Ime Akpan
As Nigeria marks its 63 years of nationhood today, individuals and groups have spoken about its journey from infancy to adulthood. While some believe that the country is still tottering at 63, others say there is still hope that the cripple will get up and walk.
For the leader of the Pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere, Mr Ayo Adebanjo, Nigeria missed everything when the military intervened in governance after independence and changed the constitution.
Featuring as a guest on a television programme yesterday (Saturday), Adebanjo said when the military retreated to the barracks, they did not take the document along with them.
“We lost the ball when the military seized control and changed the constitution. We’ve got it wrong since the military took over and we got it wrong when they went back to the barracks. They didn’t go back with their luggage of the constitution, which we didn’t know about.
“They imposed a constitution on us, which is the cause of the problem today. So, to go back to where we were, we should change this constitution; that’s the bottom line of our problem. All the problems we are having are based and embedded in the fraudulent constitution imposed on us by the military,” he said.
For the country to regain its lost glory, he advised that the 1999 constitution be jettisoned saying it was foisted in the country by the military.
He said specifically that the 1999 constitution treats Nigeria as a unitary state contending that a unitary constitution is inappropriate for a multi-ethnic nation like Nigeria.
“You cannot rule this country under a unitary system of government. We have this problem of disunity because of the unitary form of government the colonialists were using.
“What I am saying is that the problem we are having in this country today, whether economic, political, or cultural, it’s based on the way we are running the country under a wrong constitution that was not embedded when we got our independence,” he added.
Also, the Yoruba Ronu Leadership Forum (YRLF) said there is nothing to celebrate especially from 1999 when the fourth republic berthed.
President of the group, Mr Akin Malaolu said in a release that the country for almost 24 years, the country has been held hostage by the political class. Besides, he said the country is plagued by insecurity, energy crisis and unemployment.
“The inflation rate is at an all time high, while interest rates are regularly unstable. The currency of the Nation is facing the vagaries of 100% in floatation and together with the fact that the leaders are themselves dumping the Naira for the dollar at an all time basis.
“We must confess that we are sad, not for ourselves but for the teeming mass of our people who are daily facing deprivations and hopelessness in their doleful shelters across the country. Nigerians no longer trust their leaders, many of whom are unfit and too self-centered for democratic offices,” he said.
For the Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), Nigerians should congratulate themselves in spite of the myriad of challenges they are facing.
Spokesman for the forum, Dr Ken Robinson said in a statement that Nigeria, forced into an unholy marriage in 1914, fought a 30-month civil war but unfortunately after the “cleavages of ethnocentrism, sectionalism, and parochialism have persisted over the years, thus, dilating the foundational fault lines.”
“It is important to commend and congratulate all Nigerians on the Nation’s 63rd Independence Anniversary. PANDEF acknowledges the hardship and suffering Nigerians are going through, coupled with the challenges of insecurity, youth unemployment, and corruption, amidst the harsh economic strains on the populace, particularly, in recent years. Regrettably, Nigeria’s journey to nationhood and its socio-economic development have been constrained by structural defects.
“On January 1, 1914, Lord Frederick Lugard, the Governor of both the Northern Nigeria Protectorate and the Colony and Protectorate of Southern Nigeria, signed a document consolidating the two, thereby creating the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria, an action that was supposedly done, basically, for administrative convenience and economic exploitation.
“There have been needless coups and disruptions of the governance process – and there was an unfortunate civil war. That war ended over fifty years ago, but sadly, we are still fighting wars in our hearts and minds – wars of grim bitterness, hatred, and vengefulness. The nation has continued to witness violent conflicts in various parts.
“The task to get Nigeria out of the present quagmire, and to put the country on the path of development and progress, is not that of the government alone; it’s a collective responsibility of both the government and the citizens. We must re-appraise ourselves and provide answers to some serious questions. This country belongs to all of us, and therefore, we must all contribute our parts to make it work.
In his contribution, the founder of Afe Babalola University (ABUAD) Ado Ekiti, Mr Afe Babalola said the country is so badly fragmented that it would herculean to rework it.
“With unprecedented levels of poverty, insecurity, economic instability, impoverishment, energy poverty, environmental degradation and lamentable standard of living across the width and breath of the country, the founding visions of Nigeria have been badly mutilated, defaced, and chipped away.
“More than ever, the gaps between the different regions that make up Nigeria are real, wide-ranging, and pronounced. The ideals of Nigerian nationhood have been eroded, while the dreams of nationalism and patriotism are at the lowest ebb in the country.
“Nigeria and its people must face the reality. We cannot continue to ignore or downplay the fierce and urgent realities of Nigeria’s dire circumstances. Most recently, a new United Nations report described Nigeria as a ‘pressure cooker of internal conflict’, warning that the country’s multiple security problems could soon lead to continental crises,” he added.
For the prelate of the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria, Dr. Ekpenyong Akpanika Nigeria’s future remains bleak 63 years after gaining political independence.
He said Nigeria does not yet have anything to celebrate except that the country has continued to exist as a political entity.
He said the current economic turmoil occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidy, has dashed the high hope of a better country before the 2023 general elections.
Similarly, national president, Christian Council of Nigeria (CCN) and Anglican Archbishop of Owerri Ecclesiastical Province, Dr. David Onuoha, said the country had been unable to surmount its challenges in the since independence and called on the citizens to ask God for forgiveness.
“As Nigeria clocks 63, we rejoice that despite all difficulties and trials associated with nation-building, our country has remained afloat.
“While we congratulate all at this great attainment, we believe that we should take some time out to seek the face of God for the forgiveness of sins committed, opportunities wasted, hopes betrayed, vision detailed, justice denied, innocent lives wasted, wealth squandered and the unbridled selfishness that defines most of our intentions and actions today.”
For the Labour Party (LP), Nigeria is a great country but the actions and inactions of the political class have brought the country to its knees.
Spokesman for the party, Dr TankoYunusa, said the situation would not change unless the citizens eschew greed, tribal and religious sentiments.
We have a lot that would have made us better as a collective and prosperous country. Our leaders started in the right direction, but unfortunately, they allowed tribal and religious sentiments to cloud their sense of collective judgment.
“And that is exactly where we started getting it wrong. And then to institutionalise it when individuals started thinking about themselves and not about the country and the people themselves exacerbated the matter more.
“Then we now have greedy politicians who are not thinking about the country as a united entity, but their interest is about power and what they can grab for themselves alone. They forget that if they make the country better and the country is united and is doing well everybody will benefit. Unfortunately, they didn’t think in that direction. Everything is now falling to pieces,” he said.
Also discussing Nigeria at 63, former special assistant to late President Shehu Shagari on national assembly liaison, Mr Tanko Yakasai, stated that Nigeria is on the march great despite the deluge of challenges.
“The most important thing is that we have now gained independence, we are no longer a dependent country. We are on our own. It’s just like a slave you set free; once he is free he is free forever.
“Now in the course of life, you have challenges. Sometimes you overcome them, some other times you struggle hard before you overcome them. But, whatever happens, they are processes of progress.
“When you overcome problems, it’s a development. Even if you did not succeed you are gaining experience because the next time you know what to do to solve that problem. This is what we are doing presently, which is the significance of independence.
“We are now in control of our destiny. This is the process even the most advanced countries like the United Kingdom (UK) and America have all gone through. Today we are the managers of our own affairs, which was the driving force behind our agitation for independence,” Yakasai said.
With Vanguard, The Guardian reports
