There is no gainsaying the fact that Nigeria has come of age, having attained political independence for six decades. In spite of its numerous challenges ranging from socio-economic to infrastructural deficit, insecurity and endemic corruption, Nigeria remains Africa’s big brother and and an important member of the world body – the United Nations.
Beside being the largest economy in Africa and the 27th in the world in terms of nominal Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Nigeria has the 6th largest gas reserves and the 8th largest crude oil reserves in the world. It is rich in commercial quantities with about 37 types of solid mineral and has a population of over 200 million people. In addition, the debt-to-GDP ratio is 16.075 percent as of 2019.
Yet, the Nigerian economy has grossly underperformed in comparison to its enormous resource endowment and its peer nations. In the 1970s, the emerging Asian countries like Thailand, Malaysia, China, India and Indonesia were far behind Nigeria in terms of GDP per capital. Today, these countries have transformed their economies and are not only miles ahead of Nigeria, but are also major players in the global economy.
In April last year, Nigeria was rated the poverty capital of the world, with 91.51 million people living in extreme poverty. Only recently too, Nigeria’s Country Director of Oxfam International, Constant Tchona, revealed in Abuja that 94.48 million Nigerians live below N684 per day, meaning they are living below poverty level. This also means that 25 percent of the world’s extremely poor will be living in Nigeria by 2030. In this circumstance, it is difficult for the country to meet the Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations.
This is not a good testimonial for a country that prides itself as the giant of Africa and the 27th largest economy in the world.
How Nigeria came about this ugly narrative has remained a disturbing paradox of a nation.
In the closing days of Nigeria’s independence, things seemed to be well arranged for a new country to take off. The lands and rivers were in their pristine state – virgin, lush and sumptuous, to guarantee a rich harvest for the farming and fishing population which then constituted 80 percent of the native population. The weather was generally good and the people were energetic and hardworking.
We have gold in Ilesha, cocoa in the South-West, palm oil in the East and groundnut pyramid in Jos, which sustained the economy and earned the country good revenue as a net exporter of agricultural produce. As a bonus, the nation found oil in Oloibiri, in the present-day Bayelsa State, which made the story sweeter and the future rosier.
Initially, the agricultural sector, driven by the demand for food and cash crops production was the centre of the growth process, contributing 54.7% to the GDP during the 1960s. The second decade of independence saw the emergence of the oil industry as the main driver of growth.
As the nation began to produce oil in commercial quantity, Nigeria abandoned its agrarian economy and embraced an economy driven by oil. Oil thus became the mainstay of the nation’s economy. Since then, government expenditure has become dependent on oil revenues, more or less dictating the pace of the economic growth.  Paradoxically, the oil boom turns out to be the bane of the country’s development till date.
Since independence, economic policies have not been in short supply. Successive governments have, since 1960, pursued the goal of structural changes without much success. There was the First National Development Plan between 1962 and 1968, the Second Development Plan (1970-1974), the Third Development Plan (1975-1980) and the Fourth National Development Plan (1981-1985).
We also had Operation Feed the Nation during General Olusegun Obasanjo’s military regime, Green Revolution under President Sheu Shagari, Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) under President Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida, the National Economic Empowerment Development Strategy (NEEDS) under President Olusegun Obasanjo, as well Nigeria’s Vision 2010 and Vision 2020. All these plans and programmes  are geared towards breathing life into the nation’s economy, by reducing dependence on oil, diversifying the economy, generating employment, and creating a globally competitive and stable economy.
The purpose of the NEEDS, for instance, was to raise the country’s standard of living through a variety of reforms, including macroeconomic stability, deregulation, liberalization, privatization, transparency and accountability.
It was also intended to create seven million new jobs, diversify the economy, boost non-energy exports, increase industrial capacity utilization, and improve agricultural productivity. The initiative was meant to be replicated at the state level known as the State Economic Empowerment Development Strategy (SEEDS). But the programme, like many others before and after it, didn’t succeed much due to various factors ranging from insincerity on the part of its drivers, policy inconsistency and somersaults and lack of continuation by successive governments.
However, the transformation in telecommunications sector stands out as the most successful reform in 60 years. Many sectors of the economy have leveraged on this transformation to make significant progress in the use of information and technology in the service sector of the economy. This has enhanced service delivery although it is prone to impairment by frauds and corruption. Sadly, the corruptive activities of fraudsters in the banking industry have made the telecoms transformation unsatisfactory. Moreover, the poor quality of service, the high cost of doing business and multiple taxation, unrest and banditry are sources of concern to investors.
