Nigerians and the Misconception of Unity

28^th October, 2015

By: Amir Abdulazeez

J

ust recently, Nigeria celebrated its 55^th independence anniversary amidst a mixed atmosphere of renewed political hope and optimism on the one hand and the fear of an uncertain economic future on the other. The general belief is that the country has made some progress democratically and it is well positioned to begin the journey of attaining the long elusive greatness. However, many others are of the opinion that there is not much to celebrate as our independence still remains ironical. They claim that with our mono-economy heavily dependent on one single commodity which price is directly or indirectly determined by the western giants, we are nothing but dependent.

At home, we are still battling with debates about how the ownership and control status of that single commodity the country depends on should be. While some think it should solely belong to the Federal Republic of Nigeria, others think it should be partly so. Some even think it should completely belong to the areas where the oil is being extracted from. Meanwhile, the more serious minds among us are asking us to shelve this debate on oil resource control and focus on how to diversify the economy.

The story of Nigeria over the last 55 years has been that of an independent but fragile and disunited nation. The Nigerian unity doesn’t go beyond the word ‘Nigeria’, besides almost everybody sees his fellow tribesman as his only true brother. The question is no longer when this will stop; the question is for how long would this continue? If after 55 years, citizens of a country do not see themselves as one national family bonded by nationhood, trust and understanding, then how many more years do we require to truly become citizens of one nation? This is the primary reason why some genuinely believe that the solution to all these is disintegration. The question is into how many parts do you need to divide Nigeria into in order to do justice to the multi-ethnic nature of its societies?

There is an argument as to whether achieving national unity is something natural or artificial, deliberate or coincident, divine or man-made. For instance, many think there is no way a Muslim would achieve any meaningful and lasting understanding with a Christian or an Igbo man achieving true unity and brotherhood with a Yoruba man and so on and so forth. This is simply because; there are some shape-thinking forces of nature that are beyond the control of both parties. Proponents of this argument often say that countries that have achieved unity are bounded by something natural like religion or tribe which they built upon. For example, more than 90% of Britons are Christians and are mostly English, then what is there to disagree about?   

There are people who argue that the above position is weak and to some extent baseless and that it’s only those who don’t understand the complexities of life that would hold such views. Their claim is that unity is quite different from uniformity and what is required of the citizens of a nation is unity of purpose and not necessarily unity by nature. For instance, more than 90% of the Middle-east people are Arabs and Muslims, but there is no region with many inter-political and intra-ideological conflicts as the region. The Arab world does not show any sign of unity. Another argument is that, there is no way a people can be uniform. If we happen to all be Muslims, some would be practicing Muslims and others, Muslim by identity; some may be white others black and some may be Sunni, Shi’ite or even extremists, etc. We may all happen to be Hausa, but some may be purely Hausa while others are Hausa/Fulani, Christians or Muslims. rich or poor, educated or ignorant, etc.

The problem facing Nigeria is that most of its citizens neither understand nationhood and the aspirations of a nation nor the interpretation of our history and the history of others. It is true that the British did a great injustice by not considering a lot of logical factors while demarcating the area they called Nigeria, but nations are not perfect and even if they are perfect, they didn’t start perfectly but with determination that imperfection can be overcome over time. However there is no absolute guarantee, even if there are prospects that the various original societies and kingdoms that were merged to form Nigeria would be any better in terms of unity and progress if they were left as they were. This is debatable.

What is unity? An average Nigerian may think of unity as a scenario where everyone is of the same religion or tribe or atleast something similar or close to that situation. This explains the agitation for disintegration in many quarters. The belief is that once we have entities of Igbos only, Yorubas only, Muslims only or Christians only, then there would be unity. On the other hand, an average Nigerian elite may think of unity as a scenario where the presidency rotates periodically from North-east to South-south, from North-central to South-east or a scenario where federal character is strictly adhered to with all states or ethnic groups getting equal appointments and number of civil servants.

All of these are not unity. Unity is when we all unanimously agree to pursue a common cause, that is to make our country great for our own benefit and that of the unborn generation. Unity is when we all understand from where we came from, where are we now and where we are heading to together. Unity is when we understand our differences, acknowledge them and work inspite of them to build a civilized society of law, order, justice, equality and prosperity; a society which everyone feels an integral part of.

It appears, we are actually confused as to what we really want, probably that’s why we haven’t make the progress we should make. So, now, over the last 55 years, what have we being pursuing, unity or uniformity?

Mallam Amir is on Twitter: @AmirAbdulazeez

Africa’s Longest-Serving Leaders

Here is a list of Africa's longest-serving leaders:

Currently Serving;

- 36 years: Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, Equatorial Guinea. Came to power in a coup on August 3, 1979. He was officially named president on October 12, 1982.

