Part I: A Decade Like No Other
By; Aiyevbekpen John Osakue
The euphoria of the 63rd independence celebration of our great country is still in the air, in spite of the grinding economic hardships. Following intense protestations and resistant activities, Nigerian political independence was negotiated and granted on October 1, 1960.
The journey to nationhood started with booby traps laid on her paths by British imperialist. Secret colonial documents recently revealed that underneath public glare, the British negotiated and entered a secret deal with the northern oligarchy on a couple of issues bordering on the strategic interests of both parties; the division of the country into three regions with the northern region disproportionately larger than the two southern regions was ab initio part of the scheme that sowed the seed of division. They educated them on the future role of the military and encouraged them to enroll their sons in the Nigerian army and they secretly financed the activities of the main northern political party. Apparently, the political foundation laid by the British was not designed to produce stability and progress.
The Nigerian frontline pre- independence politicians namely;
Nnandi Azikiwe, Ahmadu Bello and Obafemi Awolowo, who have been branded nationalists for being in the forefront of the struggle for independence held sway in power in the post- independence, first republic era. Not only did they call the shots at the Regions, they also controlled the flow and ebb of political activities at the center.
Although, the first republic was brief, the period had its fair share of political turbulence and instability. Such instability was not uncommon with the experience from other climes where new helmsman had assumed new powers with clay feet. In spite of political quarrels arising majorly from suspicions of domination of one part over the other and other such distractions, there were salutary signs of positive regional strides in economic and social development. Agriculture soon became the powerhouse of the Nigerian economy. Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s leadership of the western region was determined to prove a point; that Africans had the capacity to govern themselves. He was able to demonstrate this, by setting the pace in the development of agriculture particularly Cocoa, rubber, palm oil and palm kernel.
In the communication sector, he established the Western Broadcasting Service which had Radio and the first Television Station in Africa and many more.
Western Region was well ahead of many countries in Africa and beyond. The remarkable improvements in Regional governments and the spirit of healthy competition triggered therefrom reflected in national economic growth in the new nation. But the process was prematurely and brutally terminated by some tribal bigots in the Nigerian Army, who were employed and armed to defend the nation against external aggression.
The Nigerian Army meddlesome incursion into politics on January 15, 1966, only six years after independence, was motivated pointedly by narrow sectional interest. Being sectional in coloration and execution, it soon provoked a retaliatory or a counter coup d’ etate. Calamity of immense proportion befell the land and irreversibly tilted the course of Nigerian history till date. The entire process of development, of making mistakes and correcting same, as a new nation, was disrupted. The counter coup effectively took over the control of power from General Aguyi Ironsi.
The military under the leadership of Yakubu Gown on assumption of office struggled to hold the country together. The crisis that ensued degenerated into perilous slipping slopes as every effort to manage the Nigerian diversity woefully failed. The nation quickly slipped inexorably into a full blown civil war that lasted for three years – 1967 – 1970.
Nigeria survived the scare of disintegration but sacrificed the gains and the economic momentum of the early 1960s to the cataclysm. In one fiat, the army destroyed the original economic and political foundation of federalism by breaking the country into States without clear goal driven principles beyond the jittery urgency to reduce regional tension and powers. That was a telling blow on the inherent capacity of the component federal unit to deliver economic growth and development. It has ever since remained a clog on the wheel of national development.
The civil war ended with Nigerian reunification in 1970. Within the first decade of coming together again, Nigeria had the good fortune of witnessing coruscating torrential showers of blessings from the black gold gleefully nicknamed, the oil boom.
As a result of the 1973 Middle East War and Arab oil boycott, Nigeria oil sales and prices were heavily boosted. For purposes of illustration, Nigerian oil sales increased from $2.4 billion in 1973 to $6.3 billion in 1974. This was huge! In the 1970s, Nigeria maintained a middle income economy with a GDP of 45 trillion NGN which was at that time equal to USD 102 trillion, due the higher value of the Naira to the Dollar.