Generally, the major factors accounting for the relative decline of the country’s economic fortunes in spite of these lofty policies, are easily identifiable as political instability, lack of focused and visionary leadership, economic mismanagement and corruption. Weak infrastructure and weak institutions also pose threat to the nation’s economy, just as power supply remains a major burden on businesses.
Prolonged period of military rule stifled economic and social progress, particularly in the three decades of 1970s to 1990s. However, since 1999, the country has returned to the path of civil democratic governance and has sustained uninterrupted democratic rule for a period of 21 years. But have things changed? Maybe; maybe not.
No doubt, economic growth has risen substantially over the last decade, with annual average of 7.4%. But the growth has not been inclusive, broad-based  and transformational. This implies that economic growth in Nigeria has not resulted in the desired structural changes that would make manufacturing the engine room of development and induce poverty alleviation.
Even though economic statistics shows that the non oil and gas sector accounts for 90.9 percent of the GDP while oil and gas accounts for 9.1 percent, the paradox is that the oil sector accounts for over 50 percent of the nation’s revenue more than 80 percent of its foreign exchange earnings. This reflects the imbalance in the economy since independence and also underscores the declining productivity in oil and gas for the past 60 years.
The lack of political will to restructure the oil and gas sector remains a major drawback to Nigeria’s economic growth and prosperity. It is this lack of reform, restructuring and planning that is the bane of the nation’s economic backwardness so far. It makes the Nigerian economy vulnerable to external shocks owing to its weakness in economic inclusion.
Although oil revenues contribute two-thirds of state revenues, oil only contributes about 9.1% to the GDP. This means that oil remains a small part of the country’s overall economy.
The fall in oil prices since 2015 has further weakened Nigeria’s economic base. The country experienced economic recession for the part of 2016 and 2017. The period witnessed serious devaluation of the Naira with high inflation throwing ordinary Nigerians off-balance and the private sector groaning in excruciating pain.
One sector Nigeria has failed to develop maximally over the years is agriculture.
Nigeria ranks sixth worldwide and first in Africa in farm output. The sector accounts for about 18% of GDP and almost one-third of employment.
However, the largely subsistence agricultural sector has not kept up with Nigeria’s rapid population growth. The sector suffers from extremely low productivity, reflecting reliance on antiquated methods, thus making Nigeria, once a large net exporter of food, to now import some of its food products.
However, the present administration under President Muhammadu Buhari, through prioritisation of local agricultural production and ban on importation of foreign food items, is making efforts towards making the country food sufficient again. Mechanization is now gradually leading to a resurgence in manufacturing and exporting of food products, and the move towards food sufficiency.
Other sectors which could have helped the nation’s economy such as tourism and mining suffer from the country’s poor electricity, roads and potable water.
For instance, the mining of minerals in Nigeria accounts for only 0.3% of its GDP, due to the influence of its vast oil resources. The domestic mining industry is underdeveloped, leading to Nigeria having to import minerals that it could produce domestically, such as salt or iron ore.
It will be recalled that organized mining began in 1903 when the Mineral Survey of the Northern Protectorates was created by the British colonial government. A year later, the Mineral Survey of the Southern Protectorates was founded. By the 1940s, Nigeria was a major producer of tin , columbite, and coal .
Iron and steel sector in particular, received priority attention in the 1980s. For instance, iron and steel industry was established in the nation’s bold march towards industrialisation. It will be recalled that about one billion Naira at that time was allocated to this sector in the Third National Development Plan.
Considering the increasing demand for steel, the availability of iron ore and coal in the country and the importance of steel industry to rapid industrialisation, the Federal Government established iron ore and steel plant in the country. A steel authority was also created which gave birth to three organisation – the National Steel Council, the Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited and the Associated Ores Mining Company Limited. In addition, the Delta Steel Company was established in Aladja, Warri, Delta State. Contracts were also signed for the establishment of three rolling mills at Osogbo, Jos and Katsina.
The concentration on oil resources, however, hurt the mineral extraction industries, as both government and industry began to focus on oil resources. The Nigerian Civil War in the late 1960s did not help matters either as many expatriate mining experts left the country.
