Nigeria : Half a century of Progress and Challenges -By  C.C Ikokwu-  Reviewed by Eugened Obiora Eugene

About the AUTHOR

The author, in the introduction of the book, spelt out the purpose of the fact-  laden literature which is “the consolidation of the Nigerian State” based on the  foundations of the rule of law, democracy and democratic governance as well as  the security of lives and property.

She opines that Nigeria is a country of paradoxes of contending dy namics wealth  and poverty, rich but lacking in human resources perhaps too rich in human and  material resources to be poor and at the same time, too poor in the management  of both resources to be rich. She, finally states that the entire topical  contributions to the book are designed for “Nation Building”.

Chapter 1 on “National Building” by Dr. C. Osakwe raises some fundamental  questions bordering on 1. Whether the subsisting preferences of Nigeria are “relevant and realistic” or  not.

2. What the emphasis should be in meeting the challenges of insecurity, poverty  reduction and development and endemic corruption in Nigeria.

3.Whether there are visible indicators that Nigeria could fail or not; and

4.Based on current realities, what prospects are there for Nigeria. Based on what could be described as “a pragmatic western model approach Dr. Osakwe  highlighted certain “characteristics and ingredients” of high growth and  development.

The chapter asserts that successive governments in Nigeria have been ineffective  and discontinuous” and goes on to conclude that “the manipulation of ethnicity  and religion by politicians will create a national graveyard” where everyone  loses. The suggestion, finally, is that a new Nigerian establishment devoid of  rabid corruption, insecurity and criminal tendencies should be made to subsist  and that ultimately, supremacy of the people’s will should be upheld.

Chapter two on “The Janus Face of Religion” by Rev. Fr. M.H. Kukah makes a vivid  assertion that religion is a double edged instrument - the sword, the utility of  which is determined by the dramatis personae in government and governance. The  emergence of “universal” religions such as Christianity and Islam with  contending claims of global spread and followership was identified as the  principal precipitate of religious problems and crises in nations. Rev. Father  Kukah draws a correlation between the disarticulation in governance/the  epileptic nature of the state and religious diversity/parochialism. He goes on  to posit that it is germane, in any normal democratic system to draw a clear  distinction between a secular and non secular/ theocratic entity and further  maintains that the future and prosperity of Nigeria depend on the ability of the  ruling political elite to subordinate religion to the cherished principles of  state secularity and democratic rule.

The chapter poses a very pertinent question (call it ”take home question”) on  religion and the Nigerian state thus: “Am I a Nigerian who happens to be a  Christian/Muslim or a Christian/Muslim who is accidentally a Nigerian?”.Conclusively, the political class in Nigeria is perceived as the entity that  will ultimately either make or mar the Nigerian state.

Chapter 3 on religious tolerance by Dr. Lateef Adegbite (in its preamble)  states that there are disparate connotations of the term “religion” as could be  perceived by Christians and Muslims - in other words, that even though religion  could be perceived by Christians as not admissible in public life in a secular  state, in Islam, it is a way of life-everything, political economic, social and  spiritual and part and parcel of societal life. The writer submitted (after a  doctrinal expose of Islam) that Islam is a tolerant religion and that only those  (Muslims and Non-Muslims) who do not understand the true Islamic practices  either misapply or misinterpret its dictates.

Quoting section 38 (1) of the 1999 Nigerian constitution, he indicated that the  supreme document of the Nigerian state prohibits making a particular religion a  state religion but does not exclude religion in state affairs.

Conclusively, the chapter maintains that religion should be an institution for  national problem - solving not vice-versa. The teaching of Comparative Religious  Studies was also recommended. However, the nitty gritty for actualizing these  objectives were not explicitly spelt out. 

Chapter 4 “Stemming Corruption” by Malam Nuhu Ribadu definitely asserted that  the main negative functional indicator predisposing Nigeria to failure is  corruption. The writer posited that even though corruption is a globalised  phenomenon, the peculiar Nigerian scenario is such that the endemic problem of  corruption in Nigeria today with attendant vagaries are “a direct result of the  failure of its institutions, the moral centre of which is the civic community”.

The chapter opines that stereotypical assumptions by some not-well- informed  Nigerians ( that successes have not been recorded in the anti corruption  crusade) should be discarded; and concludes that in a globalised polity, curbing  corruption must be a collective effort by all global entities and that it must  be a transnational initiative.

In “Securing a Diversified Economic Future for Nigeria” (Chapter 5) Dr. Okonjo  Iweala made a synoptic but fact-laden chronology of Nigeria’s economy from 1970 to 2007 exposing the hiccups and the causative factors therein. She asserted  that between 1970 and 2001, Nigeria earned about $300 billion from crude oil but  that despite this fact, the country’s percapita income fell from $264 to $256.  Added to this is the infrastructural deterioration within the same period. Not  only as a consequence but as a paradox, the country degenerated to a  “heavily-indebted oil rich country”. This unfortunate phenomenon is further  evident in Nigeria’s external debt which, Dr. Iweala reveals, geometrically rose  from $19 billion by the mid 1980s to a shocking amount of $33 billion by the  year 2003.

To “break with this ugly past, the Nigerian government (between 2003 and 2007)  enunciated a tripod policy of strengthening governance, lowering macroeconomic  volatility and eliminating the debt overhang with the ultimate objective of  promoting the development of the private sector for purposes of wealth creation  and poverty reduction.

Within the same period also, Nigeria’s debt of $18 billion with the Paris club was written off as effort to diversify the economy gathered pace. Among the  measures advocated by government in this vein were:

1.   Public private partnership initiative and

2.   Improvement in productivity of the agricultural sector.

Dr. Iweala conclusively asserts that the greatest challenge facing Nigeria is  how to diversify its economy through emphasis on other non-oil sectors of the  economy.

