{"id":25970,"date":"2020-03-18T15:43:45","date_gmt":"2020-03-18T14:43:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blerf.org\/?p=25970"},"modified":"2020-03-18T16:40:29","modified_gmt":"2020-03-18T15:40:29","slug":"nigeria-a-journey-of-100-years-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blerf.org\/index.php\/nigeria-a-journey-of-100-years-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Nigeria: A Journey of 100 years (PART 2)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Review of The Nigerian Century BY SAM AKPE<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Second Republic is described by Dare and his team as Shagari\u2019s Bright and Blighted Interregnum. It was an era when Nigeria regained international recognition as a democratic nation but got so thoroughly undermined by intellectually-deficient and corruption-propelled management of men and resources.<\/h4>\n

The failures of Shagari\u2019s administration created a platform for the return of the military on December 31, 1983. Buhari and Tunde Idiabgon led the pack. However, their frontal attacks on corruption and indiscipline, though impressive, lacked constitutionality.<\/p>\n

The two unsmiling rulers were deaf to suggestions and ideas. They paraded themselves as super humans with monopoly of wisdom and unquestionable patriotism. They were in most cases too extra-judicial in their actions. On August 27, 1985, Ibrahim Babangida struck and took over governance. He came with a smile and a whip.<\/p>\n

Babangida was loved but he wasted the opportunity by taking Nigerians for granted for too long. He dug a deep grave for himself by embarking on a transition programme that never ended and eventually annulled the June 12, 1993 result of a presidential election won by Chief M. K. O. Abiola.<\/p>\n

Forced out of office by the people, Babangida set up the Interim National Government headed by Chief Ernest Shonekan. Less than three months later, General Sani Abacha restored full military dictatorship when he sacked the ING. He later brought Nigeria to its knees with bloodshed and thievery.<\/p>\n

Under Abacha, assassinations were common-place; forced exile became a rule; not an exception. Then he died under unexplainable circumstances. He was succeeded by General Abdulsalami Abubakar who guided Nigeria to democratic rule in 1999.<\/p>\n

The emergence of Obasanjo as elected president in 1999 opened another chapter in Nigeria\u2019s political scene. He came with experience, good reputation and a lot of international network of friends.<\/p>\n

However, his military mindset characterised by undemocratic tendencies placed him at loggerheads with the National Assembly. Then he tried to get a third term in office and failed. At the end of eight years, he handpicked Umaru Musa Yar\u2019Adua as successor. When Yar\u2019Adua died on May 5, 2010, his deputy, Goodluck Jonathan, took over.<\/p>\n

Quietly, states the book, Jonathan embarked on massive reforms in several sectors. But he faced two great challenges\u2014corrupt aides and emergence of Boko Haram insurgency. His attempt at a second term was frustrated by people he trusted to deliver. Before the full result of the election was announced, he voluntarily conceded victory to Muhammadu Buhari; thus setting an uncommon African record.<\/p>\n

After analysing Nigeria\u2019s political march to nationhood and the post-independence headlines, Dare and his team hit the reverse gear and take the reader back to the pre-colonial era and its system of governance. Spread across several pages, the thoroughly researched and exciting piece is spiced with archival pictorials and drawings. It is written by a historian, Adetunji Ojo Ogunyemi.<\/p>\n

There is a pen portrait of three of Nigeria\u2019s most celebrated nationalists: Obafemi Awolowo, Ahmadu-Bello and Nnamdi Azikiwe by the unbeatable Bola Ige\u2014the late Federal Attorney General and Minister of Justice.<\/p>\n

He captures each of the political actors in choice words; and regrets: \u201cI wished all three had managed to work together, they would have established for us, their political heirs, a strong dynamic and democratic Nigeria, which would have become the envy of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Going very personal in his description of their attributes, he states that Awo was charismatic, studious, meticulous and finicky. He had a strong belief in his personal destiny. Zik, states Ige, was easy-going, visionary, an inspirer, eclectic, jovial, man of the people, always looking for compromises. Bello, in his words, was aristocratic, experienced, humble, friendly, rigorous and firm. He was a team leader. His conclusion: Awo was feared, Zik was admired, and Bello was respected.<\/p>\n

A Gentleman with An Iron Fist is how the authors describe Buhari on his emergence as Nigeria\u2019s president in 2015. It however raises the question: can someone with an iron fist pass the gentlemanly test? The article, which is quite revealing, traces the source of the headline to Buhari\u2019s draconian mien in his previous emergence in 1983 as a military dictator.<\/p>\n

The Faces of Power by Godwin Onyeacholem connects the story of Nigeria from the pre-colonial days of Sir Frederick Lugard in 1894 to Buhari in 2015. Between that time and 2019, Nigeria has been governed both by elected and non-elected leaders. Nine of these were sent by the colonial masters, seven were democratically elected, eight came through military coup and one (Shonekan) was handpicked by the military.<\/p>\n