- 36 years: Jose Eduardo dos Santos, Angola. Leader of the party which won independence from Portugal in 1975, Dos Santos has been in power since September 20, 1979.

- 35 years: Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe. The only living African leader to have been continuously in power since his country's independence, Mugabe became prime minister in April 1980 and president in 1987.

- 32 years: Paul Biya, Cameroon. Came to power on November 6, 1982.

- 31 Years: Sassou Nguesso. Congo. He took power in 1979 and has been in office ever since, except for a five-year period. The country now votes to amend the constitution Sunday in a referendum allowing President Denis Sassou Nguesso to extend a grip on power that began three decades ago.

- 29 years: Yoweri Museveni, Uganda. Took office in January 1986 after winning the war which ousted the brutal regime of Idi Amin Dada, with help from neighbouring Tanzania.

- 29 years: King Mswati III, Swaziland. Acceded to the throne of the tiny southern African kingdom in April 1986, four years after the death of his father.

- 26 years: Omar al-Bashir, Sudan. Has ruled since he seized power in a coup in June 1989.

- 25 years: Idriss Deby, Chad. Emerged as the leader of the arid north-central African state in December 1990, after the war which ousted the regime of Hissein Habre.

All-time record holders;

The longest-serving leaders of post-colonial African countries have been:

- Emperor King Haile Selassie, who was ousted from power in Ethiopia in 1974 after 44 years.

- Moamer Kadhafi of Libya, who ruled his north-African state for almost 42 years after a coup in 1969. Kadhafi was ousted and then killed in 2011 by a rebel movement backed by western warplanes.

- Omar Bongo Ondimba, who ruled the west African state of Gabon for more than 41 years until his death in October 2011. He was then succeeded by his son.

Source: Agence France Presse (AFP)

Before Everybody Becomes an Election Rigger

20^th October, 2015

By: AmirAbdulazeez

M

any Nigerians were not angry with the reportedly massive irregularities that characterized and dominated the 2003 and 2007 General Elections as much as they were with the verdicts from the various election petition tribunals across the country, notably those judgments from the Supreme Court which affirmed the ‘elections’ of Obasanjo in 2003 and that of ‘Yaradua in 2007. Some researchers I recently discussed with have expressed the fears and reluctance of conducting studies using alleged ‘inflated’ figures from various Nigerian General Elections which unfortunately have already made their way into our National Archives. If you think their fears are unfounded, how on earth can you explain election figures showing almost 100% or more voters’ turnout in certain places or one giving the impression that even dead people voted? How can you swallow the (il)logic of a people continuously and overwhelmingly ‘voting’ for a particular party in certain states in 5 straight elections despite the clear visibility of bad governance everywhere in such states? These are some of the things that many of our courts are directly and indirectly endorsing as correct.

It takes one of the most morally bankrupt consciences to rig an election, but it takes even a more morally bankrupt one to legitimize and affirm it. One wonders where the aggrieved person in an election can find justice if he can’t find it in the tribunals. Before and after elections, multiple alarms of foul play are being raised in different quarters and during the course of the elections, many candidates usually complain of rigging, violence, manipulation and oppression, but all INEC could do was to tell them to head to court if they were not satisfied. Does this means INEC itself is satisfied with all elections it presides, no matter how dirty and those dissatisfied should go to court? Is it even a matter of satisfaction or dissatisfaction? With this development, it is therefore the duty of the election tribunals to rescue the people from being governed through illegal mandates in various capacities-a duty which they have so far failed to adequately perform. The Electoral Act itself has badly incapacitated the electoral process to checkmate rigging and punish riggers.

The elections petitions tribunals in 2011 did not fare any significantly better than those of 2003 and 2007. Over the past few weeks, outcomes of various 2015 election tribunals have left many people baffled and dejected. Some of the outcomes are simply bizarre to say the least, even though not all were completely unexpected.

It has gradually become very clear that once you were not declared winner after the polls, you stand virtually no chance of reclaiming your mandate in the courts. First, the tribunals give much emphasis on flimsy technicalities and often dismiss several petitions on such grounds. Secondly, they often summarize all arguments and evidences brought before them as having failed to prove the case ‘beyond reasonable doubt’- an ambiguous phrase now so popularly and notoriously used to dismiss many competent cases.

