If Nigeria were a factory and Nigerians were products of that factory, we would by now be accusing the factory owner of supplying substandard products. Why has the quality of humans who have administered Nigeria and the calibre of people who constitute the electorate declined steadily over the years?
Was it really that long ago when we were sure to see the premiers of the West, east, north or midwest only at the parliamentary sessions or important state events? Was it conceivable that a premier or minister would show up where a culvert was being ‘launched’ or ‘inaugurated’?
Great Leaders
The first time the photograph of Chief Obafemi Awolowo was imprinted in my memory was at the launch of the Western Nigeria Television (WNTV) in October 1959. The opening of the Western Nigeria television service was a great occasion, not only because it was the first of its kind in the whole of Africa but also because of the prodigious efforts which had gone into making it possible in so short a space of time.
As the Western Region advanced from the era of rediffusion (the box which relayed broadcast programmes from a central receiver via cable) to television, the emerging middle class also climbed up the social ladder. I remember the unforgettable day my dad came home early to receive our brand new television set (bought through hire purchase). We became instant celebrities in our neighbourhood.
You had to share your good fortune with neighbours, so the blinds of our sitting room windows were always pulled apart to allow the viewing audience a good view of the magic black-and-white box. The station came alive around 6pm and went to bed before midnight.
WNTV hit the airwaves before tv stations were established in Argentina, Australia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Panama, Philippines, Soviet Union, Norway United Arab Republic, Syria, Congo Brazzaville, Ethiopia, France, Indonesia, Brazil, Spain, Malaysia, North Korea, Sierra-Leone, Greece, Tunisia, Turkey, Senegal, Israel, Italy, Ghana, Qatar, North Vietnam , etc.
Looking through the newspapers, you also saw that similar developments were going on all over the country. Ahmadu Bello’s Northern Region advertised its groundnut pyramids (genuine pyramids formed with sacks of groundnut, not the carpenter-constructed 419 pyramids of the Buhari era). Imagine the quality of resource husbandry that enabled the region fund the establishment of the Ahmadu Bello University!
In the East, the region blossomed under Dr Michael Okpara, a medical doctor who turned out to be an astute administrator and revolutionary leader. It was he who gave meaning to the phrase “Handshake across the Niger”, on which principle he mobilised resources to save the Western Region from the tyranny of the NNA alliance. Under the United Progressive Grand Alliance (UPGA), Igbos and Yorubas operated as one entity for the few years the romance lasted before more sinister happenings enveloped the region and the country at large.
In those days, the ministers and premiers attended only important events. In the West, you were sure to see Chief Awolowo at Independence Day parades or at the opening ceremony of an important edifice such as the Cocoa House. You would never see him at the flag-off of the construction of a minor road. If the premier was billed to attend an event, you were sure that that event was an important— probably life-changing— one.
Degenrates
Today, you see so-called governors presiding over the commissioning of a 500-metre tarred road or a village borehole. Expectations have so nosedived that even the people consider it a miraculous privilege of sorts when their governors and local government chairmen come down from their high horses to mingle with the lowly.
If anyone had told us in those days that a day would come when our young men would be crossing the seas in makeshift boats to escape to Europe for a better life, we would have laughed such a person to scorn.
In the days of Bode Thomas, Adelabu (Penkelemesi) SL Akintola and JM Johnson in the West, Jereton Mariere and Osadebey in the Midwest, KO Mbadiwe and Alvan Ikoku in the East, and Ahmadu Bello, JS Tarka and Aminu Kano in the North, would the kind of politicians raising their heads in the various zones today dare to show up?
Leadership was based on discipline. If you couldn’t meet the exacting standards, you would be shoved out. The early politicians realised that they had to maintain some minimum level of discipline to retain the respect of the people. In spite of all that, there were infractions. The good thing was that whenever anyone ran foul of the law, the government made a show of it to reinforce its mantra that nobody was above the law.
I remember the famous case of the Western region minister who was on a tour of the provinces and submitted a bill for his tour of his native province for settlement. Premier Awolowo ordered the minister to refund the stipulated hotel expenses because the minister had been staying in his family house in his village during the tour. When the premier brought up the matter at the executive meeting, the offending minister apologised and immediately refunded the controversial expense.
Awolowo was renowned for his strict adherence to financial discipline and probity. He lived by personal example. Many of us have endeavoured to model our leadership principles after the ideals of the great man. It is not easy, but it is clear that there is no other way to win the respect of fellow citizens than by the power of personal example.
The other day, a member of the national assembly was distributing wheelbarrows as part of his “constituency projects”. Another was giving out one motorcycle tyre each to 200 motorcycle riders. Yet another offered to spend millions of Naira to sponsor the marriage ceremonies of 200 jobless natives who could not afford the expenses associated with the ceremony. They are happy to sponsor marriage ceremonies to produce more out-of-school children, not establish industries to provide jobs!
While not endorsing the sleaze-ridden constituency project scam in the National Assembly, one can’t help comparing the intervention of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan with others. It’s as if her inspiration is from outer space, while that of her colleagues originated from the first century BC.
In terms of the quality of personnel, can you compare the First Republic Minister of Lagos Affairs, Alhaji Musa Yar’Adua, with Mr Nyesom Wike or any of the other ministers of the Federal Capital Territory in this Fourth Republic? As I had cause to say in an earlier article, “Looking back at the great men and women of the First Republic, it is inconceivable that many of those who call the shots today would have qualified to carry the office files of those gentlemen of yore“.
Who’s going to smash these mirrors of regression that we may not see our underachieving tomorrows reflected in them?
Shoda: Amazon at 70
Seventy hearty cheers to the renowned educationist, teacher, politician and accomplished public administrator, Dr Mrs Gloria Laraba Shoda, MFR mni, former president of the National Council Of Women’s Societies (NCWS), President of the African Regional Council of Women (ARCW) and African member of the Board of the International Council of Women (ICW).
For Shoda, the Yeye Moye of Remoland, wife of a soldier and mother of another serviceman, seventy is the perfect age to reflect on a life well lived and to look forward to additional blessings on the horizon. Ad multos annos, Madam President.
Wole Olaoye is a Public Relations consultant and veteran journalist. He can be reached on [email protected], Twitter: @wole_olaoye; Instagram: woleola2021
