Nigeria at 50: A celebration of brute life, penury and disillusion

As Nigerians celebrate 50 years of nationhood today, the promise of
independence- a nation of free people living at peace with itself and
neighbours, undergirded by individual and economic well being is still a
distant dream. The President and his Governors may cut mammoth cakes and pop champagne and toast to success, perhaps personal success. Yet, this artificial success is derived from plunder and supervised penury foisted
on the poverty industry and fueled by years of bad governance.

Little wonder remnants of the disaggregated development plague us;
dysfunctional educational system, bad energy policies, bad roads,
offensive electricity supply, armed rebellions in resource-rich regions,
religious and tribal wars, kidnappings and a habitation for corrupt
political grand masters and scammers. Clearly we are a nation of perpetual
anomalies. Yet, we are one of the richest oil-producing nations on earth
able to dish out billions of Naira for the wasteful jamboree in the name
of Independence.

Tell residents of Lekki to celebrate Nigeria’s independence when they have
had to battle their local government over what should ordinarily be a
non-issue. These are a people burdened with a maze-like Lagos tax system
that looks like a ponzi scheme administered by ‘skilful’ bureaucrats. It
seems fairly sensible to ask vehicle owners to part with at least N400.00
per vehicle per day when they come into the rather chaotic Lagos. But it
is quite an ask if same is demanded of ordinary and poor market women,
commercial motor bike riders who have to pay exorbitant fees just to do
subsistence business.

Much of Nigeria seems disillusioned as citizens are held in bondage. Oyo
state remains shackled by the near absence of governance, Aba in Abia
state which should be catering for a global demand for food and general
goods has become the habitation of bandits, hence a no go area even for
its indigenes. Jos state is a serial time bomb. Each tick sends men,
women and children to their early graves. Even Ogun state that seemed to
be making a head way a few years ago has become a draconian, lawless state where anything negatively imaginable is possible.

The above scenarios do not augur well for individual and economic freedom,
save build a nation of political patronage and dependency. Today, we rely
on the federal government for electricity, and water, even though 50 years
of managing these sectors have been a disaster. The government determines
the prices of goods, runs a rent-seeking enterprise, favouring and
rewarding cronies with deals at the expense of the general economy. It is
only in Nigeria, perhaps that monopolist enterprises in sugar and diesel
production owned by cronies of the government can secure huge loans from
banks, default on most of them and be asked not to settle the rest. So,
why complain about ordinary young cyber criminals when these supposedly
bad loans could have been a source of productive enterprises for Nigerian
youths?

It seems to me that one way out of the quagmire is for us to demand
responsible and accountable governance that believes and ensures an
independent and impartial electoral system, judiciary, open markets,
decentralized management of power and resources, well paid security
personnel to guarantee free speech, free movement and protection of
honestly acquired property.

Unless we do the above as a country, we will continue to expect nothing
much from our Politicians, except a reminder that another October 1st
commeth and it is a time to celebrate a brute life of state servitude,
corruption, and armed rebellion, religious and tribal warfare. But, the
second verse of our national anthem might just enkindle in all of us, the
right spirit:

_ O God of creation,

To build a nation where peace and justice shall reign.

Joshua J. Omojuwa is Nigerian and a columnist of AfricanLiberty.org