Team Buhari is a chapter that chronicles President Buhari\u2019s cabinet in his first term. Most interesting is the president\u2019s wife Aisha who holds a bachelor\u2019s degree in public administration and master\u2019s degree in international affairs and strategic studies. She is a trained beautician and cosmetologist. She has a diploma in beauty therapy from United Kingdom and a PGD in cosmetology and beauty from France. She is the first Nigerian First Lady to parade such enthusiastic academic and professional qualifications.<\/p>\n

From the executive arm of government, the authors shift focus to the Legislative arm where Tunde Animasaun highlights the names and constituencies of lawmakers. The chapter is succeeded by Godwin Onyeacholam\u2019s 36 States and Their Governors\u2014both serving and past. Information contained here would be useful to researchers and students of history.<\/p>\n

Living Legends by Dare and two other writers is one of my best reads in the book. I have always loved biographies. They reveal and inspire. This section of the book exposes \u201cgeniuses, impish innovators and builders\u201d and concludes that Nigeria \u201cis blessed with extraordinary personalities who are changing the landscape and affecting the destinies of millions.\u201d Almost 300 Nigerians are featured in this section with about 270 pictures published.<\/p>\n

Another biographical section of the book headlined: Titans, Thinkers and Outsiders exclusively celebrates \u201cthe heroes of our match to nationhood,\u201d and is authored by Tunde Animasaun and Kayode Fayemi. All the persons\u2014about 100 of them with about 80 pictures published\u2014passed on many years ago but their imprints are unforgettable.<\/p>\n

Some of these people had fantastic biodata. Ever heard of Candido Da Rocha, the first Nigerian to own a motor car? Now, that\u2019s something to remember! Journalists extraordinaire, from Herbert Macaulay to Ernest Ikoli, Ismail Babatunde Jose and Dele Giwa are featured in this section. The police officer who composed Nigeria\u2019s national anthem, Benedict Odiase; foremost African novelist, Chinua Achebe; Fela Kuti; Ken Saro-Wiwa, Benjamin Adekunle, HID Awolowo, Kashim Ibrahim; emeritus labour leader, Michael Imoudu; Frederick Rotimi Williams; etc are also showcased here.<\/p>\n

Words of the Century, which begins from page 372, is a compilation of great speeches that have shaped Nigeria in the last 100 years beginning from 1914. The first is the Amalgamation Speech by Lord Lugard which ended with \u201cToday, Nigeria enters on a new stage of its progress…\u201d<\/p>\n

It is followed by Our Minds Are Irrevocably Made Up, a motion by Chief Anthony Enahoro proposing self government for Nigeria. That was in 1953. Students of political history should be interested in this.<\/p>\n

Enahoro, a great journalist told the colonial masters in clear terms, \u201cMr. President, the whole country\u2014I might even say the whole world is awaiting the verdict of the House on this motion. News of what we say here today will travel far and wide. Our minds are irrevocably made up on the issue of self government in 1956.\u201d<\/p>\n

On November 3, 1959, Awolowo made a landmark speech in the Western Region House of Assembly. But the most personal and critical speech was the one he made on September 11, 1963 after he was sentenced to 10 years in jail for treasonable felony.<\/p>\n

On October 1, 1960, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa declared in his inaugural speech as the Prime Minister of independent Nigeria, \u201cI Dedicate My Life to the Service of this Country.\u201d At the end, he sacrificed his life for Nigeria. What a prophecy!<\/p>\n

Published next are military coup speeches beginning from that of Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu on January 15, 1966. It is followed by a reaction by Zik in condemnation of what happened. Major General J. T. U. Aguiyi Ironsi speaks next as the new commander-in-chief of the armed forces. General Yakubu Gowon\u2019s speech on creation of 12 states for Nigeria is also a part of the compilation. Then Ojukwu takes over the pages with his May 30, 1967 speech declaring the State of Biafra.<\/p>\n

Thirty months after that speech, someone I had the opportunity of interviewing twice in his life time, Major General Philip Effiong, is featured next in a speech entitled: The Civil War Is Over. That was on January 12, 1970. He spoke again on January 15, 1970 when he said, Biafra Hereby Ceases To Exist. Olusegun Obasanjo has a short speech entitled, The War Is Over, which he broadcast on Radio Biafra.<\/p>\n

Gowon\u2019s victory message of January 15, 1970: The Dawn of National Reconciliation is reproduced next. He declared, \u201cOur nation will never return to the fractious, sterile and selfish debates that led to the tragic conflict just ending.\u201d The authors of the book chose to publish next the final Aburi communiqu\u00e9 issued by leaders of the Nigerian military at a meeting in Ghana earlier on January 5, 1967.<\/p>\n