There are so many problems bedevilling the quest for electoral justice in Nigeria. The first starts with the constitution of the tribunals themselves. Quite often judges and tribunal members are hurriedly constituted from entirely different areas from where the elections took place, leaving them with virtually zero knowledge on what happened in the area or how the area is. Although, every tribunal is expected to only rely on arguments presented before it and not otherwise, we cannot say that knowledge of an area will not help a judge to make better informed decisions on so many things. The time frame for settling electoral cases and the unnecessary delays and adjournments of proceedings within such time frames is also another critical problem. The ‘winners’ are allowed to be sworn in and properly settle in power while petitioners are left to wander and wallow in search of justice. Winners, after being sworn in may use state resources to not only diligently prosecute their defence in the tribunals through competent and experienced lawyers, but also to scuttle any efforts for justice to be done against them. This is apart from the likelihood of using same resources to adequately prepare and gain upper hands in case of a re-run. These are luxuries which the petitioner does not only lack, but also struggles to maintain his tempo after the elections and sustain his zeal enough to prosecute his case. He finds things very difficult and in some cases he has to even pay his witnesses in addition to other things.

Secondly, the tribunals are themselves inadequate. Two tribunals are set up per state; one for the governorship and the other for the national and state assembly elections with very few-often an average of one per geo-political zone- Appeal Courts serving the entire country. The national and state assembly elections are packed with several cases which are expected to be settled within limited time. As such, the tribunals hardly give enough attention to each case. Elections are not perfect, that is why we have election tribunals and their duty is to ensure speedy justice. Justice must not be delayed because it is totally unfair and unacceptable for someone to continue sitting on an illegal or stolen mandate for long just because the tribunals are dragging the case for whatever reason.

Thirdly, INEC is not playing the role of a truly unbiased electoral umpire in the hearings of election petitions. In the cases, INEC’s objectives should not be about defending its actions no matter how wrong during the elections, it should be about defending the truth; it doesn’t matter whether the truth was discovered after the polls. INEC Staff are humans; the commission can’t defend their indefensible actions during the elections just because they are joined as respondents in a petition. They should admit their mistakes, take responsibility for their actions, give explanations for them, expose and punish their officers involved and provide the true facts with which the work of the tribunals would be simplified rather than complicating proceedings.

The fourth is the cost of justice in Nigeria. Prosecuting an average case in a Nigerian court needs huge financial resources and time. Many a time, you can’t get justice when you don’t have good lawyers who are hired at exorbitant costs. In election petitions, one may also need the services of forensic experts, data analysts, huge logistic arrangements and other expenses. This often costs a petitioner with a good case but without money his victory in courts.

The fifth but also the most crucial is corruption. The entire Nigerian justice system comprising the police, judiciary and other bodies are perceived by many to be corrupt. Indeed the elections tribunals are seen as some of the worst. There were reports of allegations in 2003, 2007 and even 2011 that judges jostle and lobby to be appointed to preside over election tribunals because of the lucrative prospects involved. Power-monger politicians would stop at nothing to influence and manipulate the election tribunals and to comprise their officials in order to stay in power.

Currently, most of the rulings coming out of the 2015 elections petitions tribunal are not showing a significantly different pattern from the dismal ones of the past, even though there are some signs of little improvement. Many of the judgments are seemingly unjust and hard to comprehend with. The level of success of the Appeal Courts in correcting these anomalies would determine the future confidence level of people in the judicial-electoral process. All eyes would now be on the Appeal Courts who are expected to thoroughly review most of these cases.

If the Appeal Courts fail to salvage the situation and things continue like this, it will reach a level where everyone would think of rigging his way into power since there is every chance that his victory would not be overturned by the tribunal and even if it does, he has every advantage of winning the re-run, except of course if the tribunal chose the rare case of declaring the petitioner as the outright winner. After the 2007 and 2011 elections, the tribunal nullified the governorship elections of Kogi, Bayelsa, Cross-Rivers, Kebbi, Adamawa, and Sokoto states, but the governors all won their re-run elections against their battered and power-less opponents whose energies have been sapped after several months of pursuing their cases at the tribunals. Candidates who could adequately prove that they won elections should be declared winners instead of wasting government funds by ordering for re-runs.

One of the most popular opinions among Nigerian politicians is that it is better to rig elections and be taken to court than get rigged out and go to court. One of the problems with election rigging is that no matter how hard you try, you cannot completely hide it, although you may get away with it and even get the chance to repeat it. The law says everyone is innocent until proven guilty but in reality some people are guilty until proven innocent.

Mallam Amir is on Twitter: @AmirAbdulazeez

Nigeria at 55: Are We Truly Independent? By Inyali Peter

2nd October, 2015

M

any of my constant readers, well wishers and haters have called and texted to express their dissatisfaction over my inability to write on this year’s Nigeria anniversary. My initial decision not to write was hinged on the fact that there is nothing new to write.Since I took solace in shaping my world through writing, I have done so many articles on why Nigeria’s independence should be marked not celebrated. But the joy of gaining ironic independence has continued to pull us down from fighting for a true sovereign nation.