The Nigerian economy further suffers from an ongoing supply crisis in the power sector. Despite Nigeria’s oil and gas potentials, power supply difficulties are frequently experienced by residents.
Private sector-led economic growth remains stymied by epileptic power supply leading to the high cost of doing business in Nigeria. This is in addition to the need to duplicate essential infrastructure, the lack of effective due process, and non-transparent economic decision making, especially in government contracting.
In all of these, the ordinary Nigerian bears the brunt of economic hardship. For example, the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) which was N87 in the run-up to the 2015 general elections has increased to N160 despite the fall in oil price. The Federal Government attributed this steady increase since June this year to removal of fuel subsidy.
In the same vein, electricity tariff has jumped up by 100 percent, despite epileptic power supply in the country. Just four days ago, a nationwide strike called by the organised labour in protest against the increase in electricity tariff was averted due to the suspension of the new tariff by the Federal Government.
In all, Nigeria’s recent economic indicator showed that its GDP in real terms declined by 6.10% (year-on-year) in Q2 2020, thereby ending the three-year trend of low but positive real growth rates recorded since the 2016/17 recession.
This is according to the second quarter (Q2) GDP report, released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
According to the numbers contained in the GDP report, the performance recorded in Q2 2020 represents a drop of 8.22% points when compared to Q2 2019 (2.12%), and 7.97% points decline when compared to Q1 2020 (1.87%). Apparently, the significant drop reflects the negative impacts of the disruption caused by COVID-19 pandemic and crash in oil price on the Nigerian economy.
The latest GDP number somewhat surpassed both the IMF and World bank forecast for year 2020, which implies the nation’s economy may witness yet the biggest contraction in four decade. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) disclosed in its June outlook that the Nigerian economy would witness a deeper contraction of 5.4% as against the 3.4% it projected in April 2020.
According to the NBS, the 6.10% decline in GDP was largely attributable to significantly lower levels of both domestic and international economic activity during the quarter, which resulted from nationwide shutdown efforts aimed at containing the COVID-19 pandemic. The non-oil segment of the economy such as manufacturing, transport and trade were the worst hit even though the vital oil sector was also badly affected by the pandemic.
The recent labour statistics report released showed that unemployment rate in Nigeria rose to 27.1% at the end of Q2 2020, as the impact of Covid-19 pandemic is significantly being felt across critical sectors. While Nigeria has embarked on gradual easing of lockdown since Q2 2020 with a N2.3 trillion stimulus intervention, economic activities are yet to fully peak, indicating a muted outlook in the remaining quarter of the year.
Although economic activity, especially in the area of trade and services, seems to be gaining some momentum as restrictions are loosened, sentiment is still relatively downbeat and the recovery is likely to remain constrained going forward as the lingering effects of the health crisis continue to take their toll.
However, amidst high unemployment, mounting price pressures, tighter Forex liquidity and a subdued global economy that cloud the future outlook, economic experts are optimistic that the economy is expected to bounce back to growth, next year, even though it will remain modest. They project GDP to grow 2.3% by 2021, which is unchanged from last month’s estimate.
How this prediction will translate into economic fortunes for ordinary Nigerian, however, remains a puzzle only time will unravel.
Recommendations:
Nigeria has a bold vision of becoming one of the top 20 economies in the world by 2030. This is very achievable by virtue of its size, its vast oil wealth and human resources. But this goal can only be achieved if Nigeria makes the transition to a new economy based on knowledge, productivity, and innovation that will enable it to be competitive in a 21st century context.
According to the World Bank, there are common factors that are associated with successful development. No country has attained development outside these common denominators. These are:
Good governance: Good governance is perhaps the most important factor in development. Without good governance, every other thing is in disarray. Good governance in both public and private sectors creates an environment where contracts are enforced and markets can operate efficiently. It ensures that basic infrastructures are provided, with adequate health, education and security.
Economic growth: This has to do with poverty reduction. Experience has shown that countries that have reduced poverty substantially and in a sustained manner are the ones that grow fastest.
Vibrant private sector: It has been established that private firms, including small and medium-sized businesses play a critical role in generating employment, particularly for the youth and the poor. This is where the contribution of the micro-finance banks is needed.
Empowerment: The citizenry must be empowered to contribute to development. Accordingly, every person should be able to enjoy essential public services such as good health, education and safe water. These are critical social services that should be provided equitably.