Murtala Mohammed\u2019s This Government Will Not Tolerate Indiscipline was broadcast on July 29, 1975 following the overthrow of Gowon by the military. In May 1976, Obasanjo declared: This is the Time For Sacrifice, a speech he made after the execution of officers of the military who masterminded the coup that led to the assassination of Murtala Mohammed on February 13, 1976. This is followed by Shagari\u2019s A Great Challenge and A New Opportunity on October 1, 1979 when he took over as the first democratically elected president of Nigeria.<\/p>\n

There is also a statement by Zik entitled: God Shall Punish the Wicked issued on August 24, 1983. He predicted the collapse of Shagari\u2019s administration; and it happened quicker than anyone thought. We Intervened to Save Nigeria is a speech by Buhari on January 1, 1984 when he assumed office as Head of State.<\/p>\n

Less than two years later on August 27, 1985, Ibrahim Babangida announced in a coup speech: We Do Not Intend to Rule by Force. He complained that \u201cBuhari was too rigid and uncompromising in his attitudes to issues of national significance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chief Ernest Shonekan\u2019s broadcast to the nation on November 17, 1993 is a part of the compilation. It is entitled: Our Government Was Conceived in Crisis. Indeed! About 80 days or so later, that speech was replaced by another by General Sani Abacha who pushed Shonekan out of office and took over government with a warning that \u201cany attempt to test our will shall be decisively dealt with.\u201d<\/p>\n

Abacha did not fail to deliver on that promise. He dealt horrible blows on Nigerians. But on June 8, 1998, he died mysteriously. General Abdulsalami Abubakar took over. On July 8, 1998, Abubakar declared in a national broadcast: These Are Critical and Trying Times. The speech came after the death of M. K. O. Abiola on July 7, 1998.<\/p>\n

Then came Obasanjo again on May 29, 1999 as elected president with a declaration: Nigeria Will Be Great. He handed over to Umaru Yar\u2019Adua on May 29, 2007 who declared: We Must Choose to Succeed.<\/p>\n

On May 5, 2010, Yar\u2019Adua died in office. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan took over. On May 29, 2011, he told the nation: Our Unity is Firm, Our Purpose is Strong. Four years later, Buhari took over with: We Are Heirs To Greatness. Of course, he would be remembered most for the statement: I belong to everybody, I belong to nobody.<\/p>\n

This section on Words of the Century ends with a column written on January 1, 1964 for the defunct Daily Times by the late extraordinary social critic, Tai Solarin. It is entitled: May Your Road Be Rough. In it he notes: \u201cOur successes are conditioned by the amount of risk we are ready to take.\u201d<\/p>\n

The last part of this book focuses on Faces of the Future. It is about the youth of Nigeria who are ready to or are already rising, roaring and soaring in exploit. Featuring pictures and writings on 95 young men and women, this section offers a peep into the future of Nigeria and those who are ready to drive the vision.<\/p>\n

The epilogue to this book is written by Obasanjo\u2014the man who has seen it all. At present, he remains the only Nigerian who has ruled Nigeria longer than any other. First he was military head of state for almost three years. In 1999, he was elected president for eight years. He says, \u201cProcrastination and delay kill slowly, steadily, surely. Invariably, there is no better time than now. The opportune time you are waiting for will never come.\u201d As the clich\u00e9 goes, the words of an elder are words of wisdom.<\/p>\n

As I close this book after a satisfying study, I\u2019m full of hope for Nigeria despite the present situation. This summarised history of Nigeria edited by the unbeatable columnist, Dare Babarinsa, has renewed that hope.<\/p>\n

This renewal of hope is strengthened by the story on emerging new generation which reminds me of a Letter-To-The Editor by one Manzar Imam published in the TIME magazine of November 18, 2019. It states, \u201cThe stories of these young people are fascinating, filled with hope and verve. Their ideas hold great promise for a future generation, providing leadership avenues to make the world a better place.\u201d (END)<\/p>\n

DARE BABARINSA is the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Review of The Nigerian Century BY SAM AKPE The Second Republic is described by Dare and his team as Shagari\u2019s Bright and Blighted Interregnum. It was an era when Nigeria regained international recognition as a democratic nation but got so thoroughly undermined by intellectually-deficient and corruption-propelled management of men and resources. The failures of Shagari\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":25971,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2431],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25970","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blerf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25970","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blerf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blerf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blerf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blerf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25970"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blerf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25970\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25974,"href":"https:\/\/blerf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25970\/revisions\/25974"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blerf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25971"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blerf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blerf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blerf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}