Nigeria’s independence was hard fought but only half-won.
The geopolitical sovereignty that was once taken away from sovereign ancient African ethnic nationalities by European Colonial Imperialism has never been given back to them again since then. Not even on 1st Oct 1960.
Instead, on 1st October 1960 they were surrendered up to a nebulous umbrella cloud called “independent Nigeria”.
The constitution(s) of Nigeria since then, which should have created a working vehicle for the individual ethnic Nations to exercise a degree of sovereignty while sharing the central responsibilities in a meritocratic and functionally balanced way, have instead progressively drawn all powers, wealth, control and advantages into a center which has been in the hands of a feudal and or cabalistic few.
The present constitution remains so skewed that certain parts of the nation will always have a leverage advantage over others, for instance in the all-important federal legislature.
The present calls for self-determination from many quarters are only a natural result of this non-impartial path of development.
Some have said 1st October should be national restructuring day. Actually, it should be national Self-Determination Day. The day on which all ethnic Nations who so desire should set off on the UN-defined and laid down peaceful and legal path towards Self-determination. No matter how long it takes, every path shall lead to the goal.
I have heard that a strong Nigeria is better than a strong “Ala-Igbo” or a strong “Yoruba Country” or a strong “Hausa-Fulani nation” and so on and so forth. That may be so. However, as a Nupe and Bassa-Nge person though reside in Kogi local government were the Egbura is predominant, I know for sure that a strong healthy “Bassa-Nge” is surely better than a fundamentally flawed non-meritocratic Nigeria built on cheating. Above all, a Nigeria that was never negotiated by its constituent ethnic sub-nations.
It is this theater of aberration that leads to a situation where IPOB, a southern organization that has been loudly agitating for a referendum towards a State of Biafra, but which has in some cases launched physical attack on persons, has been arbitrarily labelled a terrorist group by the Federal Government; whereas rampaging northern Fulani Herdsmen, openly armed, who have killed thousands, have not been so labelled by the same government. Apart from the prejudice revealed in this, it also awakens disturbing notions of the lengths to which the Government will go in the future to try to silence all unwanted groups, while it ignores certain others.
It is true that the reason why African countries are backward is not our artificial boundaries alone. Our allergy to meritocracy plays a strong role, as well as corruption, indiscipline and the lack of a culture of inventions. But a fundamentally and constitutionally flawed country like Nigeria will only continue to favour, nurture and strengthen these debilitating weaknesses.
Each time we celebrate the independence of this Nigeria, we are celebrating the cynical freedom of someone who was hand-and-foot-cuffed and then thrown out of a cage. Little wonder, that this freed man is still lying in a heap on the same spot he was dropped on 1st October 1960.
– Abdulkadir Bin Abdulmalik writes from Kogi Local Government, Kogi State.
