ANOTHER Constitutional Conference in London in 1958 set the date for Independence, October 1, 1960. Administrative changes and all necessary arrangements was embarked upon to achieve this target. Eastern and Western Regions achieved Self-government in 1957 and the Northern Region in 1959. Consequently, Nigerian replaced British officials as Governors The 1959 Federal Elections would be the last before Independence and would determine who would form the first independent government of Nigeria. The elections resulted in NPC having the largest number of seats but could not form a Government alone.

Chief Philip Asiodu, CON

Interestingly, AG and N.C.N.C. combined would command a majority. British officials, definitely those serving in the North were very anxious that the NPC should be in a position to form the Federal Government as opposed to the more radical Southern parties and their Northern allies. Recent writings by a few British former colonial officers would suggest that they did extra-legal things to ensure NPC victory. Writing about the earlier elections in 1951, Sir Bryan Sharwood-Smith who was the Resident of Kano Province and Chief Electoral Officer for Kano said, “in the case of more than a dozen, I had to hold and guide the pen hand after cajoling from them the names of those for whom they wished to vote.” However, this was not an important issue at the time.

After many consultations and manoeuvres, the following arrangements were agreed for the run-up period to Independence. Balewa was appointed Prime Minister in a NPC/NCNC coalition government. Action Group would form the opposition led by Chief Awolowo. The leader of the major governing party, NPC, remained in the North while his Deputy was Prime Minister in Lagos. Zik retired from partisan politics and became President of the Senate, waiting to become Governor-General, a ceremonial figure-head, at Independence.

The new N.C.N.C. leader, Dr. Michael Okpara, remained in Enugu as Premier, while Chief Awolowo’s Deputy, Chief S. L. Akintola was Premier in Ibadan. In 1959 as earlier in 1957, Chief Awolowo turned down overtures from Balewa for the formation of a National Government to help foster national unity. And so, the stage was set for what followed after Independence.
Pre-Independence Progress And 1st Republic Years

We are all fairly familiar with the history of Nigeria since Independence. Nigeria was moving ahead with great strides in the decade before Independence. Many African countries, our French speaking brothers, became independent and were admitted members of the United Nations at various dates in 1960, but none was awaited with such eagerness and great expectations as Nigeria. Unprecedentedly, one whole day was devoted by the United Nations to the admission of Nigeria.

The Security Council met in the morning to approve our admission and the General Assembly in the afternoon to formalize our admission and to listen to our Prime Minister, Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa address the Assembly.

And he made a remarkable speech proclaiming the progress of Africa as the first concern of Nigeria’s foreign policy, our policy of non-alignment, our determination to contribute to maintaining world peace and the dignity of man.

He received great acclamation. I was a witness having been posted to New York in March 1960 to participate in setting up the Permanent Mission of Nigeria to the United Nations.

There were great expectations for rapid progress – economic growth and development – given the enormous natural endowments, and our human capital resources and the calibre and stature of our 1st Republic Government.

With Dr. Azikiwe as Governor-General, later President, Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa as Prime Minister and Head of Government, with many experienced men who had achieved prominence as professionals, businessmen and teachers as Ministers, the Government was highly respected in the Commonwealth and the World. We can also recall the high calibre of the Principal envoys sent to us from UK, USA, Germany, India, etc.

Soon after Independence, we acquitted ourselves creditably in UN operations in the Congo, in the resolution of the crisis in Tanzania helping for two years to supply the Army in that country where the Army had revolted against Nyerere soon after that country’s Independence and had to be disbanded and a new Army formed and trained. We also subscribed to a special UN Fund for peace keeping operations. Nigerian Economy was growing under the 1962 – 1968 Plan at over two per cent per annum with inflation rate under two per cent and so people enjoyed improving standard of living. However, there were serious political problems which had not been resolved before Independence.

The most serious was the Minorities Question. For many years, there had been general agitation for separate Regions by the Middle Belt minorities in the North, the Mid-Western minorities in the West and the Calabar-Ogoja-Rivers State Movement in the East. There was tension over the attempt to conduct a national census in 1961 which was cancelled, and was repeated in 1963. Then came the break-up of the Action Group in 1962, the Treason trials and imprisonment of Chief Awolowo in 1963, the crisis over the December 1964 Federal Elections which was resolved with the appointment of a broad-based Federal Government in April 1965, but which was then followed by the heavily rigged Western Region election in 1965.

