Therefore in the case of Murtala Mohammed, the solution was simple. The culprit was identified, that is, the force or personality behind this new crusade of freedom for the oppressed. As a short-term measure it was decided to kill the burger off. Pronto and the fever of this stupid liberation campaign would have been extinguished immediately, they reasoned. On the long-term measure, it was agreed that the country should be bankrupted. They reasoned and correctly too that the basis of the muscle Nigeria was flexing had its root in the economic wealth and disposable cash at the behest of Nigeria.

Hence, the intelligence expert must have advised, run the country bankrupt. They would have argued that, since the Nigeria’s economy has no foundation except the oil revenue then bankrupting the country would prune her wings and shoot her down not for dead but wingless. And with careful monitoring or ‘enhanced surveillance’ the wing pruning exercise can then be undertaking anytime it grows back again. These simple economic espionage and covert political actions conducted on Nigeria in the late 1970s would go a long way to explaining the present regular review of the pump price of oil and the incessant currency devaluation in Nigeria.

That is the story so far on why and how Nigeria lost everything. The Nigerian leaders, at least Murtala, meant well but his group only had brawn but lacked wisdom to go with it. And for their stupidity and foolishness, Nigerians have been dragged back into the reformed slavery of the twentieth century. This is the remote control slavery where the operators need not get their hands dirty. Every engagement of this profitable business of modern slave trade is accomplished on the computer interface in a cool tastefully furnished office situated on the 50^th floor of a New York or London building. The ‘wiz-kid’ securities and investment traders now called ‘rocket scientists’ do not need to see or touch the cargo of slaves anymore. This can be handled remotely. It is indeed the age of remote control.

All Nigerians must be made aware of the truth of this wicked political and economic game if we desire to stop it. Our half-broiled academics and unconcerned professionals must be told to hold their heads in shame for allowing them selves (this writer is inclusive) to be swindled intellectually. As of the days of old, we have allowed ourselves to be used again as the unthinking blockheads and middlemen who sold our brothers and sisters to the slave merchants. Without the connivance and love of self only by this group of well-heeled Nigerians, Nigeria should have been home safe and dry. Some of us fell into the trap, out of share mental laziness but a good number of us really went all out to co-operate with the enemies in the name of personal success or in order to ‘make it’.

According to William Patterson in The Problems of Destiny, "Poverty is the prop of civilisation, and that if it disappeared society as at present established would come to an end…we may, however, consider the entire working class of all grades and professions as perpetually threatened by poverty unless they continue to work. It is their poverty or potential poverty which keeps the wheels of civilisation rolling."²⁰ Every child born with a silver spoon in his/her mouth is brought up to accept inequality as given and so grows up to perpetuate it as well. Morality is a learnt virtue it is not inborn. Therefore, if a child is not taught to see other persons as equal from the on set of his life there is no way the concept of equality can have the same meaning for him as others who were so taught from the cradle.

The second type of education has the advantage of conditioning the larger segment of the population to accept their underdog positions in the nation as natural and it will be unthinkable for them to attempt to question it not to mention changing it. Going above your social status is seriously frowned at under such entrenched conservative social values. The products of the second tier of education become predictably well mannered and domestically peaceful until they are let loose on football excursion to mainland Europe. The system ensures that there is no civic education in the curriculum and so the knowledge or the ability to reason and to challenge the dogma and the ungodly political structure of the society of their birth are carefully expunged from school curriculum.

The children from the second tier of schools are ever so happy to step into the shoes of their coal miner father or butler father or other servant professions as a natural order of life. Their neighbourhood are well stocked with beer parlours or Pubs where they can chill out and chill down every evening after a backbreaking day’s job. It was therefore not too difficult for the colonial civil servants to see the appropriateness of this kind of educational philosophy and policy, which was safely, transferred wholesale to Nigeria and other colonies. So in Nigeria you have King’s College, Queen’s College, Barewa College and other regional colleges specially equipped to train leaders of Nigeria. But still the contents of the education delivered even in this pampered schools, were below the level of their second category of schools in Britain.