Contrary to what most Nigerians do every first of October, I see the day as an opportunity for us to take a sober reflection on the gains and pains of a geographical construct called Nigeria. A country which was given birth to 55 years ago should not be in this deplorable and pitiable condition.

Let me share in the sentiment of ever talking Cross River state governor senator Ben Ayade on the independence. He said, “Any political independence without economic independence is independence in paralysis”. This is how all our leaders need to think to move us to true emancipation from the colonial masters.

In a day such as this, critical analysis to determine whether we are really free in the freedom we claim to have and celebrating is more important than what has been happening. We need to objectively x-ray if our independence has so far been a classical departure from the concept of the people that fought for it. We need to sincerely ask ourselves whether we have an independent nation or a surrogate of the conservative colonial masters. Can we proudly say that we have developed in the pace we are supposed to at 55? Has the independence reflected positively on our economy?

Are we not ashamed that China, a third world country like ours is leading the world economy today while we are still molding, struggling to win confidence of foreign investors to invest in our economy? These and many other questions should give us reason(s) to engage ourselves in debates towards proffering solutions to our problems rather than ridiculing ourselves in stadia nationwide in the name of celebrating independence.

If we continue to pride ourselves as an independent nation, our conscience would never be clear to the reality that we still have a long way to go in our quest at becoming truly independent.

However, it is an established fact that no country can survive in isolation. This is because every nation at one point or the other needs a shoulder to lean on. But this is not to say that a country should be completely dependent on another. Doing so would amount to economic slavery; a description that perfectly fit Nigeria.

As one of the oil giants in the world, it is expected that Nigeria which pride itself as the giant of Africa would have functional refineries to process its oil product. Nigeria which is the ninth most populated nation in the world is blessed with abundant natural resources which spread across the length and breadth of the six geo-political zones of the country. Surprisingly, its people are living in abject poverty, youths are roaming the streets with great skills and degrees in search of unavailable jobs.

We should be ashamed as a nation that at 55 we are still celebrating the importation of cloths, drugs, matches, weapons, tooth picks, singlet, socks and in fact almost every basic human need. As a matter of fact, we must stop deceiving ourselves that we are independent and start fashioning out ways that can rightly give us that tag.

As far as our elites still seek medical attention abroad, send their children and wards to high brow schools abroad using the tax payers’ money, we are still wallowing in acute dependence. In fact, we are slaves to our inertia and mentality.

Recently I ran into a friend who gave his all while we were in school to graduate with a second class upper. Years after graduation, he has become a driver to a foreigner whose academic qualification is in doubt. This is the country we are celebrating 55 years anniversary; this is a country we believe have been freed from the shackles of colonialism.

Painfully, I see our independence more as an irony than a reality. We are blessed with natural resources but bereft of quality leadership. If Nigerians can re-direct their efforts invested in fighting each other on the bases of religion, party affiliation, ethnic background and region into judiciously exploring our bountiful natural resources, only then we can celebrate independence.

It is however pertinent to note that the only remarkable achievement recorded, 55 years after independence is being able to stay as one indivisible entity. Another notable achievement worthy of mention is the smooth transition from one democratic government to another. This is exemplified by the peaceful transition process orchestrated by the immediate past President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan. Even in the face of defeat during the 2015 Presidential elections, he had consistently preached peace, stating emphatically that his ambition is not worth the blood of Nigerians. This is indeed a great feat that would forever go down in the annals of history.

Now that President Muhammadu Buhari is on the saddle, Nigerians must know that the change he represents can only come to limelight through the collective efforts of everyone. Our mentality must change from thinking of what our country can do for us to what we can do for her. We must accept him as a president that belongs to nobody but belong to everybody.

We must begin to look inward for solutions to our problems. Unity of purpose should be our watchword. Personal, regional and religious interest should give way for national interest.

The President must be seen as a Nigerian president even as we must see ourselves first as Nigerians. All our actions should be guided by our conscience according to the president’s independence speech; “Like I said I my inaugural speech, I bear no ill will against anyone on past events. Nobody should fear anything from me. We are not after anyone. People should only fear the consequences of their actions”.

Inyalipeter@gmail.com

Full Text of President Buhari's Independence Day Speech

1st October, 2015

October 1st is a day for joy and celebrations for us Nigerians, whatever the circumstances we find ourselves in because it is the day, 55 years ago; we liberated ourselves from the shackles of colonialism and began our long march to nationhood and to greatness.