Military Rule From 1966

Then came the bloody January 1966 Military Coup that ended the 1st Republic and brought in the 1st Military Government of General Ironsi. General lronsi was overthrown in another very bloody coup in July 1966. Nigeria then perilously hovered at the brink of disintegration. For two excruciating days, there was no supreme authority but this was not known by the public as the Federal Civil Service was able to maintain the semblance of normalcy. Then the slide to the Civil War of 1967 – 70 which for all the loss of lives, and agony was ended by Nigerians themselves without the intervention of foreign “do-gooders”.

The country then embarked on the three Rs programme – Rehabilitation, Reconciliation, and Reconstruction which had been well planned in advance. The country resumed accelerated economic growth and from 1970 – 1975. The economy grew at the average of 11.75 per cent per annum until terminated by the Coup of July 1975, followed by the massive purge and destruction of the confident, non-partisan, trained and fearless Public Service inherited from the British, but worse still, the abandonment of National Plans, the process of planning and the discipline it entails especially with regard to frugal cost-effective use of the nation’s resources for the promotion of the public good.

Quality of governance

We had a brief interlude of Civilian Rule under President Shehu Shagari from 1979 to 1983. This was terminated by a Military Coup in December 1983. Then followed years of increasing deterioration in the quality of governance, and economic stagnation with an average growth rate of only two per cent per annum over the decade ending in 1999. Meanwhile, the population continued to grow at three per cent per annum.

Democratic Rule Since May 1999
Democracy was restored in 1999 with the election of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo as President. He was succeeded by the late Umaru Musa Yar’ Adua in 2007, who died in May 2010, and then President Goodluck Jonathan, who gracefully handed over power to President Buhari in 2015 following his defeat at the General Election. So we have enjoyed democratic rule for 18 years. Regrettably as measured by the doleful catalogue with which I started this paper, the degradation in the quality of governance, and unresponsiveness to the real needs of the people are yet to be properly addressed in order to avoid disaster. The present allocation of the resources available to Nigeria is not sustainable.

A GREAT Role Waiting For A Player
There is a great role waiting for a player in Nigeria. There is need for a great patriotic and visionary leader to articulate a National Vision and Agenda of where Nigeria should be by 2040, to be at least a top middle income nation of over 300 million people and to quote from Vision 2010.

“A united, industrious, caring, God-fearing democratic society committed to making the basic needs of life affordable for everyone and creating Africa’s leading economy”. He will need to lead a revolutionary change of attitude, beyond party, tribal and religious divides, amongst leaders of all sectors of government and society to embrace all aspects of good governance and re-launch Nigeria irreversibly on the path to unity and greatness. He must be ready to commit his life to this great cause.

Can Nigerian Leaders And Citizens Rise To The Challenges?
In this process we must stress, that there are very difficult challenges to be overcome which we shall briefly discuss below.

Path to unity and greatness

We shall, however, first recount some past achievements which give us hope that the broad masses of Nigerians are waiting for such a leader to call the nation to order and will answer such a call to order. Let us briefly recall some significant past national achievements:
•The successful Constitutional Conferences of 1954, 1957 and 1958 which arrived at compromises leading to the peaceful emergence of Nigeria as an Independent Federation in October 1960;

•The achievements in the vast improvement in the provision of education for children, the establishment of plantations and farm settlement schemes and initiating industrial development under Regional Self-Government in the late 1950s and the First Republic while it lasted;

•Despite the dire predictions of the doom of genocide and lynching which would follow the defeat of Biafran Secession, Nigeria surprised the world with the success of its policy of “No Victor, No Vanquished” and its programme of Rehabilitation, Reconciliation and Reconstruction under the 1970 – 1974 second National Plan;

•The impressive average annual growth rate of six per cent+ from 1962 – 1966; and after the Civil War, the average annual growth rate from 1970 – 1975 of 11.75 per cent;

•Supposing even after removing Gen. Gowon, his successors had continued with the disciplined implementation of the 1975 – 1980 3rd National Plan, and if under subsequent National Plans, 10 per cent+ average annual growth rate was maintained for the next two decades, Nigeria would have escaped from poverty and under-development and would today be an African Lion or Tiger amongst Asian Tigers and the situation in the country today would be very different.

