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I
was sitting in my living room and thinking of how we, Nigerians, have tried to
copy a biblical quotation that says “…where two or three are gathered together
there God would be…” In the case of Nigeria, where two or three are gathered
together [spouses, family, friends, acquaintances, etc.] they are talking about
Nigeria and its myriad of problems with little or no solution to proffer. It
shows how much passion Nigerians have for their country despite the
performance, or lack thereof, of their rulers.
An
evaluation of the performance, or lack thereof, of the rulers made me to
realize that Nigeria has never had a leader that they need and want but rulers who
got there by “accident” and therefore never had any plans/vision for
the nation. I will call them Accidental Rulers.
Since
Nigerian independence on October 1, 1960, it has never had a leader but rulers
who have either been imposed on us or imposed themselves upon us. The rulers
have never had the interest of the nation at heart but their own selfish
interest and that of their backers and/or cronies.
Has
it occurred to any of you guys, my fellow Nigerians that only one of our rulers
has ever aspired to the highest office of the land? The person that did aspire
to be president but for nefarious reasons was the retired Gen. Ibrahim Bademosi
Babangida.
Let
me explain: -
In 1960 –
The
independence elections of 1959 were won by the Northern People’s Congress [NPC]
led by the Sardauna of Sokoto, Alhaji Ahmadu Bello. He did not want to come
down to Lagos to form the government due to his belief that Nigeria should be
an Islamic Nation and that he would only come down South once that ambition is
realized. He gathered together a bunch of young men and sent them down to Lagos
to represent Northern interests and they were led by Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa
Balewa as the Prime Minister. Others were Alhajis: Shagari, Dipcherima, Ribadu,
Yar’Adua, etc. They never had any plans for Nigeria but listened to what the
Sardauna asked them to do, thus could not move the country forward.
Unfortunately for some of them they were killed during the January 15, 1966
coup d’état.
In 1966 –
The January
15, 1966 coup d’état was planned, and executed, by Majors: Chukwuma
Kaduna Nzeogwu, Emmanuel Ifeajuna, Adewale Ademoyega, Donatus Okafor, Christian Anuforo, Humphrey Chukwuka, and Timothy
Onwuatuegwu. They killed lots of politicians and military officers from the
North but failed to secure power. The late Maj.-Gen. J.T.U. Aguiyi-Ironsi
quelled the coup d’état with the help of some other officers. He had Nzeogwu
and his gang arrested and detained. Ironsi not being one of the plotters did
not know what to do but went on to establish a unitary system of government
that we are still practicing till today. This mistake coupled with his lack of
any drastic action against the coup plotters led to his assassination six (6)
months later in a counter coup d’état. Brigadier Babafemi Ogundipe was his
Deputy.
The
July 29, 1966
coup d’état was planned, and executed, by Murtala Muhammad, Martin Adamu,
Theophilus Danjuma, John Atom Kpera, Muhammad Shuwa, Jerry Useni, Joseph
Garbar, etc. They wanted to secede from Nigeria [araba] after avenging the
killings of their leaders in the January 1966 coup d’état. Lt. Col. Yakubu
Gowon, being the highest ranking Northern Army Officer, was made the Head of
State. He had no plans for the nation. Eventually he got surrounded by some
technocrats such as Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Simon Adebo, Jerome Udoji, Phillip
Asiodu, Allison Ayida, etc. that helped him to win the war and craft some
developments. As time goes by Gowon is becoming more and more the best ruler
Nigeria has ever had due to the fact that most of the infrastructure that we
have today were built during his reign – Eko Bridge; National Arts Theatre;
Lagos-Ibadan Expressway; Murtala Muhammad International Airport; 2nd
Round of Universities – Jos, Benin, Calabar, Port Harcourt, Ilorin, Sokoto,
etc.; Federal Government Colleges; etc. The so called development plans were
shams.
1975 –
The July
29, 1975 coup d’état was planned, and executed, by Theophilus Danjuma,
Muhammad Shuwa, Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, Ibrahim Babangida, John Atom Kpera, Joe
Garbar, Jerry Useni, etc. They made Murtala Muhammad the Head of State and
Olusegun Obasanjo as his Deputy – Chief of Staff Supreme Headquarters [SHQ].
Since they had no vision and/ or plans on how to move the country forward, they
ended up destroying the civil service and making Nigeria an Observer Member of
Organization of Islamic Countries [OIC] – a continuation of Ahmadu Bello’s plan
to Islamize Nigeria. The so called five-year development plan was a sham.
