Who Wants to Safe Nigeria for Autocracy?
Nigeria is not a democracy in the classic definition of the government of the people, by the people and for the people. Instead of representing the preferences of the population at large, the leaders represent the preferences of a sub-group, the autocrats and the feudal lords. This partly explains the bestiality and repression meted out to peaceful Youth protestors in Nigeria during the #EndSARSNow protest.
What the Youths are saying is that they would prefer a different policy about their tomorrow in Nigeria. Their protest is to prevent the authoritarian elites, the despots and their arrow heads — the President, the Governors, and the Senators, the thugs and the Army, among others — from holding the same political power tomorrow.
Today, the Youths are in the majority. So what is stopping them from taking control, even if the ruling elites have access to thugs, guns and the Army? If the elites’ paranoia deceives them into believing that they can kill the Youths and turn around to foist their children to succeed them, they are greatly mistaken. The historical fraud is unraveling before our very eyes.
On October 1, 1960 Nigeria became independent and by 1963, a Republic. However, there was mutual suspicion between the ethnic nationalities that feared domination of the major tribes. The politicians could not agree on how best to govern, to the extent that on Saturday, January 15, 1966 the military overthrew the parliamentary government of Nigeria led by Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa. The Prime Minister, the Minister of Finance, the Premier of the Northern region, the Sardauna, the Premier of Western Nigeria, Samuel Ladoke Akintola, among others was killed. Within six months after these events, another equally bloody counter-coup took place in the country that led to the killing of the Head of State, Major General Aguiyi Ironsi with a large number of military officers of Eastern extraction. This was followed by a thirty-month civil war of July 1967 to January 1970.
The January 1966 coup d’état took place due to various political crises that had historical roots in the divisive forces created by colonial policies and legacies. Among these forces was the fear of ethnic domination which can be traced as far back as 1914 when the protectorates of Northern and Southern Nigeria were amalgamated. These protectorates were several unequal nations of different territories with different peoples of diverse traditions and cultures, welded together as a nation under one administration.
This affected the character and the structure of the Nigerian nation where the three major ethnic nationalities viewed each other with mutual suspicion. It will eventually shape the nature and substance of politics of the ethnic groups, of their parties and of their leaders. This led to intense competitions among the major groups for political supremacy at the center. However, this became a challenge to the minority ethnic nationalities that feared domination, economic strangulation and political irrelevance.
Nigeria started out with very strong regions, with separate Governor, Premier, an Executive Council, a House of Chiefs (in the North and the West) and a House of Assembly. Each region had a separate judiciary, civil service, marketing boards and development plans. At the federal level there was the Parliament with the Prime Minister and a ceremonial President. Defense, external affairs, communications, customs and banking belonged to the federal government.
The regions were structured in such a way as to favor the North with half of the seats in Parliament, but there were also the conflict of values and the colonial policy of separate development between the north and the south.
There was disunity among the politicians from the three regions. While the north was structured on the political, administrative and judicial systems it inherited from the Caliphate jihad of 1804 where many parents clung to the almajirai system which cost almost nothing, the south went with the Western system of education, therefore taking an early lead in Western education and associated cultures of administration and commerce. These imbalances created a relationship of contempt and disdain between the North and the South.
The privilege of power and corruption were such that those who forced their way into power never wanted to leave power, not because they were using power to develop the nation, but because they were using power to favor themselves and their allies.
The above factors affected the political party structure and participation. This led to the destruction of the Chief Obafemi Awolowo-led Action Group (AG) by the alliance of Northern People’s Congress — National Council of Nigerian Citizens (NPC — NCNC). One probable outcome was the first ever coup d’état of January 1966.
The military in a game of musical chairs, kept Nigeria as their spoil to be plundered and raped at will. The periods 15 January 1966 to October 1, 1979 and 31 December 1983 saw military rule in Nigeria with seven military rulers, six military inspired changes of government — five of which were successful military changes of government, four constitutions, including one that was never used, four constitution drafting processes, and at least four transition from military to civilian government, three unsuccessful coup d’états, three national censuses, two civilian regimes, two constituent assemblies, one civil war and one successful transition to civilian democracy.
The military regimes in Nigeria, instead of contributing to the emergence of a strong nation state, actually aided the emergence of strong nation states and ensured the activation of ethno-nationalism and religious identities that led to conflicts. Neither the politicians nor its military accomplices have the interest of Nigerians at heart. They were all united in plundering the nation and resorted to intrigues, subterfuge and disloyalty to the flag and pledge of “one, united Nigeria.”
On December 31, 1983 General Muhammed Buhari overthrew the democratic government of Alhaji Shehu Shagari in what was then recorded as the most despicable, corrupt democracy anywhere in the world! Then military Head of State, Gen. Buhari was a dapper, no-nonsense general with a stern mien, who everybody thought was a detribalized leader.
When the late Dele Giwa, Editor-in-Chief of Newswatch, with Ray Ekpu and Yakubu Muhammed first met and interviewed Buhari, it was a precursor to what we’re still struggling with in 2020. At that time, Buhari was genial and with an engaging sense of humor. But that’s until he gets angry. The celebrated journalists revealed from their interview: “That’s until he gets angry. Then his mood will change. You feel the sudden iciness, and you will remember that the man you are speaking with is a soldier.”
Dele Giwa revealed that Buhari brought with him a notepad which he placed on a coffee table in front of him, and that he often took notes of some of the questions put to him. Towards the end of the interview, Buhari was asked a question on the issue of press freedom: “Will you tamper with press freedom?” “Yes,” he said in a piercing voice, “I will tamper with that.” At the time, Buhari said the press was just another obstacle in the way of a soldier.
The result was the Public Officers (Protection Against False Accusation), the Decree №4 which went on to punish the publication of the truth and jailed Nduka Iraboh and Tunde Thompson of The Guardian simply for diligence in reporting a bad government.
Let’s fast forward to 2020 and Buhari’s policies and governance architecture. Nothing much has changed. When he was a military ruler (1983–1985) he was able to suppress insurgents, especially the fundamentalist kind. He dealt with the Maitatsine religious terrorists decisively in the 1980s when he was the general officer commanding the Third Division of the Nigerian Army. Today, Boko Haram has become invincible under Buhari’s watch.
General Buhari is now allegedly a democrat, the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. However, Gen.Buhari hardly speaks to the nation, until he is constrained to do so. Nor does he even grant interviews. What his government is most notable for is an attempt to control, corrupt, or close free media outlets through the detestable National Broadcasting Commission, the Press Guilds, among others laws; and using the National Assembly to enact draconian laws to ensure that the media are cowed into self-censorship.
The government seems to have underestimated the resilience of freedom loving Nigerians, especially the Youths who crave fundamental human rights and dignity. The Youths have risked their lives and indeed have sacrificed their lives fighting for liberty and justice, and an end to abuses while peacefully advocating for a better Nigeria. All they are asking the government to do is respect the many international treaties and declarations that have codified civil and political rights as universal human rights, triggered by the #EndSARS protest.
At the initial stage, the challenges were many, including collective-action problem of organizing into an effective force, finding momentum to destabilizing the elites who are controlling the state apparatus. This, they have done successfully through the Social Media and peaceful protest. The next logical stage is getting their Voter’s Card ready for the next elections. At present, the individual costs included injury and deaths, but the collective benefits are greater and point to a more equitable and just Nigeria. For sure, they have better ideas and the Liberation Technology of the social Media, while the government is deficit in honor.
The verdict is that whatever this government does, or refuses to do, it is damned to perdition.