Ownership: A nation’s development agenda must be homegrown. The country must start from the grassroots to transform the economy.
Knowledge development: Knowledge has always been central to development. The era when natural resources dominated trade has given way to an era in which knowledge resources are paramount. This has positioned countries like the US, Republic of Korea, China, and India in a better stead.
To achieve Vision 2030, Nigeria needs to move beyond the stop-start development patterns of an oil-based economy to create a stable and prosperous base for a 21st century society built on knowledge. How much is Nigeria ready for this transformation?  Only time will tell.

The idea of the rule of law dates back to the ancient time. As early as 2000 B.C, the famous Greek philosopher, Aristotle averred that rule of law was better than rule of man.
Nonetheless, the rule of law is a somewhat nebulous concept. It is one of the most overused and misused concepts, the meaning of which is believed to change from place to place. It means different things to different people.
Interestingly, both the democrat and the dictator all claim abiding loyalty to the rule of law in spite of their misapplication of the concept. What then is the rule of law? Rule of law means the supremacy of the law. It is a preference for the spirit and content of the law instead of the whims and caprices of the ruler. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, rule of law is a mechanism, process, institution or norm that supports the equality of all citizens before the law and secures a none arbitrary use of power
In the 19th century, Prof. A.V Dicey, a constitutional scholar and lawyer, wrote the twin pillars of the British constitution in his classic work, Introduction to The Study of Law of Constitution; the twin pillars are the rule of law and parliamentary sovereignty.
It was he who first attempted to reduce the concept to a definite legal meaning in his lecture on English law at the University of Oxford in 1885.
Dicey’s concept of the rule of law states that no man is punishable in body or goods except for definite breach of the law and no man is above the law, the term rule of law means paramountcy of the law above government. It excludes arbitrary powers.
Though, the rule of law appears not to have a consistent meaning, the concept suggests an overriding supremacy of the law over the whims and caprices of man. Hence, there is a preference for governance through the laid down laws and regulations to that of whims and caprices of the ruler.
Under the rule of law, arbitrary powers are excluded; powers must be exercised in accordance with the law.
Again, the rule of law requires that all acts must be in accordance with the law to be valid;(b) that government activities be conducted within a framework of defined rules and regulations (c) that disputes involving the legality of government actions must be decided by courts independent of government; (d) there should be no undue privileges and discrimination to the society and (e) that no one should suffer punishment outside and authority of the law.
Where the rule of law applies, the fundamental rights of individual are expected to be guaranteed. Fundamental rights, according to natural law theorists, are the species of rights which are believed to inhere in every human person hence they are regarded as inalienable and immutable. Nobody can be denied of such rights. The fundamental rights stand above the ordinary laws of the land.
However, many citizens of Nigeria are dissatisfied with the lack of application of the rule of law.
The say present and past governments have either ignored, neglected or failed to apply the rule of law. They say the situation has left the citizens at the mercy of their leaders.
Executive recklessness has been a major setback in the nation’s democracy yet still, those who run foul of the law believe that foul is fair and fair is foul.
There is a tendency to rejoice that our fundamental rights are entrenched in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended, but a tale of woes belie our day-today lives.
However, the present administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, which came into power on May 29, 2015 has been accused of large scale human rights abuses and lack of respect for the rule of law.
A Port Harcourt based lawyer and human rights crusader Mr. Chijoke Agi, who spoke with The Tide in Port Harcourt on Monday, said the present administration had no respect for the rule of law.
According to him, “the removal of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) in 2018 through a method unknown to law is not only an affront to the rule of law but an utter disregard for the judiciary which is an arm of government. The removal of CJN Walter Onnoghen by President Muhammadu Buhari is the height of disrespect for the rule of law.”
The legal practitioner opined that trial of the former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki over corruption charges was bereft of the rule of law as security agents continued to detain him in spite of the fact that he had been granted bail by a court of competent jurisdiction. He noted that President Buhari violated court orders with impunity. This, according to him goes, against the grain.
Mr. Agi opined that the use of soldiers during the 2019 elections in spite of the Electoral Act was a blatant disrespect for the rule of law.
He pointed out that many lives were lost in Rivers State because of the use of soldiers instead of unarmed policemen as prescribed by the Electoral Act.