1976 –
The February
13, 1976 coup d’état was planned, and executed, by Buka Suka Dimka,
Ibrahim Bisalla, Ibrahim Babangida, etc. They succeeded in killing Gen. Murtala
Muhammad and others but failed to secure the power. Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo was
made the Head of State after some arguments about bypassing him. A compromise
was reached whereby Brigadier Shehu Musa Yar’Adua was doubled promoted [the one
and only Nigerian officer ever to achieve such a feat] to become Obasanjo’s
Deputy as Chief of Staff Supreme Headquarters [SHQ]. Since Obasanjo was not
part of the coup plotters, he had no clue as per what to do to move the country
forward. His Operation Feed the Nation [OFN] and low profile initiatives were
failures since his cronies bypassed the laws. He did leave a surplus budget
when he handed over to the civilian government in 1979. The so called five-year
development plan was a sham.
1979 –
The elections
of 1979 ushered in a new civilian rule – Nigeria’s Second Republic – with
Alhaji Shehu Usman Shagari as President and Dr. Alex Ekwueme as his
Vice-President. Shagari never wanted to be President but a Senator until he was
coerced into it. He was selected over others who wanted it so badly – Maitama
Sule, Adamu Ciroma, etc. Shagari had no clue with what to do with Nigeria in
terms of development despite the fact that he had been in the corridors of
power since independence. I do admire the fact that he knew his limitations by
wanting to be a senator in the first place instead of the presidency. Nigeria
was in a wilderness and no progress but bribery and corruption at all levels
with Umaru Dikko, Uba Ahmed, K.O. Mbadiwe, and others running the show. Shagari
is more of a Statesman than a Leader of a nation.
1983 –
The December
30, 1983 coup d’état was planned, and executed, by Ibrahim Babangida,
Sanni Abacha, Lawan Gwadabe, Joshua Dogonyaro, John Shagaya, etc. They made
Maj-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari the Head of State and Brigadier Tunde Idiagbon as his
Deputy – Chief of Staff Supreme Headquarters [SHQ]. They did not have any plans
for Nigeria except War Against Indiscipline [WAI]. They set up laws and
back-dated them and broke them at random by playing favorites – 53 suitcases,
drug laws, etc.
1985 –
The August
26, 1985 coup d’état was planned, and executed, by a group of officers
led by the only person that has ever aspired to be president for nefarious
reasons, and achieved it, Gen. Ibrahim Bademosi Babangida. Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe
was made his Deputy as the Chief of General Staff and he left the
administration after clashing with Gen. Sani Abacha over delineation of powers.
He was replaced by Vice-Admiral August Aikhomu. Babangida’s actions, or lack
thereof, did put Nigeria back for a whole generation – devaluation of the
Naira, SAP, murder by mail, assassinations, “settlement”, etc. He made Nigeria
a full member of OIC as a fulfillment of Ahmadu Bello’s ambition to Islamize
Nigeria. He fooled lots of Nigerians into believing that he wanted what is good
for the country when in actual fact he was looting the treasury with his
buddies. He even called himself The Evil Genius. He wanted to perpetuate
himself in power by annulling the 1993 elections but was eventual forced out –
stepped aside as he likes to put it – by the people. The so called development
plans and road to democracy were shams.
1993 –
The
Interim Government that was set up in August 26, 1993 was an “Army Arrangement” with Mr.
Ernest Shonekan as the Interim President when Babangida “stepped aside” from the riots. The riots were as result of
Nigerians protesting the annulment of the elections, which was won by Alhaji
Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola. It was adjudged to have been the best
election ever conducted by Nigerians in Nigerian history. Mr. Shonekan never
had a clue as per what to do with the country despite the fact that he was a
successful head of the largest corporation in Nigeria – Chairman of UAC – prior
to his appointment. The country was just floating along and it was just a matter
of time before someone hijacked it and that was what happened with Sani Abacha
pushing Shonekan aside to assume the leadership of the country. This was
Nigeria’s Third Republic.
The November
17, 1993 palace coup d’état was planned, and executed, by Lt.-Gen. Sani
Abacha who removed Mr. Ernest Shonekan and installed himself as the President.
