Nigeria: 55 Years of Infancy
Historians
describe the year 1960 as an annus mirabilis which in Latin means a wonderful
or miraculous year. In that year, 11 African countries gained independence from
the British and French.
Nigeria,
Africa’s most populous nation, is bordered by four countries: Benin Republic,
Cameroon, Chad and Niger. Incidentally, the four countries all received
independence in the same year. While Benin Republic gained independence from
France on August 1, Cameroon received independence from France on January 1.
Similarly, Niger gained her independence from France on August 3 while Nigeria,
the world’s most populous black nation, received her independence from Britain
on October 1.
However,
historians will argue that the euphoria and hope, which greeted the African
countries on the day of independence when their flags were first hoisted,
appear to have dimmed over the years. And like the biblical Israelites, these
African countries are still in the wilderness even as they seek respite from
the yoke of corruption and visionless leadership.
According
to political observers, the problems plaguing these four African countries seem
to be very similar especially in the areas of corruption, low standard of
living, political instability, terrorism, ethnic violence and poverty.
Corruption
The
four African countries have been plagued by systemic and endemic corruption
which has in turn affected the development of Sub-Saharan Africa in the last 55
years. According to Transparency International’s Corrupt Perception Index of
2014, Nigeria and Cameroon jointly share the position as the 136th most corrupt
countries in the world with a score of 27 per cent. Chad is the 154th most
corrupt country with a score of 22 per cent while Niger is the 103rd most
corrupt country with a score of 35 per cent. Benin has the best showing as the
80th most corrupt country in the world with a score of 39 per cent.
Poverty
Corruption
and poverty, according to United States President, Barack Obama, are two sides
of the same coin. It is probably for this reason that the most corrupt nations
usually have the highest poverty index in the world.
In
this regard, Nigeria and its neighbours have high poverty rates. However, the
rate of poverty in Nigeria seems the most alarming because it is the largest
economy in Africa with a GDP of $594bn due to the nation’s large oil exports
and having the second largest stock exchange in Africa. However, due to
pervasive corruption, daily oil theft coupled with the mismanagement of
resources, 46 per cent of Nigerians live below the poverty line, according to a
2010 report by the World Bank while the life expectancy is 52 years.
In
Cameroon, 39.9 per cent of her population lives below the poverty line with a
life expectancy of 55 years while in Benin Republic, 36.2 per cent of the
population lives below the poverty line and a life expectancy of 59 years,
according to the same report. In Chad, 46.7 per cent of the population lives
below the poverty line with a life expectancy of 51 years while in Niger it is
48.9 per cent with a life expectancy of 58 years.
Political
stability
The
four neighbours seem to have improved tremendously in the last 10 years with
all of them embracing democracy, albeit in different ways.
From
1960 to 1999, Nigeria saw about six coups of which three were achieved through
bloodshed. However, Nigeria seems to be the best among the four in the area of
political stability. Nigeria is experiencing its longest democratic
dispensation ever: 16 years. In this year, for the first time, the longest
ruling party, the Peoples Democratic Party, lost to the new All Progressives
Congress in a keenly contested election which was relatively peaceful, free and
fair. The immediate past President, Goodluck Jonathan, peacefully handed over
to the incumbent President, Muhammadu Buhari. The nation has since received
praise from all over the world.
Interestingly,
Buhari, who became a military head of state in 1983 after a bloodless coup,
helped ensure that democracy was re-installed in Burkina Faso last week after a
coup saw the ouster of the interim government.
In
Benin Republic, President Boni Yayi has been President since 2006 and his tenure
should end next year. Niger experienced a short-lived military government
following a constitutional crisis which was fostered by President Mamadou
Tandja who wanted to run for a third term in 2009. He was, however, imprisoned
and democracy was restored the following year.
Cameroon’s
democracy, which has no term limit, has seen President Paul Biya rule since
1982. The country has, however, experienced relative political stability. In
Chad General Idriss Déby, who took power as the head of a rebellion against
President Hissène Habré in December 1990, has since survived various rebellions
against his own rule. He won elections in 1996 and 2001, and after term
limitation was eliminated, he won again in 2006 and 2011.