The legal practitioner noted that more lives had been lost within the five years of Buhari’s administration than those of his predecessors, yet nothing has been done to stem the tide.
Mr. Agi said that Amnesty International had rated the present government very low on human rights.
He said despite the much touted independence of the judiciary as granted by the present administration nothing seemed to have changed. “the judges are still doing the biddings of their appointees. It will be recalled that Amnesty international had this to say about Nigeria on 31 May, 2019,” the human rights violation such as extrajudicial executions, arbitrary arrests and detentions, torture and other ill- treatments, enforced disappearance, violence against women and girls, restrictions on the rights to the freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly, mass forced evictions, environmental pollution and lack of accountability for human rights violation and buses.”
Another lawyer, Mr. Endurance Akpelu who spoke with The Tide in Port Harcourt on Monday said the rule of law had become a moonshine to the present administration. According to him, “with the crisis in the North East, the issue of rule of law is a foolish talk. Most importantly, the primary function of government is to maintain law and order and when there is a breakdown of law and order, the rule of law cannot subsist.
He said the insurgency in the Northeast, the killing of Christians in the north and the unchecked violence perpetrated by herders were all indicative of the state of the nation.
Mr. Akpelu said President Buhari was yet to purge himself of his despotic mentality.
According to him, “President Buhari exercises wide discretionary powers sometimes arising from the use of unchecked executive orders. The main plank of civilized democracy is the strict adherence to the rule of law.
This is because when wide discretionary powers are exercised it becomes difficult to differentiate between discretion and arbitrariness. There is a very thin line between the two, that is why Nigeria must adhere strictly to the rule of law instead of self-help.”
The human right lawyer expressed regret that a Nigerian journalist, Omoyele Sowore could be re-arrested by the Department of State Services in a court in Abuja.
Mr. Akpelu also cited the detention of the leader ofIslamic Movement of Nigeria, Ibrahim el-Zakzaky and his wife and former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki as cases in point.
It will be recalled that at the aftermath of the DSS’s invasion of Abuja court room and its re-arrest of Sowore, the Punch newspaper announced that it would prefix President Muhammadu Buhari with his military rank, ‘Major General’ and refer to his administration as ‘regime’ “until they purge themselves of their insufferable contempt for the rule of law.”
The Port Harcourt lawyer, however remarked that all hopes were lost not in terms of correcting the wrongs of yesteryear as country turns 60.
He expressed hope that the country would be great if she maintained strict adherence to the rule of law and punished violators.
Also speaking, a Port Harcourt-based political scientist, Mr. Isaiah Dioku, noted that for the country to move forward there must be strict adherence to the rule of law.
Mr. Dioku pointed out that to promote the rule of law there must be a successful political culture. “In Nigeria today, there is literately a poor political culture. The ballot is nothing to write home about and our political office holders are not accountable to the people instead act as overlords,” he stated.
“It is interesting that the present administration is fighting corruption but there must be a sincerity of purpose on the part of the crusaders. A discriminatory fight against corruption will not remedy the national malaise. A genuine fight against corruption will certainly promote the rule of law. Besides, those who breach the rule of law should be punished,” Mr. Dioku stated.
He expressed regrets that despite yawning gap in the nation’s democracy, some state governors were squaring up to muzzle the media and ban the right to protest through the manipulation of state houses of assembly.
Dioku explains that the separation of powers is one of the niceties of the rule of law and points out that when the executive and legislature are fused anarchy thrives.
The political scientist, said though there must be good working relationship between the two; not fusion of powers.
He warned that the legislature should not allow itself to be used to pass oppressive laws which would occasion rule by law instead of rule of law. He says rule by law simply means rule by any law no matter how untoward that law may be, which is laid down by the authority of legislature of that nation or state. He says in rule by law, “one is not concerned about what the law is or what its purpose is, on the other hand, the rule of law connotes rule of law which is based on certain principles of law.”
Mr. Dioku said at 60, Nigeria had come of age to do things right. He said several decades of military rule and its command hierarchy had affected the psyche of Nigerians. “We don’t have true federalism but a unitary government.
There is only little devolution of powers. So much power is concentrated at centre. This cannot promote the rule of law. Every month all states of the federation gather at Abuja to share oil revenue accruing from the Niger Delta region. What other regions of the federation contribute is not known and never shared,”
He also remarked the Land Use Act is one of obnoxious laws extant laws and noted that the laws on Exclusive Economic Zone and Contiguous Zone were intended to divest revenue from riparian states in favour of landlocked regions.
