The plot of the critically acclaimed HBO series "Game of Thrones" is about an ancient world locked in merry-go-round battles between and amongst kingdoms tied by blood, deception, betrayal and thirst for vengeance all in a bid to claim an ultimate iron throne.
I have been reading a great deal and watching historical clips about Nigeria. My earliest encounter with Nigerian historical literature was a book titled "13 years of Military rule" a compilation by the defunct Daily Times of events from the first republic to the eventual handover by General Olusegun Obasanjo to Shehu Shagari with a focus on the 13 years the military held sway, 1966-1979. My father purchased this book for N1.50k in 1979 perhaps because of his enthusiasm of a better Nigeria. As a child, I only enjoyed looking through the pictures of past government participants and coup plotters. The book is more or less skewed towards documents that most likely emanated from government press releases and may not be as objective. However, it does give a good summary of the landmarks that have altered the course of events in this country and to some extent, derailed the Nigerian train from the track of genuine nationhood.
Towards the 2011 general elections, it was clear to me that the possible emergence of the PDP candidate would spell disaster for our great country. I thought this was clear to most Nigerians, to those who had persevered long enough and gotten tired of tolerating incompetence in leadership. I assumed the general North would be split if not won by the major opposition candidate while the PDP would lose overwhelmingly in the Southwest just like they always did. I also did not think the PDP could sweep the southeast of greater than 90% of the votes there. How wrong I was. It was clear the leaders of the southwest dominated party did some kind of dealings with the incumbent and withheld their indigenous machinery to ensure that the PDP did not have a credible showing in the southwest. The southeast and south-south overwhelmingly voted for their son with some states recording over 90% of total votes for the PDP despite documentation and recordings of obvious vote rigging. The Northern states and particularly the middle belt region with governors sympathetic and loyal to the ambitions of their party and its candidate witnessed a majority decision for Goodluck Jonathan, PhD.
The outcome of the elections baffled me greatly. I was completely at a loss as to how Nigerians allowed someone so clearly inept and unprepared to win by an incredibly overwhelming margin. I wondered if the southeastern people lacked progressive and rationally thinking people; worst still I pondered on how my fellow southwestern people watched on as GEJ garnered over a million votes in Lagos. Gutted with a feeling of being let down, I concluded that the Nigerian people were simply overrated, myopic and sentimental. Some wanted a first timer minority, some were awed by the PhD that may be devoid of a thesis while the worst group made up greatly of young minds like myself said they voted for the man and not the party. How outrageous? The people sold out, the media sold out and the opposition sold out. My grudge with Channels TV still persists.
Why did Nigerians do what they did? Some of the answers lie in the annals of our great country. The contraption and geographical expression named Nigeria by the British was done primarily to serve themselves. They plundered valuable resources; humans and goods, cash crops, minerals and art work that still adorn their museums till tomorrow. They did however bring formal education, religion, mirrors and gin. They, in some way made less apparent the multi-ethnic diversity by focusing on the dominant tribes that have since commandeered the political landscape with the numerous and smaller other tribes playing the minority second fiddle. This uneven topography and imbalanced political structure handed over to the young and inexperienced agitators in 1960 led to distrust and a lot of power play, scheming and betrayals. With this entrenched bitterness, the game for the throne of supremacy began.
Literature abound on how radical middle ranked soldiers, mostly in their late 20s eliminated critical players of the first republic, both military and civilian. The label that the first coup was tagged still lingers in the minds of a lot of Nigerians. This led to an insatiable hunger for vengeance among officers grouped as northerners who perceived that the Ironsi led supreme military council were reluctant to try the arrested coup plotters and administer justice. A large scale murder of Igbo nationals and other Easterners ensued in the North, aided and abated by the connivance or in some cases, the watchful neglect of the northern elite. These incidents went without justice and emboldened the disgruntled northern officers to embark on a mutiny murdering numerous Eastern officers in cold blood. These men, led by Murtala Mohammed who was in his late 20s set Nigeria on a downward slope with the main goal of terminating the existence of the infant nation. Appeals against secession caused the Northern caucus to change their minds but not without arm-wrestling the leadership of the nation for the most senior surviving soldier at the time.