At the time, any development dream or imagination could have been effectively translated into reality General Yakubu Gowon, young, handsome and soft spoken, who successfully prosecuted the civil war was Head of State. As peace time administrator, Gowon was patently inexperienced and unprepared for the complicated post-war challenges of political leadership. Yet, it was his lot to carry the daunting weight of a troubled nation on his tiny shoulders. He was visited by wisdom and smartly head hunted for some eminently capable hands to steer the ship of state. It is on record that the military under his watch tried to make sense out of the serendipity their meteoric rise to power for nearly nine good years. And then, Murtala Mohammed cum Obasanjo regime stepped in 1976 with firebrand revolutionary theatrics of eliminating corruption.
Between Gen. Gowon and Mohammed cum Obasanjo regimes, modern infrastructures across the country were delivered, cutting through all sectors namely; modern administrative buildings, wider and better paved roads, bridges, building of industries, refineries educational institutions, health institutions etc. The most damning weakness of the era was the shortsightedness of policies and lack of capacity to envisage sustainable structures and systems for future developmental needs. More significantly, what was accomplished within the period, particularly between 1973 to 1983, is nothing comparable to what could have been achieved with better vision, meticulous planning and efficient execution of projects given the monstrously colossal resources at their disposal. With the pleasant notion that money was not the problem but how to spend it, it was a decade like no other. They could have saved for the future of Nigeria in sovereign wealth funds.
Rather than do that, they embarked on white elephant projects and began to import goods of all sorts with recklessness and prodigality. It was the days of import license and foreign exchange scams. What a massive opportunity lost to the winds! Most nations that experienced oil boom during the same period raced past Nigeria in technology acquisition and industrialization and have not looked back ever since. The military ruling class fleeced the resources of the nation with reckless abandon!
In 1979, the military voluntarily returned power to civil rule through General Olusegun Obasanjo. Alhaji Shehu Shagari became President of Nigeria after Chief Obafemi Awolowo hotly disputed the outcome of the election held that year right up to the Supreme Court. Let the cantankerous and implacable losers of today find some education in that judgment. Alhaji Shehu Shagari was in office for only one term before the political wing of the military staged a come back. Shagari was wimpish, obtuse, naïve and lacked leadership charisma. His surprise emergence as the candidate of the NPN was facilitated by Fulani smokey backroom politics of domination in Northern Nigeria.
Shagari could not entrench a purposeful, transparent and accountable government. His green revolution program was only green in the pockets of Umaru Dikko and the paladins of the then NPN.
Nigerian economy under Shehu Shagari was not short of impressive slogans but totally rudderless and delivered practically nothing on the dining table. Top leaders of government made inflammatory statements that depicted high level of insensitivity and disconnection from the people. There seemed to be no resourceful plan, dedicated effort and innovative zeal to roll out policies and programs capable of turning the economy around.
At this point, the military that impatiently waited in the wings and which saw itself, as alternate government, had more than enough excuses to topple Shehu Shagari and immediately replaced him with a fellow Fulani by the name Muhammadu Buhari. Not so long, the unquenchable ambition of General Babangida precipitated a palace coup against Buhari.
Ibrahim Babangida, the gap-toothed General was socially adroit and politically astute. He nearly demystified reputable and celebrated critics and eggheads in the In the country. He lured them into government positions laying banana peels on their paths to put their integrity to test. A few had their image bruised. For good eight years, IBB, as he was fondly called held Nigeria spellbound with the mastery of Diego Maradona’s football dribbling style on the political turf. IBB economic policies including unimaginable currency devaluations were IMF influenced.
They were poorly implemented and unfortunately led to deeper economic crisis. Babangida dribbled himself into a tight corner where he was forced to yield grounds essentially to the stern faced, dark spectacled, over-ambitious Sani Abacha. Never mind the high level politics of the military that temporally drafted in, Mr. Shonekan as Head of State in the mix. It was a clever control mechanism needed to position the next set of ambitious leaders in the political arm of the military amidst the atmosphere of instability and turmoil that engulfed the land. Abacha regime had all the trappings of maximum dictatorship. Civil liberty and press freedom were seriously curtailed.
The CBN was invaded at will and billions were carted away at the behest of the dictator. Nigeria was fleeced, bartered and left in the cold limbo!
Aiyevbekpen John Osakue
Political Commentator
Osakue, a political strategist and commentator writes from Benin City.