However, after a century of western education, Nigeria has a good number of ‘certificated’ graduates who cannot use their thinking faculty. As a result this educated illiterates become totally blind to the atrocities going-on all around them. They cannot see through the veil of the reformed slavery under which they are being bred. We have educated men who are yet to see the economic and political concrete ceiling of opportunities erected over their heads by their foreign friends or partners. They could not understand why they expended so much energy and yet could not jump beyond the covertly prescribed level. Nigeria has professors of business and political economy who are yet to understand the barriers and obstacles carefully constructed and placed on their path by their foreign friends. It is therefore not surprising to still find them championing the policies of the western powers in trade, business, and investments. There were cases of some Nigerians who took employment with these foreign firms and yet with their fanciful degrees could not see the international scam going on under their noses and under their signatures.

This writer is yet to understand how a Nigerian educated to the level of a doctorate degree could fail to see Volkswagen of Nigeria for what it was and yet served under this company meritoriously and at the same time pontificating on national economic policy until that company went down and out of production of ‘completely knocked down’ cars. What does that mean? Ask the experts. All over the country we have similar arrangement of ‘manufacturing’ of motor vehicles and other industrial products. How did the so-called leaders failed to see the international financial scams, the industrial espionage and outright robbing, pillaging and the massive foreign exchange fraud going on in the name of purchase of ‘raw materials’.

It was not until 1984, that Nigerians realised that Ovaltine of Nigeria, a company which hitherto claimed the status of an industrial establishment was exposed as a mere assembly plant for the finished products transferred in large cargo from Britain. These companies and their likes claimed massive tax and custom and excise exceptions for the purchase of raw materials; and licences for engineering and production technical staff at over the top salary range along with massive incentives to make their stay in Nigeria comfortable. These ‘industrial’ companies have Nigerians at the management positions and as Directors yet these patriotic Nigerians could not put in a word for Nigeria because they valued personal comfort and personal liberation over abstract national interests.

This writer, having considered the pattern of economic history of the world, the philosophy of the present world economic relations, the protectionist tendency of even the newly liberated poor nations to jealously guard the status quo, and the universal attitude of self-interest by those who have scaled the ladder out of poverty to prevent all unwelcome infiltration from the other underdogs left behind, believes that except there is a fundamental reorientation of the value on which the world is operating its economic affairs, Nigeria and indeed Africa have no hope whatsoever both now or in the foreseeable future for true economic, social and political emancipation.

Within five years a good number of the fire brand nationalist fighters have been carefully pocketed by their kind benefactors through juicy business offers, tempting attractive contract kickbacks or just being kind and nice to the young politicians with good advice that would help their new nations to grow on the path of economic development. The other day, this writer asked a friend from Tanzania what he thinks about the idea of de-linking Africa from the western culture and philosophy of ruthless competition. Does he think it is a good idea that Africa should attempt to find or to create its own natural identities and on which it can design it’s own pattern of development at it’s own pace and time? He was amazed at such thinking and he asked me, How do you ask those who have come to help you develop to go? How then are you going to develop?

This is the common perception among Africans who still believe the western powers are indeed interested in seeing them as equal partners or as fair-play competitors in the global economy. They failed to recognise that in order for this present global economic order to persist Africa cannot be allowed to really get out of the woods. If Africa does get out of the wood, then that is the end of civilisation as we know it. Isn’t that what Patterson was saying above? It is a case of saying if there is no poverty there can be no civilisation.

This writer is again sounding the clarion call to all Nigerians that you are the chief loser in this macabre international game of superiority of one race over the other. As a loser who is now aware why he has lost so much, what will be your reaction to this knowledge and enlightenment? Are you one of those who still believe that, that is how things have always been and that is how it should continue to be? Are you prepared to stand up and be counted as one that ‘seizes’ (don’t wait to be given) his/her right as a free man or woman and that accepts as given his equal status to all men regardless of the colour of skin or position of artificially created eminence or political and economic power that was derived from stolen wealth? You have lost so much so far but must your posterity also suffer this indignity and insult?

The international relations of commerce, of diplomacy, of human rights, of peace and of everything are all skewed in favour of the old powers. The kinds of democracy and free market slogans the western powers are pushing on the poor countries are farce and have hidden selfish motives. All the self-interest philosophy quoted out of context from Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations and since adopted as a self-evident truth by the Far Right intellectuals is borne of ignorance of the systemic nature of the universe. The 1997 economic problems in Asia and that of Russia in 1998 are good examples to illustrate the nature of interdependency among the peoples of planet earth. But those problems are not over. They are like the rumbling of a ‘dormant’ volcanic site that became so common to the extent that the communities in its vicinity got used to noise and occasional fireworks. Eventually, when the volcano finally erupted they were cut on aware. That is the world’s economy for you. It is a fundamentally non-sustainable economic system.