Even if the Eastern officers wanted to retaliate, they were already vanquished and the vengeful northerners would have perhaps killed every single one of them in sight. These heinous crimes went unpunished and further crimes perpetuated during the civil war particularly in the sector commanded by the fiery Murtala have been by and large swept under the carpet while those who suffered have been assumed to have moved on. I have just concluded a book title "Oil, politics and Violence: Nigeria's military coup culture (1966-1976)" by Max Siollun. It chronicles an unbiased and detailed account of the unfortunate events that have bedeviled Nigeria and still plagues us now. The book has the potential to break our hearts and at the same time mend it, it gave me hope that this entity named Nigeria can still arise from the ashes only if we come to the junction of equity, justice and forgiveness. We need not forget the evils we have done one to another, we have to open the wounds that have been inflicted on our bodies and minds. Covering them up does not heal them, it only succeeds in eating us up on the inside and gets transferred as either a dominant or recessive trait from parent to offspring. This anomaly as it is, is indestructible.
The escalation of crude oil exploration and the subsequent expansion of the nation's monetary reserves reinforced corruption and only served to murder the agricultural sector that had contributed enormously to the economy of the regions established prior to independence. It improved the appetite of the now politicized military junta and their civilian conspirators. There was free money they did not necessarily need to account for. Sadly, a culture of waste followed and the distribution of this new found wealth was skewed leading to the advent of armed revolts against the military led by Isaac Boro. It is shocking to know that a 50% derivation formula for oil producing communities once existed which plunged to 2% at a time. It is now set at 13%, clearly unfavorable to those concerned. Some people feel that "monkey dey work, baboon dey chop" is the modus operandi in Nigeria, hence the agitation.
Oil has become Nigeria's curse, our Achilles heel. The Northern brotherhood that conspired and murdered suddenly imploded. They suddenly realised they were indeed different, torn by tongue and God. Blood was "shared" and some innocent ones caught in the cross fire rendering many widowed and orphaned. A more deadly spanner was thrown into the wheel of the nation, deadlier than tribe, tongue or geography. It must have been in existence but became full blown with time. Religious affiliation became one of the tools of trade in the hands and systems of those who have perpetually held this country in bondage since independence.
The military men and their aides sunk their fangs deeper into the jugular of un-merited wealth and power. The cold war and continued patronage by world powers for the lucrative "bonny blite" crude perhaps plunged Nigeria further down the abyss, the wealthy got even wealthier while the poor wasted away into oblivion. Those who died amongst them are regarded as heroes having their names gracing establishments and monuments across the land. Those alive still occupy positions in government, possess personal oil wells and worse still continue to spread the venom that fuels bitterness and thoughts of revenge among the tribes that make up Nigeria. The jostle for the throne at the centre still persists till this day. Do they think the evil they have done is hidden? Or do they assume that the people particularly impoverished and almost annihilated are too busy scrapping for survival to remember?
Our political system still remains primitive, held hostage by sentiments and justified grief. In some cases, it is the fear of deja vu while in others, a direct or indirect effect of the landlords' protocol to create timid and voiceless Nigerians. The national cake is continuously plundered, many have sold their souls to partake in the crude oil hysteria losing their identities in the process. It has degenerated to a survival of the fittest, jungle style. Many have become too greedy, they would rather watch while others perish even their kin. A good number still harbour deep seated hatred for the Nigerian state. They would rather have a goat preside over the the affairs of the state as long as the goat is from their backyard instead of supporting any genuine effort to retrieve the reins of our national ship heading for the rocks. A vast populace are held back by religious sentiments and ethnic loyalty instead of promoting the common interest of Nigerians. Even their elite are not vocal enough to ensure their liberation and in some cases, this silence has rendered them as accomplices when their wards misbehave and take matters into their own hands.
