Still Far from a Country
Afew days ago, I had a telephone conversation with a younger friend of mine. We were talking about the most popularly and hotly debated topic in Nigeria today, that is, the state of the nation. We were discussing the recently cancelled elections, in Rivers State. He told me that the day of the election, the Police put their Estate on lock down, and prevented them from going out to cast their votes. How could this be? In a democracy? In many countries, if election day falls on a working day, people go to work as usual. Why should Nigeria be any different? Talk less of making us victims of false imprisonment, on election day! I expressed my frustration about that and a lot of other things, and said “I don’t know what is happening in this country”, to which my friend responded, “Do we have a country?” Good question.
Origins of a Country
The origins/formation of a country, usually starts from tribes/clans choosing to live together, developing into villages and towns, and now in modern times, cities; all within an identifiable geographical space delineated by boundaries, with people living under the same or similar rules.
Today, apart from the fact that it is only outside of our country that we identify ourselves as Nigerians, to distinguish ourselves from say Gambians or Ghanaians, within our country, more so than ever before, we identify ourselves by our tribes – Itsekiri, Efik and so on. My point? It is becoming patently obvious by each passing moment, that over 100 years after the amalgamation of the Southern and Northern Protectorates of Nigeria and the Colony of Lagos in 1914, we have not really risen above the origins of the formation of a country. We are still at the initial stages, or rather we have reverted to the initial stages.
Nigeria: A Failed State?
As many have asserted, is the failure of Nigeria as a united, successful nation, due to the fact that the key elements required in the formation of a country, that is, the desire, the choice to live together, was absent and lacking in the first place, since we were thrust upon each other, because the British sought to make governance of the Protectorates easier, and not because we actually decided to become one? Or, is this just an expired excuse for failure? Or, is it because, subsequently, as a result of the bad rule which successive governments have subjected us to (present company included), that the result is the retrogression that prevails today? Or is it a combination of all?
Today, most of the signs that Nigeria may be well on its way to being a failed State, are apparent. Even if we do not fully qualify to be called a failed State, Nigeria is certainly a dysfunctional, fragile/crisis State. We have weak and failing institutions, little or no public services, very poor infrastructure, internal violence in several parts of the country, for example, the herdsmen crisis in Benue State, and the Boko Haram insurgency in the North East, failure to take advantage of the huge economic potential that the country has, condemnation of most Nigerians to a life of abject poverty (so much so that, many Nigerians are so poor, that they qualify to receive the paltry N5,000, that is, about £10 or $13 a month stipend, ‘government’s benevolence’ for poverty alleviation), steady decline in the standard of living, selfish and greedy elite, political shenanigans, unprecedented levels of corruption, tribalism, nepotism, no law and order (chaos and near anarchy), poor security, unprotected boundaries (for government to claim that those responsible for the herdsmen crisis are foreigners, is an admittance that it cannot protect our boundaries from marauding outsiders), a government that has little or no respect for the rule of law, different types of constitutional crisis, to mention but a few.
Whether the amalgamation was forced or willing, my conclusion is that, all our successive governments could have made a better go of it. The good news however, is, all is not lost! But, time is of the essence, if we do not want this country to sink deeper into the abyss of failure, from which it may be impossible to ascend and be salvaged from.
1999 Constitution: A Military Document
The extant Constitution, the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) (the 1999 Constitution), is certainly not “WE, THE PEOPLE of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; HAVING firmly and solemnly resolved....”, as stated in the preamble to the Constitution. As we all know, the 1999 Constitution is a creation of the military, and not a ‘consensus ad idem’ (meeting of the minds) of the people. It is a somewhat, skewed document.
The first step to placing our country on the right path, would be to replace the 1999 Constitution, or at the very least, subject it to some rigorous amendments, especially those aspects of it, which in recent times, have been shown to be very obviously inadequate. The truth of the matter is that, the National Assembly needs to be more up and doing in this regard, as it seems somewhat oblivious of the fact that, it has a monumental role to play in this exercise of rebuilding Nigeria.
