By Habib Aruna
Pa Anthony Enahoro, the late great nationalist who symbolically moved the motion for the country’s independence in 1956 agreed to be interviewed by this writer shortly after he came back from exile. By that time, maximum military dictator, General Sani Abacha had died, in a manner that is still controversial, and General Abdulsalami Abubakar had successfully organized a transition programme that led to the emergence of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo as the first President of the current democratic dispensation.
So, Enahoro and other activists who were in exile, like Professor Wole Soyinka, Dan Suleiman, Dr. Kayode Fayemi were implored to come back home by the military regime. Enahoro, in the course of our interview, told me about an incident that happened in Ondo in the then Western Region. He said when the nationalists were going round the country to argue for a case for independence they had a stop at a town in Ondo and he was approached by an elderly man, who asked him if the country was indeed ready for independence.
Enahoro said he was shocked and surprised by the question coming from the old man and wanted to find out what prompted the skepticism. He said the man answered that from the look of things he was not too sure that Nigeria was ready to be freed from British rule and that we should give the colonialists more years in the country so that Nigerians will be fully ready to take over. Pa Enahoro said many years after independence, the old man’s concerns and doubts about the readiness of the country for self-rule always agitates his mind whenever he looks at the state of things in the country. From political instability to an economy that is still largely dependent on a single commodity export for the elusive foreign exchange.
There is no doubt that situation in the country has gotten worse and degenerated than that cool evening at Enahoro GRA, Ikeja residence, just few months after the birth of this dispensation, when the great nationalist and Esan High Chief was lamenting to this writer about the worsening state of the nation. Of course, he should be concerned because this was not the country he and other founding fathers dreamed of when they forced the British to lower the Union Jack at the Independence Square, now known as Tafawa Balewa Square.
Even though not all First Republic politicians wanted independence in 1960 for obvious reasons, North and South were divided, it was nonetheless granted by the British, but after the country was structured in a way that favoured them, both politically and economically. The parliamentary system we practiced was inherited from Westminster, while the economy was meant to produce raw materials for their industries in the United Kingdom. And even though politicians in the First Republic were more nationalistic, patriotic and less corrupt, it was cut short in 1966 by a military coup.
The military ruled for more than 13 years and within that period, more states were created from the four regions, the period witnessed oil boom that was wasted because of lack of pragmatism and foresight by our leaders, who were more concerned about what to do with the petro-dollars than building lasting infrastructure and diversifying the economy so that we will be less dependent on oil. The military were forced to go back to the barracks in 1979 when the Second Republic was born. The Parliamentary system was however replaced with the more costly Presidential system. And even though some of the politicians like Chief Obafemi Awolowo and his United Party of Nigeria (UPN) governors were more prudent, progressive and visionary, politicians in the ruling National Party of Nigeria (NPN) were careless and living like there will be no tomorrow and spending irresponsibly.
At that time, it was evident that the country was going down the slope. The economy that still relies on one major commodity was now increasingly becoming monolithic and vulnerable to vagaries in the world market; corruption was at the highest level without accountability; hospitals became mere dispensaries, we had decaying infrastructure and general lack of effective leadership. It was therefore not a surprise that Khaki boys again took over in 1983. Then in August 1985, power exchanged hands between General Muhammadu Buhari and General Ibrahim Babangida.
Even so, the Babangida regime took the country for a ride with its endless transition programme. It was during this transition that the June 12 presidential election was held. An election widely regarded as the freest and fairest in the unenviable political history of the country. After the election and Chief Moshood Abiola, the candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) was heading to victory, the military suddenly annulled the result. The annulment threw the country into an endless crisis, leading to the death of hundreds of Nigerians, imprisonment of dozens of others, while many went into forced exile. In the process, Abacha died and Abiola, the winner of June 12 elections also died in detention.
The Obasanjo administration that came in the aftermath failed to cure the ills that he met on ground and still failed, before he left office, to put the country on a sound footing for growth and development. It will be recalled that the military and their civilian counterparts did not hide their disposition to install Obasanjo as the new helmsman. The late Admiral Mike Akhigbe, who was the vice to Abdulsalami, was indeed sent to Lagos to meet senior journalists a few weeks after they took over. Akhigbe told the media executives that the military was interested in the transition. He said their desire was to see ‘Obasanjo as Nigeria’s own Mandela’.
The assumption was that with his vast experience, exposure, influence, and history, Obasanjo has the capacity to change the country for the better. Every nation at a critical juncture of its history needs a strong, visionary and selfless leader who will make sure that enduring institutions and templates are planted to secure the future of the country.
It is doubtful if that was done. Instead, what we see are ruling elites who are more parasitic, capricious and insensitive to the plight of Nigerians. Hence, at 66 Nigerians cannot, with the benefit of hindsight, be pumping champagne. It has absolutely been a case of arrested development. We are not where we should be as a nation!