National Vision And Agenda 2040
It is critically important to elaborate a National Vision and Agenda 2040 now to enable the Leader mobilize the broad masses of the people to move forward to progress, unity and greatness. The goal of Independence and sovereignty was a uniting anchor for the political parties and other interest groups before October 1, 1960.

Our national tragedy is that since then there has been no national consensus on objectives to pursue. Confusion in objectives, and discontinuities in policies and programmes have been the Nigerian experience of Government, resulting in the lack of progress in developing a one-nation consciousness and in developing the economy to lift our richly endowed country from poverty.

The essential elements in the National Vision 2040 will include: National Economic Perspective Plan 2020 – 2040;

•Adoption and Implementation of all the Aspects of Good Governance;

•Necessary Urgent Amendments to the 1999 Constitution;

• Universal Compulsory Good Quality Education for all Citizens up to the age of 18;

• Maintenance of Nigeria as a Secular State and Religious Freedom for the Individual;

•A Language Policy to Promote National Integration;

•Eradication of Corruption in all facets of National Life and Adoption of a Realistic Personal Incomes Policy;

• Determined and sustained retraining and re-motivation of the Civil Service and staff of all Agencies so that they may achieve a new image of competent, friendly, prompt, patriotic, non-corrupt, pro-investment, pro-development public service dedicated to prompt cost-effective service delivery. I shall only sketchily deal with above essential elements because of limitation of space.

National Economic Perspective Plan 2020 – 2040

The National Vision 2020 (as indeed the earlier Vision 2010) was not implemented. Vision 2020 is a good basis to elaborate a bold and inspiring National Vision and Agenda 2040. The Economic Perspective Plan would be broken up into four or five year Plans.

It will deal with all sectors of activity, achieve an annual growth rate of at least 10 per cent by 2025AD and sustain the rate up to 2040AD by which time Nigeria should be at least a top Middle Income country whose economy is industrialized, diversified, developed and globally significant. We must stop re-starting and re-naming National Plans with the change of batons from one Administration to another.

Adoption And Implementation Of All Aspects Of Good Governance In Federal, State And Local Governments

The Leader will insist that all political office holders, political activists, and the leadership in all sectors of society who wish to remain with him must embrace and conduct themselves according to all the values of Good Governance including:

• The Rule of Law;

• Efficient and prompt administration of justice;

•Predictability, objectivity and consistency in government measures;

• Respect for the sanctity of contracts;

• Tolerance of dissenting views and opinions;

• Abandonment of the pursuit of self-enrichment as the motive for seeking political leadership and office;

•Drastic reduction in the cost of engaging in politics and seeking political office;

• Zero tolerance for corruption and the prompt application of adequate sanctions against offenders including seizure of all properties corruptly acquired and no plea bargaining;

• Efficient and timely service delivery by all government agencies;

• Return to planning and submission to the discipline of planning, respecting pre-determined priorities in the utilization of national resources;

Economic diversification

•Re-allocation of resources in order to greatly increase capital expenditures and investment to promote economic diversification and growth;

•Return to the principle of collective responsibility of government; and

•Entrenchment of merit and the pursuit of excellence as core national values.

Necessary Urgent Amendments To The 1999 Constitution
Several groups talk about the need for political restructuring of Nigeria but they all mean different things. Some mean using the six zones as the Federating Units, some mean restructuring Revenue Sharing to make the principle of derivation 100 per cent, still others are not satisfied with the composition of one or two of the existing zones and would also want more states created. It will take a long time to reach agreement on such issues.

However, I do not believe that they merit the priority which the various protagonists ascribe to them. On the other hand, if the essential elements of the National Vision and Agenda 2040 described above were successfully addressed, they would cease to be important as Nigeria would be safely and irreversibly on the path of progress, improving general welfare of all citizens and unity.