As I browse through the National dailies in search of any cheering news as Nigeria last week marked 48 years of independence from Britain, two songs by visionary, legendary and prophetic Nigerian scholars and social scientist, comes to mind. Without much ado, they are Fela Anikulapo Kuti, and Sonny Okosun.

Both have joined the celestial legion of African soldiers, who fought for the true emancipation of Africa. These soldiers were rigged out of the spoils of war when the departing colonial masters handed over paper economicless independence to their stooge. In Northern Nigeria, power was given to the conservative Northern Peoples Congress, and the progressive Northern Elements Progressive Union (NEPU) was muscled out by the Hausa Fulani oligarchy using religion.

In the South, NCNC distanced itself from the Zikist Movement that gave fire to the fresh returnee Nnamdi Azikiwe. Pa Awolowo couldn’t understand what why his African Socialism dreamt of and conceived in the cold winter of England could not flourish in tropic Nigeria, despite welcome success in the Western Region where Action Group held sway.

Nzeogwu came on board and Nigerians though a messiah is born but the “tart team” of Chukwuemeka Odimegwu Ojukwu and Aguiyi Irosin could not manage the challenges and allowed Nigeria to slide towards genocide with active ineffectiveness of Yakubu Gowon.

The gap-toothed evil genius tried all tricks in the books to half-heartedly implement policies that could have elevated Nigeria. Being more concerned with transmuting into a civilian dictator, all the economic plans of IBB, which had rich input by a crop of intellectuals believed to be Nigeria’s finest, were conceived to keep the intellectuals chasing shadows while the self-styled Maradona goes about raping Nigeria. Under his watch, 419 and drug trafficking became a national pastime. At no point did the image of post independence Nigeria suffer an irreparable bashing than under the economic rape by IBB and his ambitious wife. A rape whose result we are seeing where his son, who has never written “Dear Sir, I beg to apply”, owes 20 % of equity shares in Global Com (the largest indigenous GSM Company in Nigeria).

We have had near misses. The most cherished was terminated with the assassination of Murtala Muhammed in 1976. Having understood that the problem of Nigeria can only be solved by a class struggle, Mohammed, committed class suicide and tilted towards socialism but the west with active encouragement from Gowon’s relation Dimka snuffed life out of MM who elevated the status of Nigeria as a giant of Africa and a reliable backbone for any peoples of Africa oppressed by their dictators or still under the yoke of colonialism.

The second near miss, was in 1983-85, when Buhari with the eagle eye of Tunde Idiagbon showed Nigerians that with a little discipline, we can get it right. Economic march towards self sustainability began with the production of pastries with locally made cassava flour. Nigerians started having respect for her icons-flags, National Anthem etc and above all, decorum was observed at once rowdy bus stops.

Those who looted the country under the disguise of civilian democracy were set up as an example that rekindled the hope of Nigerians that Nigeria can be great again. Those who fled the shores of Nigeria, had a designer crate made for them. But the contradiction in their profession, made them muscle the press and instead of courting the press, the suppressed the press and when the gap toothed one came on board, Nigerians were deceived absolutely by his smile.

Olusegun Obasanjo had a rare cance to rewrite the bad image he had as a military head of state in 1976-1979. But he missed that holiness of second chance. After he failed to remain in power beyond the constitutional stipulation, he did the maximum coup of bequeathing a VP and President, who had no inkling of what it takes to rule Nigeria. This duo had attained the maximum level their limited ambition could carry.

Godluck Jonathan was lucky to succeed his principal who bagged prison term for corruption. And chronically sick Umar Yar’Adua was thanking Allah for leading him through health tortuous 8 years in the helm of affairs in backward Katsina State. Close to two years and a looming cabinet reshuffle, Nigerians, and indeed, Yar’Adua, doesn’t know in what direction Nigeria is going.
It is only the politically self-deluded that believe that Yar’Adua knows what he is doing or that he will be better than Obasanjo.

It is also only the political imbecile that still believes that the no victor no vanquished declared in 1970 reflects the true psycho-political post civil war Nigeria. Unlike the civil war months (30), the current vanquished and oppressed ethnic group in Nigeria are the poor which to our shame cuts across the over 200 ethnic group in Nigeria.

Untill all those masquerading as true seekers of solution to Nigeria’s problem drop ethnic self determination and combat the hydra-headed exclusion of majority of Nigerians from using the natural resources so much abundant to attain their maximum potentials, the ever green song of Sonny Okosun, will remain a sore reminder of how near we got to paradise only to slide to the hottest part of hell. Indeed, we had the oil boom and our problem was how to spend the petrodollar on frivolities while the Arabian nations were laying foundation for the future with proceeds from the same crude we are blessed with. I am now certain that the oil boom was our doom, as it have killed other source of revenue for the country. The rising death toll in the Niger Delta both as a result of the environmental degradation and miritarisation of region of the zone is a reminder how Nigerian leaders have turned a blessing into a curse.