And to do this, she opines among other things, that there is need to:

1.   Ensure good fiscal management

2.   Guarantee good governance and financial sector.  

In her opinion, these can only be achieved if there is a realistic and  fundamental change in the attitude of managing Nigeria’s oil resources in order  to achieve a diversified economy.

Chapter 6 captioned “The Niger Delta and Development Issues” by Mr. Ledum Mittee  unveils the reality of a harsh environment that defies development. Rugged and  swampy terrain has been the hallmark of this region of Nigeria. The discovery of  oil in the late 1950s as events have shown, apparently complicated the problem  of development. The latter shifted emphasis solely to crude oil, relegating other important factors of the economy.

The collapse of education in the region in particular and Nigeria in general  triggered off an unfortunate mindset that “you can make a lot of money without  hardwork”. Oil theft (dignifyingly stigmatized as bunkering”) kidnapping etc.  are rife and with all these, development becomes a mirage.

The writer, among other things, posits that any development agenda of Nigeria  that excludes the development of the Niger delta region is mere wishful thinking  stressing that creating jobs for the restive youths of the region (not appeasing  leaders of militant groups) could be a positive milestone in not only addressing  the problem of development in the Niger Delta but in actualizing vision 20,  2020.

On “Tackling, Tribalism/Ethnicity” by J.S.I Ikokwu (Chapter 7) certain explosive  developments as the Nigerian/Biafra Civil War, the Tiv-Jukun clashes, the Zangon  Kataf disturbances as well as the on-going Niger Delta militancy are presented  as the short-term consequences of ethnicity and tribalism. The configuration and  geopolitical representation of political parties before and since independence  are also portrayed as factors that show the deep ethnic and tribal divisions  prevalent in Nigeria.

The Writer finally posits that there has been an astronomical rise in the number  of schools and tertiary institutions of education but regrets that standards  have fallen disproportionately; he concludes that “where people are so weak and  fragile and resort to accommodating evil and inequity, the society will continue  to slide from bad to worse”.

Chapter 8 on “Nigerian Foreign Policy: Current Features, Enduring Challenges and  prospective Solutions” (by Dr. Martin) exposes the internal dynamics within  Nigeria that affect its foreign policy. The phenomenon of policy incoherence is  identified as a major problem. Furthermore,  the idea of politicizing  recruitment into the Nigerian foreign ministry; as well as that of appointing  non career diplomats to key foreign missions tend to erode professionalism  within the country’s diplomatic service.

Amidst the ambiguity characterizing Nigeria’s foreign policy, Dr. Martin asserts  that leadership in the comity of nations is not necessarily based on self  perception but on the reality of other countries’ perception within the global  system. He finally concludes that this hard reality should shape Nigeria’s  foreign policy and its relations in the comity of nations.

Chapter 9 titled “Nigeria: The Human Capital Challenge” is a well researched  scholarly presentation and expository of the concept of human capital and its  attendant challenges in the Nigerian context.

Defining human capital to include human resources, human capability and productivity, and then human production process, the chapter goes on to  elucidate on the challenges of Human Capital development in Nigeria. It proceeds  to state that the country is ranked 158th among 181 countries rated in the 2009  Human development Report (vis-avis Malaysia 66th, Thailand 87th, Tunisia 98th,  South Africa 119th, India 134th and Ghana 152nd)).

Implied in this is the fact that Nigeria has superior rating more than only 23  countries of the world in the Human development Index, and by extension, in the  quality of life of its citizens.

Prof. Anya goes on to maintain that there is need to restructure the Federal  Ministries of Education and Health and stem the tide of brain drain in the  country. He goes on to conclude that this will put Nigeria on the path of development.

Chapter 10 on “Emerging Leaders in the Society” (by Malam Nasir El-Rufai)  highlights the crises of leadership in general terms and laments the tragedy of  post colonial governance in Nigeria. He conclusively expects Nigeria to have  stable electricity, solution to crimes, capability and hard work recognized and  rewarded. He finally posits that if this is not done in the next decade, Nigeria  could degenerate into a failed state. 

Chapter 11 titled “The Role of the Youth in Development” (by Donald Duke)  explains the concept of youth development as “incorporating into young minds how  to become productive…preparing them to manage the society”. It examines among  other things the challenges facing youth development and the external influences  on the young.

The chapter laments the relegation of youth in Nigeria’s national development   but raises optimism about the future of the young ones in the country and that  this is the only way to gauge one’s patriotism.

Chapter 12 on “Rethinking Governance in Nigeria” (by Obiageli Ezekwesili)  examines the varying and contending perceptions of governance by scholars and  practitioners in Nigeria and x rays the course and practice of governance in Nigeria up till recent times. As a former practitioner in governance she  evaluates the state of governance in the country under global governance index  rating.

Some of the recommendations made include: using social media tools to energize  online constituency for good governance; creating transparency and opening up  government proceedings to the public. It suggests that governments should ensure  that public officials do not misuse their powers in the exercise of their  authorities.

Chapter 13 on “How to Achieve Effective Security” (by Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa)  comments on the general security situation of Nigeria from the 1980s to the  present. It highlights the personal experiences of Brig. Gen Marwa while he was  military Governor in Lagos and Borno States. 

Among other things, the chapter concludes that the youth should be well  integrated into a new security initiative for Nigeria since they are the  custodians of Nigeria’s future. 

Commentary  In contrast to the exclusively traditional academic writing methodology laden  with numerous citations and which often make writers end up in assertions and  conclusions not necessarily their own, the contributors did reveal high degree  of originality of thought and expression in their respective submissions, conclusions and recommendations.It is highly  recommended.           

 Eugene is   a lecturer in Defence and Security Studies, Nigerian Defence Academy  Kaduna, Nigeria

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