No temporary problems or passing challenges should stop us from honouring this day. Let us remind ourselves of the gifts God has given us. Our Creator has bequeathed to us Numbers – Nigeria is the ninth most populated country on the planet. We have in addition arable land; water; forests; oil and gas; coastline; and solid minerals. 

We have all the attributes of a great nation. We are not there yet because the one important commodity we have been unable to exploit to the fullest is unity of purpose. This would have enabled us to achieve not only more orderly political evolution and integration but also continuity and economic progress.

Countries far less endowed have made greater economic progress by greater coherence and unity of purpose.

Nonetheless, that we have remained together is an achievement we should all appreciate and try to consolidate. We have witnessed this year a change in our democratic development.

The fact that an opposition party replaced an entrenched government in a free and fair election is indicative of the deeper roots of our democratic system. Whatever one’s views are, Nigerians must thank former President Jonathan for not digging-in in the face of defeat and thereby saving the country untold consequences.

As I said in my inaugural speech, I bear no ill will against anyone on past events. Nobody should fear anything from me. We are not after anyone. People should only fear the consequences of their actions. I hereby invite everyone, whatever his or her political view to join me in working for the nation.

My countrymen and women, every new government inherits problems. Ours was no different. But what Nigerians want are solutions, quick solutions not a recitation of problems inherited.

Accordingly, after consultations with the Vice President, senior party leaders and other senior stakeholders, I quickly got down to work on the immediate, medium-term and long-term problems which we must solve if we are to maintain the confidence which Nigerians so generously bestowed on us in the March elections.

And since then, as you know, I toured the neighbouring countries, marshalled a coalition of armed forces of the five nations to confront and defeat Boko Haram. I met also the G-7 leaders and other friendly presidents in an effort to build an international coalition against Boko Haram.

Our gallant armed forces under new leadership have taken the battle to the insurgents, and severely weakened their logistical and infrastructural capabilities. Boko Haram are being scattered and are on the run.

That they are resorting to shameless attacks on soft targets such as I.D.P. camps is indicative of their cowardice and desperation. I have instructed security and local authorities to tighten vigilance in vulnerable places. On power, government officials have held a series of long sessions over several weeks about the best way to improve the nation’s power supply in the safest and most cost-effective way.

In the meantime, improvement in the power situation is moderately encouraging. By the same token, supply of petrol and kerosene to the public has improved throughout the country. All the early signs are that within months the whole country would begin to feel a change for the better.

Preliminary steps have been taken to sanitize NNPC and improve its operations so that the inefficiency and corruption could be reduced to a minimum.

Those of our refineries which can be serviced and brought back into partial production would be enabled to resume operations so that the whole sordid business of exporting crude and importing finished products in dubious transactions could be stopped.

In addition to NNPC, I have ordered a complete audit of our other revenue generating agencies mainly CBN, FIRS, Customs, NCC, for better service delivery to the nation.

Prudent house-keeping is needed now more than ever in view of the sharp decline in world market oil prices. It is a challenge we have to face squarely. But what counts is not so much what accrues but how we manage our resources that is important.

We have seen in the last few years how huge resources were mismanaged, squandered and wasted. The new APC government is embarking on a clean up, introducing prudence and probity in public financing.

At an early stage, the federal government addressed the issue of salary arrears in many states, a situation capable of degenerating into social unrest. The APC government stepped in to improve short-term support to the owing states and enabled them to pay off the backlog and restore the livelihood of millions of Nigerians.

Fellow Nigerians, there have been a lot of anxiety and impatience over the apparent delay in announcement of ministers. There is no cause to be anxious. Our government set out to do things methodically and properly. We received the handover notes from the outgoing government only four days before taking over.

Consequently, the Joda Transition Committee submitted its Report on the reorganization of Federal Government structure after studying the handover notes. It would have been haphazard to announce ministers when the government had not finalized the number of ministries to optimally carry the burden of governance.

Anyway, the wait is over. The first set of names for ministerial nominees for confirmation has been sent to the Senate. Subsequent lists will be forwarded in due course. Impatience is not a virtue. Order is more vital than speed. Careful and deliberate decisions after consultations get far better results. And better results for our country is what the APC government for CHANGE is all about.

I would like to end my address this morning on our agenda for CHANGE. Change does not just happen. You and I and all of us must appreciate that we all have our part to play if we want to bring change about. We must change our lawless habits, our attitude to public office and public trust. We must change our unruly behaviour in schools, hospitals, market places, motor parks, on the roads, in homes and offices. To bring about change, we must change ourselves by being law-abiding citizens.

Happy Independence Celebrations. Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria. God bless you all.

- President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Federal Republic of Nigeria