The political scientist advised the Federal to repeal obnoxious in order to promote the rule of law in the Nigerian nation-state.

By: Chidi Enyie

October 1, 1960. Nigeria’s Independence Day. All the disparate ethnic nations that make up the land were munificently excited and the people overwhelmingly joyful. The country was suffused with pomp, pageantry and manifold emotions. It could not have been otherwise.
It was a symbolic day; a phenomenal moment encapsulating the collective agenda of a people’s desire for identity and recognition.
What is more? It was a culmination of the people’s sustained agitation for self rule from Britain which had, through Frederick Lugard, amalgamated the colonies and protectorates of North and Southern Nigeria in 1914 for its selfish interest. Though British conservation and institutional bureaucracy delayed the glorious moment, the inevitability of October 1 was already destined. And when the day finally came, Nigerians breathed the fresh air of freedom, and with euphoric symbolism, ascended the enviable status of independence.
The day was significant in two major respects. First the independence was achieved through dialogue and negotiation rather than violence; second, Nigeria people were going to govern themselves.
Nigeria’s achievement of freedom climaxed the joint efforts of the people of the diversified nation for national independence. Although, many fighters did not live to witness their efforts come to fruition, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Obafemi Awolowo, Ahmadu Bello and Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa withnessed the great day. These were men whose visions transcended their narrow ethnic origins and who made personal sacrifices and concessions to make independence possible. They had during constitutional talk with Britain in 1958, agreed on a rough charter for independence. On January 15, 1960, Balewa, who’s Northern People’s Congress had won majority seats in the Federal House, led the motion for independence at the plenary demanding a legislation in the United Kingdom Parliament, providing for the establishment of the Federation of Nigeria on October 1, 1960 as an independent Sovereign State.
The United Kingdom accepted that request after final constitutional talks.
Back home in Nigeria, the stage finally came on midnight October 1, 1960 when the Union Jack gradually descended from Nigeria’s Parliament building and Nigeria Green-White-Green ascended. Princess Alexandra of Kent, representing the Queen of England, thereafter handed over the constitutional instruments of Nigeria’s Independence to an elated Balewa who stated thus: “It is with justifiable pride that we claim the achievement unparalleled in the annals of history. Each step of our constitutional advance has been purposefully planned with full and open consultations not only between the representatives of various interests in Nigeria but in harmonious cooperation with the administering power which has today relinquishe d its authority”.
The euphoria over the great day was all consuming just as the mood was electrifying. Infact, celebrations marking the independence were as diversified as the peoples of the nation. There was the £1,000,000 Nigerian Exhibition at Victoria Island in Lagos depicting Nigeria’s social, economic and political life.
In the North, celebrations included horse races and durbar while the East and West featured mainly traditional dances and masquerades.
Miss Rosemary Anieze, from the defunct Mid-West region, was crowned Miss Independence while in London Adesodi Omodele Abu, became the first baby of independent Nigeria to be christened in West Minister Abbey.
Toddlers in primary schools, most of whom are now septuagenarians, were compelled to cram the first National Anthem and made to appreciate the importance of that celebration with gifts or flags and plastic cups engraved with the Green-White-Green of the national banner as a symbolic identification of their sense of belonging.
Indeed, that first independence celebration under a civilian government represented divergent realisations for different Nigerians, including some institutions.
The Daily Times editor of October 1,1960, under the editorship of the legendary Babatunde Jose, rolled out a 64 page commemorative compendium never before attempted in the history of print Journalism.
In Its brief editorial, that Daily Times edition which paid glowing tributes to the heroes of the struggle, noted that “A nation conceived in faith and unity is born today … Yesterday ended 100 years of British rule in Nigeria. Two great assets we have inherited from the British Parliamentary democracy and the rule of law…. We shall firmly uphold these principles”.
Sixty years after, however, many believe that Nigeria has failed to use the independence to chart a national integration, a common good and build a nation which will be a pride of its citizenry.
About six decades ago, our past leaders who had held the struggle against colonialism had a vision of a strong, united and developed Nigeria; a nation free from poverty, disease, unemployment, and underdevelopment. Whether these dreams have become real or have been shattered, analysts say, is everybody’s guess. It is probably for this situation that many Nigerians insist that there is very little or nothing at all on the credit side of our balance sheet to warrant all the accolades we have been heeping on ourselves as gains of self rule.
