IS THE NATION TRULY WORTH CELEBRATING AT 60? MAKING SENSE OF NIGERIA’S 60TH INDEPENDENCE ANNIVERSARY

Nigeria's political independence on October 1 st 1960 was highly 'emotional' among citizens in different parts of the country at that moment. This paper examines some critical socio-cultural issues veritable to the formation of a new nation. Information in form of reports, written testimonies, and related archival materials were examined from the National Museum and National Archives, Jos in writing the paper. In-depth/personal interviews were also conducted in Jos and Makurdi. From the analysis and interpretation of information for the study, the following constitute major findings: 1, while the whole country was said to be ready to receive independence in 1960, not all known regional interests, such as those of the Middle Belt minorities were accepted and included in the national agenda 2, the demand for the creation of Middle Belt region (along with those proposed for the Mid-West and COR States) was perceived by 'majority' political actors as 'extraneous' to the planned independence, and 3, since hopes of Middle Belt minorities for a separate region of theirs were dashed, the overall perception of independence was suspect and morale low. The implication is that since the 'celebration' of the first independence suffered an initial 'social fracture', the rapid integration of various ethnic nationalities into mainstream post independence Nigeria has been faced with daunting difficulties, which the alienation and exclusion of majority of citizens from participating in the nation's petro-economy represent focal loci of social helplessness. Occasions of national celebration of 1 st independence in 1960 should not have been hastily contrived which leaves the country now undergoing unnecessary birth pangs, if it was a nation for all citizens with equal rights, obligations and privileges. 2. Socio-historical background There is nothing like freedom. The French revolution that brought a fundamental change in human rights globally was not vague about freedom of doing things by oneself. The French revolution, by implication, was the bastion of the United Nations Universal declaration of Human Rights, which constitutes series of diverse fundamental human rights, including freedom of choice. Freedom to choose what one wants and when and how to do things is an inalienable part of the human nature. This is more appreciated under circumstances of domination by foreign colonial powers. Although not obtained by force of arms, Nigeria's independence from the British in 1960 must be viewed from this natural human disposition to prefer freedom to domination and self-determination to external control. Nigeria was under colonial rule for all of the 19 th century up to the greater part of the next. Prior to and up until the amalgamation of northern and southern Nigerian protectorates in 1914, the country's constituting parts existed not only as independent and semi-autonomous communities and nation-states, but also as separate British protectorates. The new independent country as at 1960, therefore, incorporated a number of people with aspirations of their own 'sovereign' nationalities (Logams, 1985). The reality of colonial rule was not in doubt as many of the relatively independent and semi-autonomous ethnic groups in varying degrees resisted but were brought under British colonial rule. By sheer force and superiority of military power, virtually all parts of the now Nigeria were annexed, with the last major onslaught of the British forces leading to the fall of Kano and Sokoto in the North in 1903 (Smah, 2002). The success of the indirect rule system in the country was easily facilitated by the pre-eminence of existing local/traditional coercive and oppressive systems organised around state power. The Constitutional Conference of 1957 in London, involving local political parties and the following elections in 1958/59 marked a watershed in the history and concreteness of moves by the British colonial authorities to grant political independence to Nigeria, in a matter of no distant time. As part of the preparations for the independence celebrations on 1st October 1960, various political, cultural, or social groups organised to position themselves for the coming independence. Politically, the Northern Peoples' Congress (NPC), which was the dominant political party that ruled the northern region and even formed the central government however, dominated the Northern region by overshadowing the several ethnic minority groups in the region. The Middle Belt ethnicities expressed the need for a region of theirs. Thus, in the Middle Belt region, the United Middle Belt Congress (UMBC) was formed

