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Joseph Ifeanyi Chikunie

 Head, Space Control

  Opebi Road
Ikeja, Lagos

more articles by Chikunie

Despair not Gani, you have fought a good fight but we deserve what we get. We are too tolerable and afraid to fight despite your demonstrated singular revolution over the years. Until we rise up as a people against the enemies of the people, your quest for justice rests in the womb of history.

REST IN PEACE GANI: NIGERIANS DESERVE THE MISFORTUNE AND HARDSHIP WE CONTINUALLY EXPERIENCE.
by Joseph Ifeanyi Chikunie
 

Gani Fawehinmi is dead and it is yet another hypocrisy season. Those Nigerians who for many years instituted and built all the evil structures, policies and demonic mentality are today paying tribute to the late legal luminary and legendary human rights activist. They need be reminded that Gani spent the better part of his life speaking and kicking against their unpatriotic actions.

There can only be one dimensional tribute Gani will cherish and that is an evaluation of why Nigeria is sick today with a view to redressing the sad situation if ever this is possible. Right under our watchful eyes, things have so degenerated to levels where mediocrity now prevails over competence, dubious wealth acquisition has become the norm as hard work is scorned and we now have the unenviable tag of the never-do-well. We are adept at either disgracing our fatherland through our actions or show-casing our ineptitude and disorganization.

I do not regret being a Nigerian but I regret sharing a country with a spineless majority of people who are so tolerable to the extent of smiling as human faeces is rubbed on their faces. The late Gani once lamented that Nigerians went about their normal businesses after the charade of the last general elections.

How and why have we descended so low in all fields of endeavour be it politics, sports, education, the economy just name it? What future are we creating for our children and coming generations? Are we content and happy with our present predicament and achievements as a people? These are the issues, which Gani would want examined as he lay dead. This is the best tribute to the man.

Nigeria from inception is a child of fraud. The way the colonial masters foisted a country from diverse people with so many differences is a precipitation for the later crisis that have now enveloped the country. This diabolical creation could have been managed expertly by the first generation politicians immediately after independence but it was exacerbated by their ethnic and tribal postures and actions in government. The British as neo colonialist did their bit in further dividing the country in the early post-colonial era but by far the greatest damage to the psyche and development of Nigeria was perpetrated by Nigerians themselves.  A prominent institution, as the major culprit is the military.

Many of the deep seated and entrenched Nigerian mentality till date emanate from the long years of militarization. The many forms of deceit, subterfuge, state murder, corruption, destruction of progressive institutions and the rape of democracy that military rule propagated still spread and have collectively become Nigeria’s Achilles heel.

The military, over a long period of time; systematically entrenched many social evils, which have today become hydra headed and difficult to root out. The khaki boys of course did not act alone. They found wilful conspirators in very corrupt and self seeking politicians; unscrupulous men and women who sought to feather their nest and butter their bread. The era of Chukwuma Nzeogwu, Aguiyi Ironsi, Odumegwu Ojukwu and Yakubu Gowon exposed the under belly of our forced marriage and engraved an indelible ethnic friction, mistrust and suspicion. The civil war allowed misguided people to ventilate their emotion thereby deepening the mutual distrust and power hegemony of one tribe over the others. The Murtala Mohammed/Olusegun Obasanjo ruler ship tried to stem the tide of national decay and slide into mental and economic depression but typically, the latter conjured up a controversial hand over to Shehu Shagari. Then was another chance presented for some kind of national redemption and development.

However, the character and historical birth of the second republic laid the groundwork for the later manifestations. A bogus winner takes all presidential system of government was created rather than continuing with a parliamentary system, which has the advantage of allowing the triumph of logic and good reason added to the tolerance of opposing views. Robust debates spiced with intelligent views and counter views were sacrificed on the altar of a Presidential system of governance, which allowed a big government, ineffective administration and the breeding of corruption.

Nigeria’s wealth was frittered away and the long years of oil boom soon gave rise to economic down turn and austerity measures. Jumping into the fray, the military once again capitalized, sacking the Shagari administration in the process. Gani Fawehinmi began a gradual but consistent attack on the powers that be more prominently.

The Babangida regime made Gani the legendary icon he is today as he relentlessly battled the government even in the face of incarceration, threats, sickness and possible state murder. Whereas other military governments did their bit in turning Nigeria in the wrong direction, the Babangida and his gang finally plunged the country into the deep mud. It is no wonder then that Gani Fawehinmi would sweat, weep and curse throughout those days he was persecuted by Babangida and his cohorts. There was nothing that government did not do to break the will and strength of the man but Gani remained focused and principled. The story of GANI AND BABANGIDA is like that of the biblical ELIJAH AND AHAB. Until he died, Gani sought to punish those who killed Dele Giwa under the Babangida regime. That government, whose ruler described himself as an evil genius, taught Nigerians many bad morals and holistically instituted numerous anti-democratic and retrogressive structures and psyche many of us have now inherited.  

Sanni Abacha continued from where his friend stopped and visited sterner measures on Nigerians. While Babangida is the seducer who charms, induces and manipulates his victims before having his way, Abacha had no patience, choosing to force his way through.  Together, the twin regimes wrecked havoc of great proportion on Nigeria such that the effects of their actions and inactions in office haunt us to this day.

