Recent events in Nigeria’s political arena have made many
citizens anxious, forcing many to conclude that the country is in trouble. The
gradual descent into anarchy readily brings to mind the events that preceded
the coup of January 15, 1966. That day marked a turning point in Nigeria’s
history, a point Nigeria has not been able to recover from, almost five decades
after.
So bad is it now that the Hausa- Fulani, Igbo, Yoruba, Ijaw,
Efik, Ibibio, Itsekiri, Nupe and the many others that make up the country have
realized that they were bounded together in a country that could fail if care
is not taken.
Those who were around in 1966 have also admitted that the
things that led to a military coup that sparked off the Civil War of 1967-70
could be considered small when compared to the pure drop into lawlessness that
the country is going through.
Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu, a Major, led the coup that
terminated the lives of some of the greatest politicians Nigeria had then. The
Sardauna of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Prime Minister, Abubakar Tafawa
Balewa, the Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola and
Chief Festus Okotie Eboh were among those who lost their lives. Brigadier
Samuel Adesoji Ademulegun, then the most senior Yoruba officer in the army and
Brigadier Zakari Maimalari were brutally cut down.
Apart from having refused to join the plot, Ademulegun's respect for traditional institutions particularly irked Nzeogwu who found it absurd that “a General of the Nigerian
Army would remove his military boots and sit on the floor in the palace of an
emir.” That was the main reason for the “gun him down” stand Nzeogwu took when Ademulegun's fate was to be decided.
Unfortunately, not only have almost all uniforms been
desecrated today, evils are perpetrated while uniformed personnel look the
other way.
As to what led to the coup and subsequently laid the
foundation of where Nigeria is today, Major General IBM Haruna (rtd),
said: "The dominance of the NPC and the perceived dominance of the
North in the centre were like a threat to the presumed more enlightened and
better educated Southerners who believed they were the backbone of the movement
for Nigerian independence but did not succeed the colonial power to run the
affairs of the state. So with that background one can now lay the
foundation of the perception of the military struggle in Nigerian
politics."
It would therefore not be wrong to say the desperation for
power, as being witnessed today formed the crux of the problem back then.
The use of the police and the military to cow opponents into
submission also ended up being a major error as most soldiers watched keenly
and read meanings to postings. Sadly, our politicians don’t seem to have learnt
from history as the police force has become a willing accomplice to some
politicians. Back in the 1960s, 'Operation Banker', a joint Army-Police operation
in the Western region was led by Lt. Col. Maimalari, who was the Commanding
Officer of the 4th Battalion on the orders of the Premier of the Western
Region, Chief Akintola. The action led to the declaration of a state of emergency
in May 1962 following a mêlée in the House of Assembly and the appointment of
an administrator.
Another undoing of the politicians then was the refusal of
the ceremonial President, Nnamdi Azikiwe, a member of the NCNC to invite the
Prime Minister, Tafawa Balewa of the NPC to form a government after the Federal
Election of December, 1965.
Rather than work with Balewa after the controversial
elections, Zik issued orders to the Army to enforce his authority to suspend
the government, annul the elections and appoint a temporary interim
administrator to conduct elections.
The military’s refusal to carry out the President’s orders
(which were not quite constitutional anyway) paved way for a resolution which
culminated in the formation of a government of "national unity" under
Balewa, the Prime Minister.
The 1965 elections happened to be the last straw. The
breakdown of law and order was the invitation the military, which had been on
standby needed. Major Emmanuel Ifeajuna, Captain Emmanuel Nwobosi and Chuikwuma
Nzeogwu all agreed that the politicians had failed to find a solution to the
problem of the country which they felt was heading towards “chaos and
disaster”. There was also apprehension that the Federal Government, controlled
by the NPC would declare a state of emergency in the Eastern State, controlled
by the NCNC due to agitation for the creation of Rivers State.
Interestingly, Nigeria has found itself almost at the same
spot today. In parts of Adamawa, Yobe and Borno States, where Boko Haram terrorists
have hoisted their flag, the President declared a state of emergency, which has
been renewed twice. More alarming is the fact that the states are under the
control of the opposition party, All Progressives Congress.
In trying to sanitize the system, favouritism reared its
head. While Northern leaders were executed, with Nzeogwu describing how
anti-tank guns took down the roof of the Sardauna’s house and how he was caught
in the full glare of his wives and children, it was found out that the President,
Chief Nnamdi Azikiwe had been informed of the plot by his cousin, Major
Ifeajuna, hence the medical check-up that took him abroad for months.
Though the counter of July 1966 was believed to have been
caused by General Ironsi’s “misrule”, the truth of the matter remains that the
situation the country got into was the result of the mess created by the
political class. 48 years after, the mess is reappearing and rather than
caution the politicians before an all out war results, some find it funny that members
of the House of Representatives resorted to scaling the fence to gain access to
a chamber into which they were voted to make laws for the country.
Unguarded utterances and uncouth statements capable of
inciting violence are being made by people in authority as the rot goes deeper.
A Governor made it emphatically clear that if his party loses the general
elections and feels the poll was rigged, it would go ahead to form a parallel
government.
Another Governor was caught on camera urging his supporters
to fight and kill members of the opposition if necessary. He used the
derogatory word “cockroach”, a term that sparked off the genocide that
terminated the lives of close to a million Rwandans years ago.
The power show and the state of the economy are factors that
could bring the khaki boys back. In his address on December 31, 1983, when the
Shagari administration was overthrown, Brigadier Sani Abacha who led the men
that overran the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, Ikoyi, pointed out that “our
economy has been hopelessly mismanaged. We have become a debtor and beggar
nation. There is inadequacy of food at reasonable prices for our people who are
now fed up with endless announcements of importation of foodstuffs. Health
services are in shambles as our hospitals are reduced to mere consulting
clinics without drugs, water and equipment. Our educational system is
deteriorating at an alarming rate. Unemployment figures including the
undergraduates have reached embarrassing and unacceptable proportions. In some
states, workers are being owed salary arrears of eight to twelve months and in
others there are threats of salary cuts.
Yet our leaders revel in squandermania, corruption and
indiscipline, and continue to proliferate public appointments in complete
disregard of our stark economic realities”.
The situation Nigeria was before Buhari took over cannot be
said to be very different from what we have today. Nigeria’s educational system
has worsened while the rate of unemployment has doubled and till date, our leaders
have not really changed.
The desperate pursuit of power has brought about a culture
of impunity. There had been impeachments of Governors in Nigeria, with Balarabe
Musa being the first during the Second Republic but when 18 out of 32 lawmakers
impeached Governor Ladoja in Oyo State years back, it was agreed that a bad
precedence had been laid by the pacesetter state. No one however thought it would be so bad that
6 lawmakers would sit and impeach a Speaker of a House of Assembly in Rivers
State. Even in Ekiti State that prides itself as the “Fountain of Knowledge”,7
members of the House sat and impeached the Speaker.
The situation has not surprised many, especially those who saw
full page advertisements in newspapers, congratulating Governor Jonah Jang who
had 16 votes as against the 19 votes polled by his opponent as the elected
Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum.
As the country gradually inches towards another military rule
which may take the country back by another few decades, it would be wise for
the leaders to draw lessons from history and tread cautiously before they plunge Nigeria into a gigantic catastrophe.
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