Nigeria@64: Ethnic Leaders Divided Over Nation’s Progress

Ahead of the 64th anniversary of Nigeria’s independence on Tuesday, the country’s ethnic nationalities are divided over the development of the largest black nation, as they said that the citizens deserve better than what successive governments have made them go through.

In different interviews with the Sunday Telegraph, while some called for restructuring of the nation, others called for a change of attitude of the populace.

At the same time, another adopted the policy of ‘siddon look.’

Afenifere: We need sober reflection

The National Publicity Secretary of the pan-Yoruba socio-cultural and socio-political organization, Afenifere, Comrade Adejare Ajayi, said that the occasion of the 64th anniversary of Nigeria’s independence calls for a sober reflection that should engender a better lease of life for every Nigerian.

He said:”It may be conjectured that 64 years are not so long in the life of a nation. But when the life span of an average Nigerian and the fact that we had a better lease of life before being considered, there would be no argument at all that Nigerians should be enjoying a better life than is currently the situation.”

He added that the government seems to be conscious of this reality going by at least two issues which emanated from the World Press Conference addressed by two government officials on Thursday, September 26th.

The first was the Federal Government’s declaration that this year’s independence anniversary should be celebrated without any funfair.

The second was the announcement by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume and Minister of Information and Orientation, Mr. Mohammed Idris, that the President Tinubu’s administration “is very much aware of the economic conditions we are passing through”.

Ajayi, however, went ahead to say that the government should not stop at expressing its understanding of what Nigerians are going through; it should take decisive steps to put an end to the hardship being experienced by the people.”

The Afenifere spokesman recalled that Minister Idris disclosed that the Tinubu administration has “initiated transformative policies and reforms aimed at correcting the missteps of the past and repositioning Nigeria as an economic superpower soon”.

He then urged the government to double its efforts, so that an end would come to the sufferings of Nigerians at the earliest possible time.

He concluded by calling on the government to, “greatly reduce government spending and to restructure the country at the earliest possible time.”

No commendation, no condemnation – Ohanaeze Ndigbo

The pan-Igbo sociocultural organization, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, stated that it has adopted the principle of ‘siddon look’ at socio-political and economic events in Nigeria.

The spokesperson of the apex Igbo group, Dr. Alex Ogbonnia, said Ohanaeze had since decided to observe events in the country without getting involved.

Ogbonnia said: “The position of Ohanaeze Ndigbo is ‘siddon look’, “keep a watch brief); no compliment, no attack; no commendation, no condemnation. That’s Ohanaeze’s position.

“No protest until we see sufficient reason for us to change our position.

“Those who are protesting, Ohanaeze is not protesting; those who are complimenting, Ohanaeze is not complimenting. For us; commendation, no; condemnation, no. That’s what you call the principle of ‘siddon look’.

Democracy has not served Nigeria well – ACF

For the apex Northern Socio-Political and Cultural Organization, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Democracy has failed to serve the people well because of the way and manner it is being practised and operated in the country.

The Forum said there was no form of government imported into the country that would work, if the people failed to change their ways and value system.

Speaking through its National Publicity Secretary, Professor Tukur Muhammad-Baba, ACF fingered corruption as the bane of the nation’s problem and noted that leaders in Nigeria were over-pampered; a development that makes them not to be accountable to the people.

The ACF Spokesman said, that while restructuring is good, the continuous restructuring of the country through the creation of states has compounded the problems with more Nigerians becoming minorities in their areas.

He said:”First of all, I believe congratulations are due to the Federal Republic of Nigeria for attaining the age of 64. There is no doubt that over 60 is a milestone in the life of any country, and we have every reason to celebrate.

“With regards to how far we have come, we have come a long way; there are a lot of achievements that we cannot ignore. We have also faltered, up and down along the line as leader of African nations. We have made our mark on the continent and the International scene. Infrastructure-wise, we have done a lot for ourselves. We have expanded education, healthcare and others. There is no doubt about that.

“However, in general, we could have done more, given our resources, the vast resources that the country is endowed with. Our achievements should have been more than this. We should have carried Africa to more than where it is today, given that all our boundaries are all artificial. Like in railway transportation, if we were consistent, if our leaders had embraced massive railway development, it would have been responsible for goods and services and ease the pressure on our roads.

“The agriculture sector has also suffered. Our government then and now failed to promote simple technologies, simple instruments of farming. We need simple technologies that will ease the labour for our people, simple processing machines. Technologies that will ease production, like irrigation. Simple and medium tools, so, that young men and women will not run away from agriculture because it is hard. They should have equipment that they can use that will ease employment.