He made Lt.-Gen. Oladipo Diya his Deputy as the Chief of General Staff. Abacha
had no plans for Nigeria except to steal money as he saw done by his military
predecessors. He was a calculated butcher who lived dangerously and trusted no
one but himself and his close associates. He had Obasanjo, Yar’Adua, and Abiola
jailed and only Obasanjo made it out alive. Yar’adua died in jail while Abiola
died after drinking a tea during a conference to decide the terms of his
release from prison.
1998 –
The
death of Gen. Sani Abacha on June 8, 1998 was not expected and it
threw up Lt.-Gen Abdusalami Abubakar as the Head of State. He never had any
plans for Nigeria’s progress except to midwife the country’s next election that
would usher in a new democracy. He had Vice-Admiral Mike Akhigbe as his
Vice-President till the handover to a civilian regime.
1999 –
The
elections of May 29, 1999 ushered in Nigeria’s Fifth Republic with Gen.
Olusegun Obasanjo – just released from prison – as the new President and Alhaji
Abubakar Atiku as his Vice-President. The election of Obasanjo was engineered
by the military junta led by Ibrahim Bademosi Babangida. He was installed to
make sure that they, the military, were not probed. Obasanjo had no plans for
the development of Nigeria and spent the next eight (8) years making Nigeria
look bad with very little to show for it. This is what happens when one does
not aspire for an office but got tossed into it. He tried to elongate his rule
but the plan was quashed by the Nigerian senate. He then decided to impose his
friend, Shehu Musa Yar’Adua’s brother, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua as the next
President. His only claim to fame was paying of Nigeria’s debt to the
international creditors.
2007 –
The
elections of April 21, 2007 were marred by massive rigging, chaos, and
killings and Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua was “selected” as President with Dr.
Goodluck Jonathan as his Vice-President. Alhaji Umaru Yar’Adua was the Governor
of Katsina State for eight (8) years and was very sick. His plans after his
governorship was to retire to his village and nurse himself to health and may
be go back to teaching at the university where he was before he went into
politics. Even his campaign was a sham for he never did campaign for himself
but Obasanjo and his goons did it for him under the banner of “do-or-die.” He
had a seven (7) point plan that was never realized – a sham as usual. His claim
to fame was the peaceful negotiations between the federal government and the
Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta [MEND]. He died on May 5, 2010
before he could finish his first term. His illness created a whole lot of
problems for Nigeria with his wife and cronies holding the country to ransom
with fake reports on the status of his health. He was succeeded by his
Vice-President, Dr. Jonathan who like his first name says, Goodluck, never
aspired for any big office but always around to reap the goods from other’s
misfortune. Here is a man who was selected as Deputy Governor out of the blues
eight (8) years earlier only to become the governor after the impeachment of
the governor, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha. What a lucky guy!
2011 –
The
elections of April 16, 2011 were adjudged to be one of the good ones in the
nation’s history. Dr. Goodluck Jonathan was elected as President with Alhaji
Namadi Sambo as his Vice-President. He is another ruler without any plans for
Nigeria’s development, thus our going round and round in circles, recycling old
government officials, and not knowing which direction we are headed. He is
beholden to his “Masters” – from
Obasanjo to Danjuma to those in the background.
Conclusion
Hopefully
the attacks by Boko Haram will not lead to a military coup or chaos that would
make Crisis ’66 pogroms look like a child’s play. May be those calling for a
re-structuring and/or re-negotiation of Nigeria using the Sovereign National
Conference [SNC] are right. If they are right, how do we get it done without
having the same bad guys hijack it?
As
you can see Nigeria has never had Democracy but Rulercracy and none of the
Nigerian rulers (except for one with questionable intentions) has ever sort the
highest office of the land but got entrusted with it, by “accident,” and had no clue as per what to do with
it, thus our inability to develop [economically, politically, socially,
technologically, etc.] and progress.
Do
you agree?
©
uzo onyemaechi, August 2011
Reference:
Ademoyega, Adewale. Why we struck: The story of the first
Nigerian coup; Evans Brothers, 1981
Dudley, Billy. Instability and Political Order:
Politics and Crisis in Nigeria, Ibadan University Press, 1974
Gbulie,
Ben. Nigeria’s five majors: Coup d’état of 15th January 1966: first inside account; Africana Educational Publishers, 1981
Madiebo, Alexander. The
Nigerian Revolution and the Nigerian Civil War; Fourth Dimension
Publishers, Enugu, 1980
Siollun,
Max. The inside story of Nigeria's first military coup, http://www.kwenu.com/publications/siollun/1966_coup1.htm
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