The Way Out of the Woods
By
OF the great heroes who risked their lives and sacrificed personal freedom on the altar of the early liberation struggle which finally saw the eviction of British imperialism from the shores of Nigeria 41 years ago, not more than one score and ten are alive today to tell the tale.
These surviving Argonauts include two traditional rulers, Oba Adeyinka Oyekan of Lagos and Igwe Osita Agwuna of Enugwu Ukwu. Others are Chief Dr. Kolawole Balogun, Justice P.K. Nwokedi, Alhaji Tanko Yakassai, Chief Bob Ogbuagu, Chief S.A. Olawoyin, Abiodun Aloba, Peter Osugo, Chief FRA Williams, Onyejieke Uchendu, Chief Anthony Enahoro, Mrs. Margaret Ekpo, Harry Nwana, Chief AMA Akinloye, S.O. Achara, Mbazulike Amechi, Chief Richard Akinjide, Nunasu Amosu, T.O.S. Benson, and this writer.
If I were computing this list a month ago, I should have included two freedom crusading giants, namely, Chief Ayo Rosiji and Chief Toye Coker, both of whose demise has very recently occurred.
Of the departed leviathans of the independence war, mention must be made of Herbert Macaulay, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Ahmadu Bello Sarduana of Sokoto, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Obafemi Awolowo, Mbonu Ojike, Dr. M.I. Okpara, Zanna Bubar Dipcharima, Aminu Kano, S.L. Akintola, J.B. Adeluwoye, Othman Zarma, Adegoke Adelabu, Muhammadu Ribabu, D.C. Osadebay, H.O. Davies, Kate Burnley, Adeniran Ogunsanya, K.O. Mbadiwe, Madam Alimotu Pelewura, Mrs. Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti and her illustrious consort, the Rev. I.O. Ransome Kuti. To this latter list should be added S.O. Awokoya, Oged Macaulay, Ibrahim Imam, E.O. Eyo, J.I.G. Onyia, Professor Eyo Ita, Nduka Eze, Yahaya Gusau, C.A.J. Nwajei, Oba Aderemi II of Ife, Alaafin Adeyemi II of Oyo, S.O. Awosika, Mallam Dambatta, Kate Steane, F.O. Coker, A., Odumbaku and Abu Bakr Ibiyinka Olorun-Nimbe.
On October 1, 1960, we the freedom fighters brought into robust existence a sovereign Nigeria hailed by the international community, as a land of overwhelming promise worthy of the indubitable leadership of the African continent. If nothing else, the first five years of post-independence experiment in self-governance proved to be convincing demonstration of manifest integrity and exemplary incorruptibility which was recognised throughout the world.
Then the army struck on January 15, 1966, and in a totally disruptive manner, pulled down the entire framework of the nation's economic experimentation.
Today, Nigeria of our dream has all but been set to nought. We who fought and won the anti-imperialist war have been sidelined, indeed forgotten by the various governments of this nation. Today, political predators are busy raiding our treasuries, apparently satisfied to reap where they did not sow. They wallow in ill-gotten wealth, while we of the liberation struggle, though poor, remain consistent in our resolve to serve our fatherland as long as we live.
But we need not cry over spill milk. It is vital that all Nigerians should exert every effort in order to save our fatherland from the depths of global infamy into which it has plunged. All hands must be on deck.
On behalf of the surviving nationalists and freedom crusaders, I dare to proffer the following proposals for consideration as Nigeria seeks a way out of the woods of rampant corruption, massive deprivation and international contempt.
We call the Federal Government to back up its pronouncements on public accountability and morality with concrete, demonstrable action. To this end among others, we request as follows:
1. Accounts of the nation's revenue and expenditure should be made public on a monthly basis.
2. Names of individuals and corporate bodies granted licences and/or awarded contracts to lift crude oil for delivery abroad should not be shrouded in secrecy as is traditionally the practice, but may be published on a monthly basis, including accounts of bumper earnings on vastly increased oil prices. The same goes for contracts on the importation of fuel from whatever sources abroad, and at what cost.
3. In order to try and put a stop to the discreditable practice of inflated invoicing, orders placed by public office holders should be published on a monthly basis, together with standard price level for each particular item. Statutory commissions approved in certain European countries as inducement for relevant importers, should be remitted to the government of the federation, and not pocketed by the bureaucrats concerned.
4. A strict check should be in place at the Accountant-General's office to discourage the corrupt practice whereby back-hand monies are paid up-front to certain officials before annual or supplementary estimates from some government parastatals, become accepted for presentation to the committee on budget. The same goes for some auditors who demand financial consideration in exchange for declaring as okay an otherwise unbalanced public account.
5. Perhaps, the great danger confronting the nation's corporate existence lies in the malevolent practice employed by the Nigerian elite whereby they apply their comparatively high level of intellectual equipage for the purpose of defrauding the state. The Federal Government should establish a firm policy against intellectually organized crime in our society. Ministers, permanent secretaries, departmental heads, chief executives of parastatals, university teaching hospitals and institutions of higher learning seem to constitute the most serious cankerworm eating deep into the nation's moral fabric. They must be stopped.
6. The present high level of graduate unemployment must be tackled if the escalating crime wave is to reduce. In this respect, government should openly recognise the yeoman services being rendered by such crime-fighting vigilante groups as the OPC and Bakassi Boys, both of which I personally support, because they defiantly are set to wage a second liberation struggle against domestic neo-colonialism and its attendant crime-upsurge. Wherever they operate, the ordinary people seem more confident about the security of their lives and property. It therefore becomes necessary that the Federal Government should consider providing a budget as well as legal cover to certify their commendable activities.
7. As the most powerful black nation on earth, Nigeria has performed much below expectations in the current Olympiad. The sports ministry seems bereft of ideas for the upliftment of sports in the nation.
In the longer term perhaps, Nigeria may consider the organisation of an All-Black Games as a means of creating a spirit of solidarity and confraternity among all peoples of African nativity and descent throughout the world. Black sports men and women constitute the bulwark of athletic performances in the Americas and Europe. I believe the time has come to assemble them in one games arena as a means of exhibiting their athletic and callisthenic prowess, to the glory of Mother Africa!
The problems facing Nigeria are practically infinite. The rape of our country by various administrations has been too injurious to remedy within the life of one democratic dispensation. We may have to give President Obasanjo a fair chance of finding effective solutions to the nation's intractable difficulties.
Currently, Nigeria portrays ignominious credentials as the most corrupt nation on earth, the very worst of God's terrestrial creation. I do not envy President Obasanjo for having to contend with this universally derisive legacy. The prayer should be that he works tirelessly in order to restore the nation's pride.
In this respect, the president would have carved for himself an unforgettable niche in history were he to attain during his expected two terms in office, a raising of the international estimation of our fatherland from the very worst position it presently occupies, to one step higher, that is to a worse bearing.
May be some sequential head of state, provided he proves to be as dedicated as the present incumbent leader, may some day be lucky to further lift the moral stature of the nation to bad which is still a lot better than the worst!
Honestly, I feel optimistic that one score years hence, Nigeria may, perhaps, break out of this dreadful mire of collective unrighteousness into which our people have gotten stuck all these many decades, in order to regain our credibility, and our respect and honour in the international community. So help us God!