Will Nigeria Survive Her Military Dynasty?

By Naiwu Osahon

All our military heads of state were largely insensitive, corrupt, almost illiterate, self-appointed tyrants who seized their stripes of honour (dishonour is probably more appropriate) through coups rather than the rigours of formal training, experience or war. Each one of the military heads of state simply got up from bed one chosen morning, pistle on the hip, jackboots on the ready to besmear our constitution to loot our treasury to their hearts content. Of course, they soon made up on the job for their lack of proper war or soldiering experience by detaining, tear gassing, shooting and bombing citizens protesting against their high-handedness and misrule.

Everyone of our coup Generals, aspired to be the richest lazy fool in the world sitting like an over-fed baboon atop the tallest tree in our devastated and rotting vineyard, savouring their exploits amidst squalor, hunger and decaying corpses.

Nature blessed Nigeria with enviable natural wealth soon squandered by a couple of selfish, rudderless leaders who pocketed our Central Bank to turn us into the dust-bin of the West and the laughing stock of the world. The rest of the world promptly dubbed us the “Big for nothing, senseless giant in the sun.” The coup Generals could not be bothered about our appellation as they busied themselves loading a plane with foreign currencies to divert to their foreign accounts through Entebbe, Uganda airport. While Idi Amin was still dazed, scratching his head wondering if he was in a dream or what, another of our coup Generals pounced on 2.8 billion dollars from the NNPC’s account in London and another 2.5 billion naira from the PTF later, for the icing. The scene was thus set for the master dribbler of them all to prove his mettle and he did not disappoint, scoring bull’s eye loot in swoops upon swoops including the US$12.2 billion of the US$12.4 billion Gulf oil wind fall. His goggled friend in crime watched with envy until he snatched his opportunity to hit payday with over US$5.0 billion loot, chasing after his mentor’s record in power.

Everyone involved in coup in Nigeria from the era of Gowon received free oil lifting allocation, which they sold on the spot market. From that time too it became a tradition for every head of state to enjoy free oil allocations. Even Shonekan had free oil allocation, which he sold on the spot market during his brief intervention in our chequered political history.

Heads of state and retired privileged army officers still receive their allocations even now and have special loading berths and jetties inaccessible to non-initiates, not even to NPA or other security personnel of the state. They call it Bulk oil. Ships just come in to their dedicated jetties and pump oil. In fact, the kingpins of oil bunkering in Nigeria right now are our retired Generals. It is done outside the purview of officialdom and the leak to our oil revenue is estimated to be in the region of one-third. For instance they have a street in Warri called Bunkering Road. They have gone to the extent of stealing crude before it was limited to refined oil. These are the people who do not want our oil problems solved. Oil is in their brains.

While the crooks were busy looting, the few civilized amenities on the ground disintegrated. Roads became death traps and schools stayed closed for two months of every month they opened. The naira was rendered worthless to enhance foreign exchange loot, causing chronic unemployment, hunger, insecurity and hopelessness. Power generating plants were sabotaged by the coup Generals and their cronies selling generating sets. Housing for the people was unheard of and tap born water was a luxury. Manufacturing plants relocated to other lands due to lack of patronage for their products. The menace of prostitution, armed robbery, 419 fraudsters became unbearable. Living was sheer hell, resulting in the stampede for visas to escape from our sinking ship of state.

During the first nine months of Abacha’s regime, I wrote a weekly column for the Week-end Punch, which probably contributed to the cloosing down of the Punch newspapers at the time. One of my last pieces published, was a study I conducted on hundreds of 5 – 7 year- old Nigerian kids. I was shocked by their profound knowledge on contemporary issues.

Asked if they liked General Abacha, they all said no. Why? I asked. Some said he was wicked or that he denied people jobs or that he made parents not to have food for children. Some said he was always wearing dark goggles. What’s wrong with that? I asked. We can’t see his eyes or he is funny and hiding something, some said. Would they want to be heads of state themselves in future? I asked. One didn’t know what he would like to be in future. Another said: “no, because they are always driving with many cars as if they are rushing to the hospital, whipping and killing people on their way.” The rest said they want to be heads of state in future because they would have lots of money or they would be rich and never be hungry. If they want anything, they would just buy it. But the salary of the head of state is not that much, I said. They would increase their salaries or they would just take the money they need. Steal it? I asked. “Yes,” they all said. That is the legacy bequeathed to Nigerians by the coup Generals.

Their penchant for stealing probably has something to do with their generally low academic qualifications. Actually, thirty or so years ago, only school drop-outs and stark illiterates were attracted to the army. The army as a career only became popular to graduates recently because of the crooked exploits of the coup Generals in power. Many of our coup Generals did not go beyond elementary school education although later in the army, they attended two to three days seminars, workshops and field exercises in India and Sandhust to sharpen their shooting skills. In fact, our dribbler coup General, returned to his elementary school to collect his school certificate while he was our leader. Suggesting that he didn’t pass the first time around, and so had to be obliged when he was president because the certificate was important to him as evidence of some formal education. Another, was overthrown and he promptly went back to school abroad.

The coup Generals were stubborn and never pretended to be democrats. For a start, the military does not train anyone to be a democrat. That is why they allowed Universities to close down for six months at a time and a national strike to drag into the second week. They envied the guts of the educated and their lowly education denied them the sense of fairness and guilt.

Nigeria must be one of the few countries in the world to have experienced a total break down of services for over a week due to a workers’ strike. Hospitals, airports, markets, schools, factories, banks, petrol stations, government agencies, telecommunication facilities all closed down for nine days because a coup General cum ballot-box rigger believed that stubbornness was a virtue.

Not too long ago, this same born-again military-democrat was lampooning the policies of his military cohorts in power for lack of human kindness. Now we know that what he meant by human face was to break the back of Nigerian workers, striking over his wicked and arbitrary daily increases in fuel prices, the same way he claimed to have tamed ASUU strikers.

In any case, why do we keep re-cycling these spent and now almost senile coup Generals and discredited politicians who have consistently demonstrated hatred for our welfare as a people and stolen our treasury dry? Even if we were cursed, must we continue to surrender to it in perpetuity? Of course, the coup Generals and rogues have their loot to rig and buy their way back to power again and again but have we not now reached the point to say enough and no more? Are we so stupid as to allow them to return to mess up our lives again for another 43 years? Are they the only materials available in a country of over one hundred and twenty million people and parading thousands of some of the best brains in the world in almost every field of human endeavours?

I don’t know how we are going to survive the next one year. It is touch and go right now and it is not funny at all. But if by any chance any of our other retired coup Generals tries to come back after our current political nightmare, they would not rule over one Nigeria because we are not all a cursed people. That is for sure.

 

NAIWU OSAHON Hon. Khu Mkuu (Leader, World Pan-African Movement); Ameer Spiritual (Spiritual Prince) of the African race;  MSc. (Salford); Dip.M.S; G.I.P.M; Dip.I.A (Liv.); D. Inst. M; G. Inst. M; G.I.W.M; A.M.N.I.M. Poet, Author of the magnum opus: The end of knowledge.  One of the worlds leading authors of childrens books; Awarded; key to the city of Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Honourary Councilmanship, Memphis City Council; Honourary Citizenship, Countyof Shelby; Honourary Commissionership, County of Shelby, Tennessee; and a silver shield trophy by Morehouse College, USA, for activities to unite and uplift the  African race.

Naiwu Osahon, renowned author, philosopher of science, mystique, leader of the world Pan-African Movement.