By Francis Ogbimi

History shows that politicians do not readily build nations. Kings ruled European nations for almost 2000 years. European nations were hungry and chaotic societies till the Western industrialisation which began in England(1770-1850).

It was the industrialisation that transformed European nations in all aspects of life – economic, political and social perspectives.

Also Asian nations were hungry and chaotic nations ruled by kings before they became industrialised. China was described as a hungry and sleeping giant for almost 3000 years till its accelerated industrialisation began in 1949.

European and Asian kings ruled 2000-3000 years till their nations experienced bloody revolutions, suggesting that politicians do not change for the better.

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Africans should not fall for the lies, deceit and tricks of executive presidents, executive governors and representatives ruling like European and Asian kings, anymore. 

Life in Nigeria emphasising politics has been increasingly poorer and chaotic. Let us not wait for a more chaotic and bloody revolution and total failure of our nation, Nigeria.

Our parliamentary/presidential experiments have failed. Nigeria needs a humbler government that would promote rapid economic development.  

The trouble with Western education is that it does not teach the lessons of history. It, therefore, makes those who possess it look foolish in many situations. The British parliamentary system has evolved for over 1000 years.

Also, the American presidential system has evolved for over 300 years. The poorly educated Western intelligentsia/intellectual and his African student would think that Western nations were born great and that Africa can decree Western types of government into being and make them work well in Africa.

Consequently, Africa has been attempting International Political Transfer, IPT, like it has been unwisely trying to develop technology through International Technology Transfer, ITT. They are wrong.  

The Americans occupied Japan for seven years (1945-1952) after World War II ended in 1945. During that period the Americans introduced the British parliamentary system to the Japanese, with the remark that the British parliamentary system is more responsible to the people than the American presidential system.

Truly, we all know the British parliamentary system is more responsible to the people than the American presidential government.

So, it was quite wrong for Nigeria to adopt the American presidential system after the more responsible British type parliamentary

system failed after just a five-year (October 1960-January 1966) trial. 

That is not to say that Nigeria should return to the parliamentary system. For the Nigerian parliamentary system in the period(October 1960-January 1966) was in no way like the mature British parliamentary system.

That was because Nigeria has not developed the socio-econo-politico-institutions that are sustaining the British parliamentary government. Institutions are not structures that can be erected overnight.

The very naïve Nigerian would say, Nigeria would get there. How? Nigeria would fail if it sticks to trying the failed advanced American presidential government or the British parliamentary government further.  

Our research revealed that all the mature democracies achieved industrialisation or economic democracy (mass participation in the economic life of a nation) long before achieving political democracy(mass participation in the political life of a nation).

So, let Nigeria reduce the glamour of politics and focus on economic development. After Britain achieved the first modern Industrial Revolution, IR, in the period 1770-1850, labour and socialist groups in Britain fought against the inhumanity of British industrialists for a long time.

That led to the formation of the British Labour Party in 1906. That is, true party politics/democracy in Britain started over 100 years after economic democracy. The United States achieved the modern IR in the period 1850-1900. 

Though partisan politics began just after George Washington retired from politics in1796, by 1900 majority of Americans, including women in all states, Black men in the southern states, Indians, naturalised immigrants, still could not vote in the United States.

Women could not vote in the United States of America till 1920 (United States Information Agency, 1994). The political process then, suffered from corruption and greed. The American political parties – the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, late in the 19th century were referred to as parties that had no principles or distinct tenets, although they had certain slogans, organisation, interest enlisted in support for getting or keeping the patronage of government.  

America, Canada, Germany and India are some of the federal and democratic systems cited frequently as those working well. Of these, India is the oldest, least stable and poorest.

As to India, Kopf and Bishop (1977) observed that the problem with India is geography and not culture. Davies (1963) argued that the history of India shows that a united India was impossible till long after Britain colonised the nation and introduced the telegraph and the railway into India in 1857.

The Vindya range which virtually cuts India into two parts – north and south, traditionally served as a dividing line politically, culturally and linguistically. It is the weak economic status of India that is responsible for the weakness of the democratic institutions in India.

America is probably the most stable because of its economic strength. Technology built America and made it a world power in a few centuries. In 1783, the United States having survived the Revolutionary War (the War of Independence 1775-1783), took its place among the free nations.

Its future was assessed by Fredrick the Great of Russia, who dismissed it as a mere temporary freak. It would disintegrate, it would not exist for a long time, he said, because it was too large (Bulletin of Science and Technology & Society, 1984).

The nation was over 800,000 square miles in area, four times as large as France, and had a population slightly more than three million squeezed into the Atlantic coast. Except for certain areas along the coasts, America was a trackless wilderness. 

The problem was increased in 1803 with the purchase of the territory of Louisiana, another wilderness. The purchase doubled America’s size to over 1.7 million square miles – an area almost as large as all Europe outside Russia. When the American Civil War began in 1861 the prediction of Fredrick the Great met its ultimate test.

It was technology that saved the Union. Were it not for the North’s industrial and technological superiority, the South would not have been beaten, and the Union would have fallen apart. Technology built America and proved Fredrick the Great of Russia wrong.

What is the alternative for Nigeria? Election should be organised on community basis because Nigeria does not have political parties.

Nigeria only has political machines and conspiracies which have no desire or knowledge for transforming Nigeria into a great nation. The present geo-political zones, our largest communities, should be made a federating (learning) level.

Nigeria should adopt five federating(learning)-levels federation: Central, geo-political zones, states, local governments and cities(mayoral) governments, for more intensive learning experience and better coordination. 

Zonal federal leaders should be elected in the zones (communities). The election should be a simple one about the individual within the geo-political zones. The six zonal federal leaders so elected will come together to form the committee-type federal/central government.

Each zonal leader would head the central government for two years. The Federal Government election should hold once in 12 years. Similar elections should be held in the other four federating levels (zones, states, local governments, mayoral). 

The second main part of the alternative is the management of the economy. This should become the top-priority. All Nigerians would be mobilised for learning (education, training, employment and research) and industrialisation. In the event, Nigeria would achieve industrialisation in a few decades.

Professor Ogbimi, a scholar and public commentator, wrote via: [email protected]

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