The second stint of Obasanjo is a mixed grill. He kept himself out of government in his first term by travelling all over the place in a futile attempt at attracting investors. The hawks seized the opportunity to steal and pillage the state’s wealth.

During his second term, he appointed a few noble men and women into his government and their achievements were like three drops of water on the throat of a man who has remained thirsty for days in the hot desert. Realizing perhaps too late that his abandonment early on left gaps in accomplishment, he sought a third term, which was stoically trounced by a movement of some parliamentarians. As pay back, he rubbished elections, which threw up Nigeria’s most under achieving President till date.

This historical exposition shows so many consistent trends and the attending effects on us as a people. The most prominent of these is that up till now, Nigerians have never freely chosen their leader successfully. The only time this became possible, the winner was eventually thrown into prison where he died. His wife also paid the supreme sacrifice for standing up to the authorities. The question, which naturally follows is what have Nigerians done about the anomaly? Absolutely nothing!

Another ugly trend from the generation of bad rulers we have had is how mediocrity and favouritism have thumped competence and intelligence. Successive governments are filled with ministers who are merely appointed on the basis of party affiliation rather than a track record of selfless service. It is no surprise therefore to witness university undergraduates idle away at home as their lecturers continue an industrial action. It is equally no surprise as I watch the Super Eagles fail to beat Tunisia even when they were ahead with ten minutes to the end of the match. The chances of the team playing in the world Cup is now very slim if not impossible. What factors are responsible for this?

Successive governments have now firmly established a culture of indolence, indiscipline and short-cut to success. These are the Nigerian virus, which are very endemic. This is the psyche left behind by successive governments, which has now become the norm. While other national teams made adequate preparations for their world cup qualifying matches by playing friendly matches and camping early, Nigeria resorted to inviting established stars to camp few days to a crucial match. The boys played so lackadaisically as if they were begged to wear the national jersey. Hard work has longed been sacrificed in almost of spheres of our national life and we are reaping the results.

Another negative trend identifiable from this historical exposition is the insincere and half measured way we approach national problems. Take for example the Niger Delta imbroglio. The government’s approach leaves much to be desired and only a fool believes that mere amnesty will restore order to that region. Rather than address the root causes of the problem, the Umaru Yar’Adua government is still pursuing shadows. This is why Nigeria can handily win any international award any day on cover ups and cosmetic treatment of fundamental problems and challenges.

The greatest impediment to our development is also a trend bequeathed by the successive bad generation of rulers under discourse: corruption. Nigeria is the most corrupt country in the world no matter what contrary sources say. A country, whose Attorney General and Minister of Justice, cover up common criminals do not deserve a seat among the comity of nations. The Siemens scandal, the Halliburton exposure, the corrupt ex-governors saga and many more startling revelations bordering on graft have become tales by moonlight under the government’s watch.

It took Mrs. Hillary Clinton’s rebuke and CBN Governor Sanusi’s action to rouse Yar’Adua’s EFCC from sleep. The arrest of bank chiefs will soon turn out to be a smokescreen. Their acolytes who are the shakers and movers in government will ensure that the EFCC fire is smouldered.

So, did Gani Fawehinmi struggle and die in vain? The answer is a resounding no. But for his likes, only God knows what Nigeria would have been turned to. At a time when many civil right leaders froze, Gani and men like Olisa Agbakoba stood firm against the Abacha tyranny. Their voices of conscience reached the ends of earth and became the constant rebuke to those who sought Nigeria’s pound of flesh.

The noble man has done his bit and he needs no sympathy, special tribute or Ode. What Gani cherishes from the grave is a self appraisal by Nigerians. Do we continue to fold our arms while political jobbers and marauders continue to render our votes useless?  Do we stand by as we continue to operate Unitarian ruler ship in a supposedly Federal system? Do we continue to allow our servants in government to enjoy immunity from trial while in office knowing that justice delayed is justice denied in Nigeria? Do we watch as our children’s academic future is mortgaged by men in government whose children study abroad?

For many years, he challenged bad governments and laid down his life for the good of the masses. Thereafter, he entered the political fray as he tried to wrest power from the bad citizens who have perfected a way to perpetuate themselves. Expectedly, he was simply edged out because the system is designed for the corrupt and appointees of the fraudulent king makers who deploy the apparatus of the state and its vast resources to achieve electoral victory for its chosen candidate.

Though he died in the struggle, Gani lives in our hearts and his words on marble are a constant reminder of what we need to do in our quest for freedom. We are an enslaved people, whose votes cannot count yet we carry on as if we are Canadians or people of other decent climes. We suffer from collective amnesia and the elites and professional politicians always take full advantage. The societal rot has now spread to all parts of our national body and daily we witness astounding manifestations of our evil acts. The gods have made many of us mad and ultimate destruction is looming except we retrace our steps. The liability of being a Nigerian is overwhelming but our hope is that redemption will come someday when brave compatriots will rise in unison to resist a seemingly eternal misrule and class marginalization.

Despair not Gani, you have fought a good fight but we deserve what we get. We are too tolerable and afraid to fight despite your demonstrated singular revolution over the years. Until we rise up as a people against the enemies of the people, your quest for justice rests in the womb of history.

 

 

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