2010

Nigeria which occupies a total area of 923, 768 sq km with a current population of about 177m and about 394 distinct groups and languages began the journey into its first century and nationhood with the amalgamation of Northern and Southern areas (protectorates) of the Niger by Sir Frederick Lord Lugard, the first British Governor General under the Majesty’s Government and thus became a single/united political entity on January 1st, 1914 (exactly one hundred years ago). Nigeria was hitherto the amalgamation composed of different ethnic nationalities, kingdoms, empires, caliphate as well as some independent and other republican states and acephalous societies that were to some extent related with one another and also diverse on cultural, political and economic grounds. The Eastern and Western regions got self government in 1957 and the Northern region later in March, 1959. Nigeria got its independence on October 1st, 1960 from Britain. From independence, Nigeria went through a civilian democratic regime of the first republic, military rule, civil-war, civilian then military and currently civilian democratic rule. The post independence years of Nigeria’s political history are divided into 28 years of military and 26 years of civilian democratic rule. Throughout the country’s history, the amalgamated areas have not (with the exception of Biafara) formally broken away although the political history has been characterised by calls and agitations for national conferences by the ethnic nationalities and or national questions. This paper puts into perspective the history, journey and challenges in Nigeria’s first centenary. The paper used secondary source of data. Although the colonial masters institutionalised federal and parliamentary systems, the first military coup in January, 1966 eroded the parliamentary system and later adopted presidential system but the federal system has since 1954 been in operation to share and exercise constitutional powers among the various components of the federation and accommodate heterogeneities. The country also went through several constitutional conferences, reviews and changes. The issues of democracy, resources control and allocation, the northsouth divide, socio-economic and security challenges have also characterized the polity. Despite all the socio-economic, political and cultural diversities and impending challenges(recurring political, socioeconomic and ethno-religious instabilities, corruption in both public and private sectors, poor or absence of good governance, poor and or inefficient public sector and services, inter/intra governmental conflicts et cetera) however, Nigeria is forging ahead and overcoming many very trying times and experience.

This study tries to provide a theoretical basis for reassessment of the Nigerian State through the Weberian classical conception of the State. This is to provide a theoretical placement for the ongoing debates on justification or repudiation of the centenary celebration of the Nigerian State as proposed by the Nigerian leadership. It is noteworthy to acknowledge the development of science of logics among Nigerians as demonstrated in their attempt to speak for or against the proposed celebration. This study, based on Weberian Conception of the State places more emphasis on the concepts of government restrictedly conceptualized as people in charge of the state's power (leadership), and population in terms of citizenship (followership) to reveal the position of the two in their efforts to transform and transcend the Lugard's geographical cast into a nation-state where primordial conception vanishes. Based on this, it is revealed that inhibition to transformation of the Nigerian State is neither as a result of lack of good economic model nor as a result of absence of policy direction but as result of will on the part of its leadership and apathy of its citizenship. Introduction. The recent trends of debates on the centenary celebration of the Nigerian State often attest to the deep rooted nature of science of logical justification and repudiation in a political discourse amongst Nigerian citizenry. The earliest lines of debates were staged by the National Assembly, especially at the Lower House of Representatives. Since that time, a series of arguments for or against have dominated Nigerian dailies to the extent that it becomes so difficult for mature minds to classify the contents and contexts of each explanation as subjective or objective as espoused by its exponent. We, therefore, find it profitable to extrapolate the dominant argument so far for the purpose of establishing a containing frame work for either justification or repudiation of the proposed celebration of a hundred of amalgamation of Lagos Colony, Southern and Northern Protectorates. The reigning trends of argument cut across economic explanation, unity, existence and survival, reparation, policy impact, nation-building etc. The direction of the debate on the centenary celebration produces an avenue to reveal the feelings upheld by the Nigerian people on how far they have gone in terms of nation building, and transforming from the mere

Nigeria @ Sixty-One…A Gift for the Nation and 2023 General Election Beyond BUILDING UNITY IN DIVERSITY AND EGALITARIAN SOCIETY: NIGERIA BELONGS TO EVERYBODY AND BELONGS TO NOBODY, 2021

Abstract Despite our independence at sixty-one years, ethnic stratification monochotomy (ESM) is still most obvious. The political game has gone beyond existing major three ethnic groups: Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa. There exist multi-sociopolitical alignments (MSPAs) among the six geo-political zones that made up the country. This puts the people and the nation in a more chaotic state yearly. Political intrigues in post-colonial era and the then new Nigeria at takeoff independence, October 1st 1960 are more critical and coarse till date. Nigerians are not surprised with worsening democratic dispensation since 1999 to 2023 almost two and half decades. In six years, the nation has never been so under governed with leadership-ineptitude, injustice and corruption, poverty and insecurity, disunity and disharmony etc. The worst is that the government of All Progressive Congress (APC) under President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015, hope would liaise with the Nigerian masses to seek and make law on how to be governed never saw relevance of restructuring the country. The government itself seems to be championing an agenda for certain group by acting “negotiator” rather “mediator” in herders-farmers crises which further pluralised the country. Talk less of the matrix “I belong to everybody and I belong to nobody”. Hence, this artistic work represents and depicts that „Nigeria belongs to everybody and belongs to nobody‟ for the revival and survival of fast collapsing systems; using the quad arrow call out to portray the kind of national aspirations and unity in building trusted system at sixty-one beyond. Keywords: Leadership failure, ethnic rivalry, injustice and corruption, poverty and insecurity, unity in diversity 2023 beyond, Nigeria belongs to everybody and belongs to nobody.