THE POLITICS OF GOVERNANCE: 1960-2010

By MIKE EKUNNO

It was the late Pan-Africanist and Ghana’s late Prime Minister, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, who advised Africans to seek first the political kingdom and let other things come afterwards. As if taking a cue from that, Nigeria’s early nationalists focused on getting the colonialists out at all costs. Independence was seen as an end in itself and the general impression was that the best colonial administration was worse than the worst self-government. With independence in 1960, our leaders woke up on 1st October to find themselves in the saddle. The euphoria of self rule hardly left room for preparation on the way forward. While the pioneer bureaucrats underwent tutelage under the British colonial masters, the political class had to learn on the job.
One of the challenges the young republic had to face was the centrifugal pulls of the regions. The three major political parties that emerged, the NCNC, NPC and AG, were regional parties with strongholds in the east, north and west. It was such that for the NPC, its leader preferred to stay back in the region as premier while supporting his subordinate to go to the centre as prime minister. In the words of the eminent political scientist, Prof Isawa Elaigwu, “the regional tails were wagging the federal dog”. It was while grappling with these challenges that the first republic got overthrown in a military coup de tat on January 15, 1966. The military coup by its very mode of execution became a hostage to the problems of ethnicity and regionalism it set out to correct. Thus was Nigeria led into a 30-month civil war that ended in 1970. The civil war and its aftermath provided valid excuses for continued military governance. The military’s centralised command structure was able to stop the irredentist tendencies of the regions and begin the processes of forging a nation out of Nigeria’s many nationalities. One of the political masterstrokes employed to achieve this was the creation of states. From three huge regions in 1960 and four in 1963, Nigeria moved to 12 states in 1967, 19 in 1976, 21 in 1987, 30 in 1991 AND 36 IN 1996. This breaking of bulk has by default strengthened the centre and eliminated the scenario of the tail wagging the dog. Overall, the military has ruled Nigeria for 29years of her 50years as an independent nation. Over this period, there have been coups, counter coups, phantom coups and rumours of coups. While the military may not have been politically partisan, its group dynamics was not immune from politics. The politics of governance under the military was first and foremost geared towards self-preservation. The welfare of the people came a distant second. To the credit of the various military regimes must go the execution of sensitive national polices which would have exposed the parochialism of civilian politicians. These include revenue allocation, states creation, nationalisation of media outlets, the operation of federal character principle, unification of taxation and the legal system. Whereas during the second republic, a simple national housing programme of the NPN federal government attracted much political bickering and sabotage across the political divide. On the other hand, critics of the long military reign have argued that corruption flourished under the military while true federalism was emasculated. It is a credit to all Nigerians that on its 50th year as an independent nation, Nigeria is on its 11th unbroken year as a democracy. Under a civilian democracy the politics of governance must be geared towards making life of the average Nigerian secured and then much enhanced. Nigeria’s present crop of leaders must ask themselves whether this is what animates their politics. A former American president promised to make it possible for every American family to have chicken in its pot and a car in its garage. These mundane things have long been surpassed in America’s political life and no longer form objects of political campaign. As 2011 elections approach in Nigeria, what concrete promises are our politicians making for the man on the street? In a corrupt environment, the politics of governance is reduced to the ways and means of cornering the commonwealth for the personal benefit of a few. Leadership becomes a transaction and deal makers gain ascendancy. As Nigeria marks its 50th anniversary as an independent nation, our politics should move towards a transformational paradigm with the welfare of the people as its common goal. This is the challenge of the next fifty years.