While
many political parties are active, power lies firmly in the hands of President
Déby and his political party, the Patriotic Salvation Movement.
Terrorism
Terrorism
in Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon and Niger has attained unprecedented heights in the
last two years – leading to the deaths of thousands and the abduction of
hundreds, mostly women. It is hard to forget the abduction of over 200
schoolgirls in the town of Chibok in Borno State, the perceived headquarters of
Boko Haram.
Nigeria,
Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Republic of Benin, came together in 2014 to fight
terrorism. They came together to form a Multinational Joint Task Force to
combat the activities of Boko Haram in any of the countries and agreed to send
their troops to begin counter-terrorism operations against the group along
their national borders.
The
war has also led to the increase in the number of refugees and Internally
Displaced Persons’ camps. The porous borders have made it easy for terrorists
to strike and enter the respective countries at will. President Buhari has,
however, given the Nigerian troops three months to crush the terrorists.
The
next five years
In
the next five years, the five countries would be marking their diamond
jubilees. However, how well they are able to tackle the problems of corruption,
terrorism and political instability today would determine if the occasion would
be deserving of celebration.
While
delivering his speech at the African Union headquarters in Ethiopia in July, US
President Barack Obama called on Africans to end “the cancer of corruption” to
ensure continued progress.
“Nothing
will unlock Africa’s economic potential more than ending the cancer of
corruption,” Obama said, warning that it drained “billions of dollars” from
economies that could be used for health or create employment.
He
also slammed African leaders who have a penchant for staying in power long
after their terms might have expired. He called on African leaders to build
strong democratic institutions instead.
Views
of elder statesmen
Elder
statesman, Dr. Tunji Braithwaite, told our correspondent during an interview
that the problem of Nigeria and many other African countries was that they were
created by colonial authorities and their respective diversities were not taken
into consideration.
He
said this was why many of the founding fathers in Nigeria were more loyal to
their tribes than the country.
Braithwaite
said even after the colonial masters departed Africa, neo-colonialism continued
and that was why the progressive elements like Kwame Nkrumah in Ghana and
Patrice Lumumba of Congo were undermined.
Braithwaite,
who was a delegate to the 2014 National Conference, said it was the diversity
in Nigeria that the conference sought to address and argued that the
implementation of the confab report would restructure the nation and lead to
real social change and development in Nigeria.
The
82-year-old statesman said, “The British carved Nigeria into three big regions
and made sure that there was no singleness of purpose. We were not bound by
mother tongue.”
On
the way forward, Braithwaite added, “The way forward was examined at the
National Conference and it was admitted that Nigeria, being an artificial
contraption, needed to be restructured. We did not agree on confederacy but we
did propose fiscal federalism.”
On
his part, a former Governor of the old Kaduna State, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, told
our correspondent that change could only come to Nigeria through a social
revolution and not by the ballot.
He
said this was because only those who have the financial means win elections in
Nigeria. He, therefore, cast doubts in the ability of President Buhari to bring
the much needed change.
He
said, “The problem with the West African region is bad leadership and that is
why we have similar problems.
“I
have no faith in Buhari because to have hope, I have to see the capacity in
coping with the negative state of the nation but I don’t see the capacity. So,
Nigeria will continue at this pace unless the system of leadership changes.
“A
change which maintains the status quo cannot be change. You see how difficult
it is for the different arms of government to work together. So, we need a
social revolution because I don’t think they will allow the will of the ballot
to prevail since money is now the deciding factor.”
On
his part, a former Governor of Anambra State, Chukwuemeka Ezeife, argued that
the problem of Nigeria was tribalism. He said tribalism in Nigeria was
hindering development but maintained that secession was not the answer.
He
said if Nigeria could get it right, it would have a ripple effect on other
neighbouring countries.
He
said once the country can develop its military and economy, every other thing
in the country would fall into place.
He
said, “None of our past leaders have understood Nigeria’s destiny and that is
why we always got it wrong. America has a black President today because it has
been able to see beyond tribalism. Once Nigeria can see beyond this, things
will change.”
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