Politics, and Social Change:
Nigeria and the Struggle for Survival
By Victor Dike
To lead a multi-ethnic society while remaining committed
to democratic principles or norms is an uphill task. This
is because incorporating several ethnic groups into a
single political system means bringing together the basic
problem of ethnic conflict as well. Group loyalties
dividing a multi-ethnic society can, and do undermine, a
common identity, national culture, or consensus on
democratic values. Nigeria is a nation of many ethnic and
religious groups; and for this, governing the society is
an enormous job. Given the presence of politically
assertive ethnic groups, the stability and survival of
the present democratic politics depends on how the leader
controls the potential ethnic disputes that would result.
Change is ubiquitous in any society, particularly in that
which strives to fulfil human needs. And it takes a
committed leadership to accomplish a propitious change in
a society. Nigeria's short life has been packed with
successions of social changes. There has been the shift
from regions to states, from farms to cities, from
agriculture to industries, and now power shift from the
north to the south. These changes have not been for the
benefit of the common man. Only those in the corridor of
power have gained from those with multiplicity of riches,
while the ordinary citizens have remained in wallowing
penury. In other words, the masses have been preoccupied
with the struggle for daily survival. Since independence
in 1960, the nation has mostly been under the claws of
the military. The dominance, predominance, and
prolongation of military rule in Nigeria combined with
corruption to undermine due process, the rule of law,
transparency, accountability, and efficiency in
government. But the people have rightly rejected the
military, with the election of a civilian president who
assumed leadership of the nation on May 29, 1999.
The military failed because it was repressive, corrupt,
and undemocratic. The euphoria in the nation now is
crucial to the understanding that the present democratic
undertaking will succeed. Democracy will increase the
role of the ordinary people in the system, and the
irrepressible struggle of the people to humanize the
society. Political democracy should remain our goal,
because with it as the explicit goal Nigeria would attain
President Olusegun Obasanjo should employ the democratic
principles to improve the living conditions of the
deprived group, and re-integrate into the society those
who have been excluded from the economic and political
system by the many years of military rule. The poor who
have carried the baggage for so long deserve a break.
However, if nothing else would make us behave the threat
of soldiers planning a comeback should. And in case one
is not aware of it, we are being challenged. Is
Uncle Sege the answer? Despite the recent
positive actions by the civilian administration, it is
still dark inside and Nigeria is waiting for the dawn.
Lets hope the wait wouldnt be too long. How
can the nations problems of acute state failure or
political collapse be addressed? One option is
self-critical leadership, good governance, and
transparency in state activities. Lets spend some
thought on leadership as it relates to social change or
Before delving into the issue of leadership, it is
necessary to make certain what a "leader" is.
The definition of a leader is as diverse as
the myriad of books and articles written on the
construct. This is because each writer has defined
leadership from a different perspective. No matter the
angle from which the definition of leadership is viewed,
a leader is one who exerts unusual influence and
According to McFarland, a leader "is one who makes
things happen that would not happen otherwise. If the
leader causes changes that he intended, he has exercised
power, but if the leader causes changes that he did not
intend or want, he has exercised influence, but not
power" (MacFarland, 1969, pp.167-178; Kofele-Kale,
1976, p.81). Sidney Hook shares a similar view as
McFarland. In his work, The Hero in History, Hook
depicted a heroic leader as one who makes things happen
that ordinarily would not have happened. "The hero
in history," he opined "is the individual to
whom we can justifiably attribute preponderant influence
in determining an issue or event whose consequences would
have been profoundly different if he had not acted as he
did." The hero is "an event-making
individual who re-deter-mines the course of history"
(Hook, 1943, p.229).
Obviously, students of leadership would share the views
of Hook and McFarland, that the prerequisites of
leadership are influence and power. Accordingly, a
person who is endowed with these qualities in the context
of a group, community or nation has the personality of a
leader (Kofele-Kale, 1976, p.8). Henry Kissinger
(US Secretary of State in Nixon Administration) pointed
out in one of his famous speeches that a leader has the
power to invoke the alchemy of great vision.
This, in other words, means that a leader should possess
the power or influence of transforming something common
into something precious.
Leaders have duties too. John Gardner has pointed out
that the task of leaders is to help societies
"understand the problems that all must face, to aid
in the setting of goals and priorities, to work with
others in finding paths to those goals chosen,
maintaining public morale, and motivation and nurturing a
workable level of public unity" (Gardner, 1978,
pp.132-135) Leaders must activate existing
institutions in pursuit of the societys goals or,
when necessary, help redesign institutions to achieve
that result. Leaders must also help people know how they
can be at their best "
with malice toward none,
with charity for all
" In a free society
leaders perform these functions within a framework of
constraints. This includes an uncorrupted electoral
process, the rule of law, institutional checks and
balances and a free press (Ibid., 1978, pp.132-135).
Obviously, the checks on power must be in working
condition, or the laws of the land would be circumvented.
In this essay a "leader" refers to persons who
occupy important positions in the formal polity such as
Presidents, Prime Ministers, Ministers, Governors,
Legislators, Party Officials, Local Government Chairmen,
Council Members and of course, the local Chiefs.
Types of Leaders
There are many leadership types and each has peculiar
attributes. In this article we will discuss the two types
of political leadership found in contemporary African
Instrumental and Societal leadership.
We shall discuss their attributes and how they affect
changes in a society. The "Instrumental" leader
uses power and influence primarily in the pursuit of
private (personal, close family, cohorts) goals.