“In politics, we seem to be moving between the left and the right, looking for the way forward. Democracy has not served us very well. For one, it is extremely expensive; it is also open to corruption as we see in government. Everything you see is built with the nature of politics. Politics is no longer for service; politics is for personal aggrandizement. So, all these things we are talking about are because of that.

“We cry that the American system we exported is expensive, not knowing it is not expensive; it is the people who operate the system that make it expensive. Unbridled corruption; if we cannot fight that monster, any system you bring, be it parliamentary, American or even monarchy will either fail or succeed by those who operate it. If those who operate it don’t want it to work, it will not work. If they are determined to work, it will work.

“The values we are impacting on our children from childhood are the wrong values and that is why you have all these Yahoo boys all over the place. Everybody wants to get rich overnight. Wealth is no longer coming from efforts; it is coming from the ability to outwit someone and steal their money. Our values have been affected by these developments.

“It goes into the politics also. That is why we have not been able to get it right. Restructuring is fine but the truth of the matter is that we have been restructuring since 1967, with the creation of states, and the creation of additional local governments. With the rate we are going because we a highly heterogeneous society, the more you create units, the more there is demand for more. In many states, some people have now become minorities; they are not allowed to be governors, at best deputy governors.

“All these things are because of the nature of politics, and of course, the religious leaders are not helping matters. Many of them are into corruption. They collude with politicians, local government and state officials and the Federal Government. A lot of religious leaders that you see hobnobbing with the Federal Government have no reason to be there. If they are sincere, they should stick to the churches and the mosques. They also contribute to our division.

“Our system is not the problem. It is the people that operate it, the underlining value with which they come to power- election rigging, manipulations. Our leaders are over-pampered by the protocol around the President and state governors is too much.

“At the ongoing UNGA, an African President comes in the grand motorcade, a suit made in Europe and the other continents come with moderate delegation. The irony is that ours is in hundreds and we are asking for the loan. This is someone begging for food and what I see is exotic foods, drinks, best wines from anywhere in the world and then the man is asking for a loan. It does not make sense. It is not about the structure, it is the people operating the structure and any structure we bring will have problems.”

We’ve gone from bad to worst, says IYC

Also weighing in, National Publicity Secretary, of Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Bedford Berefa, said: “The situation has been abysmal since Tinubu took over. It has nosedived from bad to worst. All the expectations that we had about Tinubu have been dashed.

“His exploits in Lagos, we were hopeful that there will be a replication of his Lagos exploit in the nation and his key sectors players that he even introduced in his cabinet, we were expecting so much like the CBN Governor, who was his finance commissioner, when he was governor of Lagos State. There were high hopes.

“The hopes of Nigerians have been dashed and battered. Now, Nigerians have taken it the way they see it. Zero expectations from the government. Fuel prices are continually on the increase. Presidency has subtly privatised the oil and gas sector, acquiring monumental structures, leaving and neglecting the issues of effective governance and we are far away from a democratic process.

“Look at what played out in Edo. You could see that our democracy is no longer democracy. It is just a selection process. The constitutional provisions are not upheld and you could see that one man is holding an entire state to ransom and the Federal Government is saying nothing.

“His ministers are just there. The Federal Government under President Tinubu has not been fair to Nigerians. Issues of patriotism are not there. The cabinet members are so unpatriotic.

“There is an autocratic system of governance, where only what the president says holds sway. You noticed that the Senate and all of that are just rubber stamps. They are only there to do the bidding of Mr President but it is our country. We have to keep believing.

“The future lies in us. There is deliberate manoeuvring and conditioning our youths to think that Nigeria cannot work but for us Ijaw Youth Council, we know that Nigeria can work. We must show patriotism. We must practice what we preach and we must go away from what our forebearers have implemented.

“This is the worst government ever in the history of Nigeria. When President Olusegun Obasanjo, the pioneer democratically elected president was there, he did so well.

“However we can’t take away the exploits of NDDC under Ogbuku. That is one thing that President Tinubu got right. Under NDDC, he has done well. He is carrying practical interventions across the Niger Delta States.

“We need practical development. He should urgently reshuffle his cabinet, sack those who are moribund and those who are ineffective in the oil and gas sector and bring people who can deliver on their mandate. That is the position of IYC.”

Expectations haven’t been met-INC

Ijaw National Congress(INC) National Publicity Secretary, Izonebi Oyakemegbegha, said: “The expectations of Nigeria are not met and unfortunately even in this new leadership, the promises till now, none have been fulfilled. Suffering has increased.

“Fuel pump price is N1,300. So, it is nothing to write home about. We can’t say at this particular time it is well. We should have seen more. We have been saying these things over and over again. Sometimes, it is difficult to repeat.”

Source: New Telegraph