The Great Depression of 1929 will be a child’s play when this godless and wicked system finally bursts at the seams. Nigerians must learn to read between the lines, and to recognise that we have no friends of any kind in the international community. It is time for us to wake up and defend our human dignity by first stopping the rape and pillage of our country and then constructing our own reality based on the values of common brotherhood nurtured in the spirit of love and guided by the law built on the philosophy of ‘Love Thy Neighbour’. We must totally reject the moral philosophy of the Global Economic Order that is based on the principle of ‘Beggar thy neighbour for profit’. This is a philosophy that rewards handsomely the ruthless and the wicked. It is a satanic philosophy and all those who have seen the light of the truth of existence must spew it out.

By now I hope all Nigerians are aware that the international trading markets are full of wicked foes who pretend to be friends and who want to make you believe that they are doing you a favour by ‘investing’ in your country. Foreign Investor indeed! Do you still believe that? Even kleptomaniac governments will claim to be hunting for foreign investors when all they needed to do is to convert the stolen resources hidden in foreign accounts for the national development of their stunted countries. Of course they will often get foreign investors of their kind who are sharper and brighter than them in the art of ‘kleptomanism’.

Your next actions after closing this book will tell whether or not you still believe the lies of your sworn enemies. But do not forget you are starting from a negative base. Your country is in the red and totally bankrupt. How to get the Shylock, blood-sucking vampires of the international commercial banks and of the western countries off your back should be your major project as we march into the new millennium. Please for goodness sake, don’t join the sad pathetic men of Africa and other Third World countries who are on their knees begging for debt forgiveness. It is not a good solution. The ‘conditionalities’ of the politics of debt forgiveness in international relations will be worse than you could ever imagine. For one thing, it will never give you enough freedom to pursue your own goals. This declaration of peace for love, equality, justice and freedom is an intellectual and spiritual affair. Please don’t get emotional get educated.

This is a good thought on which this writer will like every like-minded and Spirit of Truth-led Nigerians to reflect deeply. The Nigerian love for designing self-centred strategies aimed at the emancipation of only oneself and the members of one’s family at the expense of the larger society must have to stop if we intend to defeat the real enemies. The enemies over the years are aware of your weakness and your desire to escape into personal comfort. They capitalised on this human weakness by given you inducement which sometimes set a negligible number of you up for life but in the process they take your country for a ride. The belief is very strong among the Caucasian Homo sapiens that you and your entire race are dumb, stupid and foolish. By the result of the last thirty-eight years of Nigeria’s self-governance one is almost tempted to say they were right. But this is falsehood.

There is a divine plan in all the affairs of men on earth. Let us open our eyes to see and our minds to understand the signs of the moment and to acknowledge the will of the All-Mighty Creator for this age. For all those who are sincerely applying their intellects in the analysis of the nature and trends of the global economic, social and political problems, the truth is clear, this economic system called the New Global Order cannot correct the injustices, inequalities and imbalances in the world. Nigerians must wake up to this truth now. That is all the help you will get - to wake you up from your careless slumber. You must on your own use your natural God-given gifts and talents to solve, first the national calamities that have befallen all of us and secondly to rise to the salvation of our neighbours in Africa.

This writer has so far avoided to make any wishful suggestions on a quick fix panacea for these serious problems. As a member of the human family on earth, created in the image of God and equal to all other men on earth, you must wake up and take your rightful position on this planet earth. This is a spiritual as well as an intellectual battle. But remember the power of the creator of heaven and earth is with Nigeria at this moment. So dear fellow Nigerians wake up today and search for answers. Together we shall find a way out of the calamities around us. However, remember it is not going to be an easy journey but with knowledge, conviction, determination, effort and the single-mindedness of the collective spirit of all Nigerians we shall make it to our own promised land of true freedom and peace without the assistance of any godless earthly power that has so far behaved and acted as if it owns this planet.

To be continued