Sixteen years ago and fresh from secondary school, I had written my last paper on the 4th of June, 1998 and was back at home unsure of what the future had in stock. June 8 was my birthday and I did not know what to expect. My father had temporarily moved to the new state Bayelsa to hustle for his family so that we could survive. Even if I wanted to celebrate, there was really nothing to rejoice about except for life. The day ended on a high however for most Nigerians when news filtered in that the dreaded tyrant Sani was no more. Moshood Abiola left soon after under mysterious circumstances as old and new alliances were established to chart a new course as another chance to rectify our wrong moves fell into our laps. My optimism was soon dashed when leadership was thrust yet again upon the shoulders of Obasanjo. It seemed to me that the soldiers wanted convenience and not necessarily the best option for Nigerians. It is 15 years since 1999 under a one party rule and I do not think the future and integrity of Nigeria has ever looked this dire. Those born in 1998 and 1999 are more or less out or almost out of secondary school today, Nigeria still will appear like a mirage to them.
Some people are advocating for a disintegration, some have faith in the ongoing conference while many others have rather opted to jump ship and sear the part of their brains that constantly reminds them of the country of birth. I looked at the map of Nigeria recently and for the first time realised how small in size the southeast is compared to other regions. It seems not to be even bigger than Oyo in my eyes. The Igbo territory is somewhat landlocked and the people are highly active that the land cannot contain and sustain them. If Biafra breaks away, which ports would they use to convey huge consignments from the globe? Who would they be doing business with? They would be needing visas to enter other regions of present day Nigeria, how tedious would that be? The south-south people do not appear versatile and responsible enough to manage the vast resources they have in their region. The effects of blood diamonds might just be child's play compared to what can occur. The core North is backward, truth be told. The people are resilient and generally hard working. Their leaders need to be confronted with the truth, their feigned ignorance and over-indulgence has contributed in no small measure to the proliferation of armed insurgents in the area. A fractured North would be landlocked as well and would sweat a great deal to break even. If the UAE can develop their region to outrageous extents, committed leaders in that northern sector would be able to replicate same. The middle belt is blessed with human resources and great soil. They are caught up between rival regions and have the dilemma of which to affiliate with. The southwest has a coast line and possess quite a good amount of intelligent people to steer a Yoruba ship. We may however be too cunning and restless for our own good. Perhaps a union with other regions helps to keep issues in the right perspective.
This contest for supremacy has been characterized by intrigues and conspiracy. Our history alone can make Nollywood surpass even the Americans. However, these lofty dreams are already aborted even before the morula can get embedded. We have sinned greatly and our offences against one another are indeed very grave. We have skeletons buried under our beds and in our closets. We kill a man and expect his widow to forgive and forget or die with their grudge. We loot the land and still earmark largess for our personal generations unborn. The authorities in Australia apologized to the indigenous aborigines for the savage afflictions they had to endure. In Nigeria, we prevent films that appear to tell part of the story from airing for fear of the unknown; we bury our heads deep in gravel expecting ourselves to live together like nothing ever happened and begrudge those with genuine sentiments poured out in books. It is clear some people derive pleasure from the eruptions in a certain region of the country. They surely deserve their fair share of violence but must we watch on and not realise we and our kin are afflicted in the chaos? Should we not consider forgiveness? Should we collaborate with incompetence and ineptitude because of the grudge and scars we still bear? Should our children continue these hot and cold wars and pass it on to theirs?
It is a very difficult remedy that I prescribe, it takes believing in one nation again. It takes genuine acknowledgement of wrong and guilt, a lot of declassification. It may require active steps to erase traces of those indicted for war crimes and wickedness to fellow Nigerians. It would take restitution and compensation to those who were innocent but yet killed. It will take justice and reducing the powers at the centre. This game of thrones must stop and we can start by advocating for credibility and competence and rid ourselves of primitive ideologies and individuals with unverified PhDs.
God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Jide akeju
4/06/14
4/06/14
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