Take for example, Chapter 2 of the 1999 Constitution, which provides for the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy, what I might describe as being akin to the elements that determine the formation of a country and how to live together in peace, equality, harmony and progress; it is not exactly justiciable. So, how do you ensure that all the principles of equity, equality, freedom, justice, good government and the welfare of all persons “for the purpose of consolidating the unity of our people”, as stated in the preamble to the Constitution, obtain in Nigeria? By making the Chapter justiciable directly, and not by a Lawyer having to practice some form of legal technicality trickery or brilliance, to surmount the obstacles! That way, there will be accountability to the people by government, and instead of people complaining about things, yielding no positive results from their complaints, they will have a legitimate means to seek redress.
During the regime of the despotic General Sani Abacha, the six geopolitical zones were created. The Northern Zone has more States than the Southern Zone. Specifically, while the North West Zone has seven States, other Zones have six States, except the South East Zone which has five. This is an example of inequality; it gives the North West a clear advantage over the other Zones, which is in itself, contrary to the spirit of several provisions of the 1999 Constitution. Unfortunately, Section 8(1) of the Constitution makes it not just an uphill task, but almost impossible, to create a new State (for those who may feel the need to catch up with the seven State Zone), as you need practically everybody in Nigeria to pass a resolution in that regard, when this was not the process that was adopted, when the other States were created (this is not to say, that I think Nigeria needs more States).
Essentially, the military did pretty much as it pleased, whether equitable or otherwise. To then imagine that, in a democracy which can only thrive on fairness and justice, we could proceed to build an egalitarian society on such a faulty, inequitable foundation/Constitution, is not just ridiculous, but delusional! Though the blame for this particular issue cannot be placed squarely at the feet of this present government, as this situation existed long before its time, it has gone over and beyond itself, to engender more bitterness that has arisen from this state of affairs, in our people - the very antithesis of building a popular, dispassionate and unprejudiced society. Again, where Section 17(2)(a) of the 1999 Constitution provides that all citizens shall have equality of rights, this government has all but made it clear that, high ranking members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), government officials, and people from certain tribes and of certain religions, may have more rights than other Nigerians.
The Way Forward
The only way forward, to rebuild and transform Nigeria, is good leadership; a leadership that is prepared to make good choices, in the interest of the country as a whole, not as a part. Aside from redrawing our Constitution in a way that captures the desires of majority of Nigerians, Government needs to build strong institutions that transcend tribalism, nepotism and other useless sentiments, which are nothing more than a recipe for mediocrity, failure and disaster.
Government needs to be decentralised. It is no secret that, some Governors are rarely in their States, governing. Instead, they have taken up residence in Abuja, with their ‘begging bowls’ and boot-licking, to curry favour with the Presidency, since the money is disbursed from the nation’s capital. How else do you explain a Governor, whose State has consistently topped the list of States that owe workers’ salaries, paying N45 million for the President’s nomination form? Whether or not the Governor chooses to hide behind some organisation, who claimed to have paid for the form!
President Buhari came in on three major campaign promises - security, economy and fighting/eradicating corruption - key elements that produce a strong State, if properly tackled. How well has the Administration fared so far? In the area of security, using a country like Afghanistan, a failed State under the Taliban, which harboured Al Quaeda, Nigeria stands accused by many including Amnesty International, of condoning the herdsmen and their killings, going as far as calling the killings ethnic cleansing and genocide. According to Learned Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Robert Clarke, corruption has not diminished since this Administration took over. Even though he asserts that no other government has fought corruption as much as this one, many beg to differ, claiming that the fight is largely ineffective and selective. The economy remains weak, with an unprecedented decline in the standard of living, and a high level of hunger and suffering, for a vast majority of Nigerians.
It’s time for government, to re-strategise!
“TODAY, MOST OF THE SIGNS THAT NIGERIA MAY BE WELL ON ITS WAY TO BEING A FAILED STATE, ARE APPARENT. EVEN IF WE DO NOT FULLY QUALIFY TO BE CALLED A FAILED STATE, NIGERIA IS CERTAINLY A DYSFUNCTIONAL, FRAGILE/CRISIS STATE”