At the time of independence, Nigeria inherited an economy that had export of cash crops as its major foreign exchange earner. This monoculture products or primary goods left the economy at the mercy of the vagaries of the international market.
Later, when production of crude oil in commercial quantity became Nigeria’s chief foreign exchange earner, the economy became very buoyant such that at a point the country was adjudged the fastest developing, third world nation by the World Bank.
Buoyed or perhaps, blinded by the endless roll of petro-dollars in the national coffers’ Nigerian leaders went to the extent of proclaiming that the country’s problem was not money but rather how to spend it. This began Nigerian’s journey with every move being a wrong step. In the first place, production of both food and cash crops suffered greatly and such economic monuments as the groundnut pyramids disappeared while our food import bills rose. Even the billions of petro-dollars ploughed into assembly plants and packaging companies through the import substitution industrialisation policy went down the drains as the success or failure of these ventures can best be appreciated by the sorry state of our local automobile industry.
It was also then that Nigeria wasted good money in the so-called World Black Festival of Arts and Culture (FESTAC’77). Economists have argued lamentably that the money spent on sponsorship of trip dances alone could have been enough to construct good network of roads that could link together all nooks and crannies of the country. Such roads, they further argue, could have stimulated economic growth by creating internal markets as well as lead to greater cohesion and unity among the various people of the country.
The report card of virtually every sector of the country’s national life does not give cause for cheer. Sadly, the precedence laid down by the First Republic still remains with us sixty years after.
Central to Nigeria’s problems, observers say, is the misfortune of having come under leaders, military and civilian, almost all of whom have proved far too incompetent, and far too steeped in corruption, to meaningfully tackle the nation’s myriad problems and give its people an abiding sense of direction. They argue further that our problem is rooted to our parochialism and myopic view of the nation as our private entity whose survival we want to start and end within us as an individual and as a generation.
This, they maintained, explains the lack of courage and the will to search for enduring solutions to our problems and circumambulating at the peripheral level.
Even as “every Independence Day brings a sense of foreboding for Nigeria and Nigerians,” observes fiery Bishop of Sokoto Diocese of the Catholic Church, Dr Hassan Mathew Kukah, in a recent press interview, he regrets that “You look everywhere for a sign of something to smile about, something to hope for, something to find encouraging and something to cling to and you are looking for a needle in a haystack “.
Continues Kukah: “Our anniversary is here, but Ali Baba and his 40 friends are still in charge. Nigeria’s internal conflict is a Molotov cocktail of anger, frustration, religious extremism, toxic politics, corruption and deep rut…. The frustration mounts, the criminal political and bureaucratic classes get more daring in their exploits, stealing the country blind and leaving an entire nation bleeding. Yet we had a joke called fighting corruption and we even set up a commission”.
Delivering a paper titled: Sixty Years of Nigeria’s Journey To Democracy: Hopes and impediments, at recent lecture organised by the Association of Retired Career Ambassadors of Nigeria (ARCAN), Kukah reechoed the dashed hopes and expectations of Nigerians.
“ At independence, Nigerians had high hopes. We expected more than what we have now. Nigeria has never been as sad, as cynical, as divided, as frustrated as we are now. The nation is full of ethnic jingoism and cultural arrogance. Political power has been privatised along ethnic lines. Despite the fact that we gained independence without bloodshed, 60 years after, blood now flows on our streets”, he said.
Indeed, most Nigerians hold the view that six decades after independence, nothing has satisfactorily worked for them.
There are also those who argue that the fundamentals of nationhood are flawed, that Nigeria as presently constituted is not a workable union and hence, cannot deliver national security, peace, justice and development.
Even as no less a personality than the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, recently warned of a possible break-up of Nigeria if urgent steps are not taken to nip it in bud, former president Olusegun Obasanjo and Nobel Laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka, not too long ago, took President Muhammadu Buhari to the cleaners over the state of affairs in the country.
Blaming Buhari’s administration for mismanaging the country’s diversity and socio-economic development, Obasanjo, at a function in Abuja, said the drumbeats of hatred, disintegration and separation are being heard loud and clear almost everywhere in the country.
