the village laughing stock, a wasted opportunity to enrich himself and his followers. I will repeat what I said before; Nigerians deserve their leaders and the current state of the nation. If they want change they can simple go out and ask for it, and they will bloody well get it. It is impossible for the US army, let alone the crappy Nigerian Army to defeat 140 million revolting Nigerians. A combination of a moral state of mind coupled with sacrifice (for the next generation) is what we need right now. What we also need is for Nigerians to be responsible and not produce children they cannot feed; the obsession with producing large starving families is too common and we must sort it out. We are slowly getting to the Somalian situation where starving-poverty-stricken parents produce offspring that they know will die in 6 months! There is no God around to save Nigeria, it must save itself!