BY CHUKWUDI ENEKWECHI

IN the history of Nigeria, not many still remember the heroic efforts of our founding fathers that enabled us attain self-rule. Nevertheless, it remains an incontrovertible historical fact that personages such as the late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Sir Ahmadu Bello, Chief Obafemi Awolowo and several others made selfless sacrifices for Nigeria to attain nationhood. In simple language, these patriots exhibited exemplary courage in their lifetime for Nigeria to become a nation.

Regrettably, not long after we attained self-rule, the military interrupted the democratic process and pushed the nation into retrogression for many years. Thereafter, democratic rule was restored in 1979 with the election of Alhaji Shehu Shagari and Dr Alex Ekwueme as President and Vice President, respectively.

This democratic experiment was, however, short-lived as the military once again interrupted the process by overthrowing the Shagari – Ekwueme administration in a bloodless military putsch. Many politicians of the Second Republic were hounded into jail for what the coupists described as monumental corrupt practices.

Military tribunals were set up to try the corrupt politicians and in the case of Ekwueme, the military tribunal commented thus: “… from all investigations, Dr. Ekwueme left politics much poorer than he was when he entered it, and to ask for more from him was to set a standard in public life which even saints could  not meet”. Need I say more here regarding the impeccable character of this symbol of democracy and good governance?

In April 1994, Ekwueme was elected in abstensia by his local government area as a delegate to the 1994/1995 National Constitutional Conference, NCC, in Abuja. As a member of the committee on the “Structure and   Framework of the Constitution”, he presented a novel proposal on the just and equitable power sharing in Nigeria, based on six geo-political zones.

Though this proposal was vehemently opposed initially by some delegates, yet today this has come to be an acceptable panacea for maintaining a stable Nigeria polity. Indeed, this policy gave rise to state, local and community levels of administration in Nigeria.

Some other developing countries are now adopting this political model as a means of ensuring equity and parity in the sharing and distribution of political offices and resources of their various countries. The major ingredient of this model   is that it gives all the constituents a sense of belonging, and ultimately pave way for collective efforts towards nation building.

In April 1998, Dr. Ekwueme braved all odds to convene the “G-34” that addressed a memorandum to then military Head of State, General Sani Abacha, advising him not to transmute into a civilian president (by succeeding himself). Many people considered such move at the time a  “suicide  mission” as they  chose to remain silent instead. But not  Ekwueme who stood his ground, insisting that the  time had come  for the military to quit the political stage.

His onerous efforts paid off as the group was to later transform into what is today known as the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

Dr. Ekwueme is an accomplished academic having bagged degrees in History, Architecture, Sociology, Law, Anthropology and Town Planning. He has also been awarded several honorary doctorate degrees from Nigerian and foreign universities, and has two books to his credit – From State House to Kirikiri and Whither Nigeria.

On this occasion of his birthday, we salute Nigeria’s Hero of Democracy as he attains the golden age of 80 years, and may his noble legacies serve as a benchmark for our present and future leaders.

 Mr. Enekwechi, a journalist, wrote from Abuja.