NIGERIA AT 55: “Where It Went Wrong”

55 years ago our beloved country gained her independence and on that very day October 1 1960 many of us were celebrating just as we shall be doing today.

We all know the story of how Nigeria was formed and how we gained our independence so I am not going into that instead what I am going to do is to highlight some of the key things in our history that we should have taken note of that would have helped us over the years. 

In 1900 it was said that Britain officials assumed responsibility for the administration of Nigeria from the Niger Company and from there onward British protectorate were establish and in 1914 well you all know the rest. Now what many of you might not know is the fact that before the British government could take over the territory from the Niger Company they first of all paid a sum of 8650 pounds a very huge amount back then, so what our historian failed to tell us is the fact that Nigeria started off as a business deal for the British. So the notion that the British came to Nigeria to spread democracy is a big lie, to them Nigeria was created for one purpose only to supply goods and services for Great Britain. Nigerians later came to understand what the British were up to and 50 years after the British government bought Nigeria, the Nigerian people started to push for self governance and that was when the struggle for independence began. The first three Nigerians that headed the movement which the world was also exposed to were Olufunmilayo Ransome Kuti, Jaja A Wackuku and Prince Adedoyin and this was in 1947. As early as 1956 when the Queen visited Nigeria which was gearing towards self governance and the nation was already been expected to be the foremost and leading black nation on the continent, with where we are today you can all say that things didn't go as expected.

The big question is “where did it all go wrong for Nigeria?”

I for one I have always said that the fact that we can’t live as one is our major problem, and when I say “live as one” I mean living as one united people regardless of our tribe or language. As at when we gained independent Nigeria was using a UK parliamentary system of government with three main political parties NCNC led by Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, the NPC led by Amadu Bello and the AG led by Cheif Obafemi Awolowo and this to me was a bad situation for a country that was supposed to be united as one because the ruling party which was NPC essentially represented one constituency which was the North and that till now explains why the northerners would always want to gain power. One thing that many people might not remember or not put into consideration was the fact that in as much as the founding fathers were intelligent and ambitious people, they also never truly trusted each other. Awolowo has always felt that the Yoruba’s should be the one in power and was not satisfied as the opposition leader. Azikiwe was just a figure head who was forced into NCNC by chief Fetus Eboh who can be said to the person that began corrupt practice in Nigerian government. Moving forward we were suppose to be working towards how we are going to be one united nation instead in 1963 the mid west state was created by Dennis Osadebay which also further push Nigeria towards ethnic collapsing because it made the north stronger in the parliament and with that no major decision could be taken unless the north are inclined with it. The NNDP was in good rapport with the NPC which meant that the first election since independent was basically contested by two political parties the NPC and NCNC which if we look at it, it was putting the South against the North.

The first great mistake was the first military coup that happened in 1966 and that was where it all finally went wrong for Nigeria though the military took over power due to the bad and corrupt manners the politicians were using in running the government. 

It has to be said the though the coup plotters didn't successfully take over power but they were able to destroy the government and this was what led to the handing over of power to Major General Aguiyi Ironsi who took charge of the south while the north was still in control of one of the coup plotter Major Nzeogwu.  The easterners where the most progress people in Nigeria then and with Ironsi in power the northern feared that the easterners would dominate Nigeria forever and this also led to another coup which was basically fueled by some of the mistakes Ironsi made. 

Just like it was expected, the northerners carried out a counter coup in July 1966 barely seven month after Ironsi took over power and this coup was bloody. The first mistake the northerners did was to appoint Lt Col Yakubu Gowon as the Head of Government instead of Muritala who spearheaded the coup and that didn't go down well Muritala and also General Chukuemaka Ojukwu who said that though Gowon was the most senior northern officer, he wasn't the most senior Nigerian officer. Now let me say this, in as much as I would blame our forefathers for the way they handled things since independence, I would also blame the British government for the role they played or should I say the role they didn't play, because of the returns they were excepting from the money they gave to Fetus Eboh to sponsor the NCNC they failed to mention it that the way we were running our government wasn't the best way. They also failed to interfere when the military took over power an act that wouldn’t have happen in Britain.

The second great mistake and when it all went wrong for Nigeria again was when Awolowo was released by Ojukwu with believe that he would lead the Yoruba secession as Ojukwu was planning with the east. Ojukwu saw that the only way to stop the killing of his people was to break free but when Awolowo was released he joined the Gowon government and this was seen as a north-south alliance and this were part of the events that led to the Nigeria civil war which many of you know the story. What many might not know is the fact that the civil wasn't only because of tribal intolerance but majorly because of oil. During the time the east was planning secession, oil had been discovered in that part of Nigeria and with the north knowing how much money they could make from it, they stood firm that if Ojukwu (that was being begged by his people to break them free) should try such it would be seen as an act of treason.

The third mistakes that was made was when Gowon declared on his independent day speech in 1974 that Nigeria wasn't  ready to return to civil rule and with that he would be proposing his handing over date of 1976 which he had earlier promised. Though the 1975 coup was completely bloodless but it also showed that the military could not be trusted with power as it was obvious that any military man with the gut could take power for himself. General Muritala Muhammad was the man that was chosen to lead the new regime the sane Muritala that was expected to have been made the Head of Government when Ironsi was dethroned.  During the regime of General Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria had hope that the country was going to get better but the harsh and cruel method in which the Buhari/Idiagbon used in executing their plans only made the matter worst and this was another mistake.

Another major mistake that changed the course of Nigeria was when the famous 1993 election was cancelled by Babaginda. The acclaimed and general accepted winner of the 1993 election was M.K.O and because of his generosity to the people it was clear the people wanted him to be the man that would lead Nigeria forward but that wasn't the case as we all know what happened. What many people didn't know or probably chose to neglect was the fact that M.K.O wasn’t a saint, his wealth was due to the strong connection he had with the Shagari government and that of the Obasanjo military government and he was even labelled as I.T.T (International Thief Thief) by music legend Fela. The result of not giving power to M.K.O and Babaginda's step aside from government was General Sani Abacha the most wicked and cruel leader Nigeria has ever had.

P.D.P was the saving grace of Nigeria when Nigeria needed a hero as it was on this platform that former military head of state Obasanjo ran and become the president of Nigeria. The coming of Obasanjo ensured that Nigerians were heading towards a better life and believe it or not we did head towards a better life. There was improvement in the economy and the fact that the fear of a military government coming in to take over was gone was another big relief to every Nigerian. The push for a third term and the emergence of late Musa Yar’auda as the person that succeeded Obasanjo was the beginning of the end for P.D.P as a party and another mistaken step for Nigeria. The death of Yar’auda changed the course of the nation again as some prominent Hausas with the party didn't want his Vice President a Southerner to take over power and this of course led to the delay of the appointment or should I say conferment of Goodluck Jonathan as the President of Nigeria. Jonathan did not only serve the reminder of Yar’auda tenure but also went ahead to contest and won the presidential election and I am sure what transpired during his regime is still fresh in our memory.

With all these I hope you have seen that the situation that we find ourselves today isn’t just a problem that was created by P.D.P as many would say but it is indeed a combination of all the mistakes our founding fathers and the British government made in the past. 

Writtern by: Onitilo Hafeez
Reference: A Documentary written by Jide Olanrewaju