He said: “Nigeria is fast drifting to a failed and badly divided state; economically our country is becoming a basket case and poverty capital of the world, and secondly, we are firming up as unwholesome and insecure country.
“These manifestations are the products of recent mismanagement of diversity and socio-economic development of our country. Old fault lies that are disappearing have opened up in greater tissues and with the drums of hatred, disintegration and separation and accompanying choruses being heard loud and clear almost everywhere”.
Notwithstanding the fact that the presidency swiftly reacted to Obasanjo’s alarm dubbing him Nigeria’s divider-In-Chief, his statement cannot be easily dismissed having been a Head of State and a two-term president. If anything, since he left office on May 29,2007, he has personally held every succeeding administration to account, pointing out their perceived imperfections and failings.
While presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu said that Buhari pulled Nigeria from the brinks of failure, Information Minister, Lai Mohammed said that the country is on a journey to greatness, despite challenges.
“Nigeria today is not a failed state, but a nation that is courageously tackling its challenges and building solid infrastructure that will serve as the basis for socio-economic development; a nation that is unrelenting in battling in security and working hard to ensure greatest prosperity for the greatest number of people”, he said.
Despite that obviously incompetent presidential defense, not a few highly perceptible Nigerians believe that Obasanjo’s outburst was a distillation of the mood of the beleaguered people of Nigeria. They argue that the growing insecurity in the country, the drumbeats of disunity, and the negative and apparently cheerless statistical indicators on critical sectors of our social and economic life reinforced Obasanjo’s position and the imperative of presidential attention to the panacea offered by the statesman, especially, the implementation of report of the 2004 National Political Reform Conference.
Soyinka said that though Obasanjo, his kinsman and other past leaders were complicit in Nigeria’s deteriorating condition, his serial warnings in recent years cannot be ignored if the country must be rescued from total collapse.
In a strongly worded message titled: Between Dividers-In-Chief and Divider-In-Law, Soyinka stated that though he was “notoriously not a fan of Olusegun Obasanjo… co-architect with other past leaders of the crumbling edifice called Nigeria”, he embraces the responsibility of calling attention to any accurate reading of the nation from whatever source, as a contraption teetering on the very edge of total collapse”.
Recalling how in May last year Buhari’s government had shunned his (Soyinka’s) call to heed Obasanjo’s similar warnings in the past, he lamented that “the nation is divided as never before, and this ripping division has taken place under the policies and conduct of none other than President Buhari”.
Speaking in similar vein, Kukah regrets: “We have had too many accidental leaders people who are not mentally prepared to govern; people who do not have the requisite education and lack the capacity to lead and manage diversity are the one governing the nation. We cannot succeed as a nation this way… And that is why President Buhari (is) funding it with severe difficulty to manage diversity which are the key ingredients of democracy”.
As the debate on whether or not Nigeria is not a failed nation at 60 rages on, many think that Buhari, former military governor and Head of State, on assumption of office, should have speedily addressed itself to identifying the nation’s key problems, assessing their magnitudes and analyzing them with a clear-minded, clear-headed objectivity devoid of old prejudices and idiosyncrasies.
They argue that what the Buhari administration needed most, and still needs, is a driving vision of where the nation is, where it should be heading, and why. This implies having, the vision and sense of direction to see the map whole and then chart the course with a view to saving itself, and indeed the entire nation, from going aimlessly on one detour after the other in search of solutions to its myriad problems, as is presently the case.
Now the questions on the lips of many as we celebrate 60 years of nationhood are: How do we crystalise our purposes as a nation at this critical period of our national life? How do we ensure the elusive ‘unity and faith, peace and progress’ embedded in the state emblem? Analysts say it behooves the Buhari administration to urgently rise to the firm, just and orderly exercise of power towards the accomplishment of those purposes, goals and aspiration. Though these tasks are admittedly difficult to accomplish, they insist it can be done. This perhaps, may have informed the theme of this year’s anniversary: ‘ Together Shall We Be?
Vowing to henceforth ensure inclusiveness in governance, ostensibly in an oblique reaction to the deluge of criticism against his administration, Buhari, at the last virtual Federal Executive Council meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said the theme was chosen in order to forge a more united and cohesive Nigeria.
Given the Buhari admini-stration’s notoriety in breaking promises and doing the contrary, as an observer puts it, how this can achieved in the coming months remains to be seen.

By: Victor Tew