Community objectives are secondary to an instrumental
leader. The main concern of the instrumental leader is
how he can use his office to achieve personal objectives.
He may not be lacking in social/community commitments,
but in practice more considerations are given to self
over the interests of the society which he governs
(Eulau, 1963, p.96).
The "Societal" leader is a public servant first
and only secondarily a private person. While the
instrumental leader uses his position to promote private
and selfish goals, the societal leader subordinates
private narrow goals for broader community objectives.
For him power and influence are important only if they
can be used to solve human problems. While the
societal leader is likely to resign when he is convinced
he cannot influence changes to the benefit of the public,
the instrumental leader would hold on to power as long as
his private objectives are achieved. He does not care
whether the community derives any benefit from his rule,
or not (Kofele-Koale, 1976, p.82).
Given the above descriptions and the antecedents of
Nigerias past leaders, it is clear that the
majority of them were instrumentalists and opportunists.
General Abacha for instance, was holding on to power,
grabbing and hoarding as much money as he could possibly
put his hands on without minding the effect of his
behavior and actions on the society. General Babangida
and others like him are guilty of the same crime. What
factors contribute to the upsurge of instrumental
leadership in Africa, and indeed, Nigeria?
Factors that Sustain Instrumental Leadership.
There are many conditions that make instrumental
leadership possible in a society. Among other factors
q The guaranteed loyalty of the masses to leaders.
In Africa, and in deed in Nigeria, the masses through
socialization have come to internalize the norms of
respect for authority. They find it difficult to
criticize or challenge authority (though this is
q The title of office (Chief, General, Minister,
This allows its holder to insist on being treated like
one. And if the behavior (performances of the
leader and expectations from the public) of the present
leader is the same as that of the past leader, some
people may not worry about any change (Mazuri, 1966).
That would make it a usual behavior.
q Cluster of factors such as:
I). the symbols of office; ii) ceremonies surrounding the
office, and iii) material resources. In Africa,
even the "ubiquitous walking stick," or a
"staff" confers respect to the holder
(Schapera, 1967; Kofele-Kale, 1976, p.84).
q Seeing the leader as the "first citizen" and
or the "Great comrade" the omnipresence and
Omni-potence leader. This was demonstrated in Zik
and Awo of Nigeria, and Nkrumah of Ghana (Bretton, 1967,
p.88). Many sycophants usually invoke the names of the
leaders in a way to get some reward.
q The deeds of African leaders (in deed, Nigerian
leaders) are showered with lengthy
eulogies composed during his lifetime by men who recite
them in his honor at public gatherings (Schapera, 1967,
pp.97-102). As one of my friends pointed out,
musicians have a tendency to sing the praises of leaders
and men of wealth.
q Weak, or the absence of institutional checks and
balances (Gardner 1978, p.133;
Bienes 1993, pp. 271-282). The availability of resources
to tap and steal is a good factor that breeds
instrumental leaders in Nigeria. African leaders
take undue advantage of these short-comings and
circumvent the few institutional restraints that are in
place. Again, the story of the looting that occurred
during the reign of General Sani Abacha in Nigeria has
demonstrated why the checks on power must be kept in
q The combination of the above factors gives the leader
the room to become corrupt and
acquire wealth at will through inflated contracts,
kickback from multi-national corporations and other
questionable means. Under these circumstances, the leader
becomes the richest person in the community (Schapera
1967, pp.97-102; Time, August 18, 1975, pp.65-67).
Nigeria: instrumental leadership problem
Leaders make things happen; they are wave makers. A
society without talented and committed leaders will
retrogress or at best remain stagnant. That has been the
problem with Nigeria. A careful examination of the
attitude and behavior of the leaders of post-colonial
Nigeria shows that many of the civilian, as well as
military leaders, were mired in the pursuit of selfish
personal goals at the expense of broader national
interest or needs. In other words, they were
instrumental leaders, or what David Apter
called "consummatory" leaders (Apter, 1960).
Chinua Achebe, one of Nigerias legendary writers,
in his little but powerful and widely cited book,
"The Trouble with Nigeria" rightly pointed out
that "the trouble with Nigeria is simply and
squarely a failure of leadership." He pointed
out that "there is nothing basically wrong with the
Nigerian character, there is nothing wrong with the
Nigerian land or climate or water or air or anything
else," but leadership (Achebe, 1983, p.1).
The lack of selfless, non-corrupt and committed leaders
have contributed immensely to the sociopolitical and
economic predicaments facing Nigeria today. Corruption
and lack of committed leadership could be traced back to
the First Republic (1960-1966). It has been noted that
ethnic acrimony and corruption among the founding fathers
of the nation prompted the first military coup on January
15, 1966. Clearly, not everybody has the leadership
acumen to lead an organization, not to mention ruling a
country. And clearly no society should expect to have an
endless succession of great and extraordinary leaders
like Roosevelt of the United States, Churchill of
Britain, or De-Gaulle of France. At the same time,
"no society can function well with fools, rascals,
or non-leaders in leadership positions" (Gardner,
Unfortunately, Nigeria has had many non-leaders in
leadership seats. The disaster that marked the
administration of Alhaji Shehu Shagari, Babangidas
atrocious regime, and the horrible looting that occurred
during the time of General Sani Abacha are quick
reminders. During Shagaris inept administration
there was widespread corruption and grave economic
mismanagement. With corruption and the decline in
international petroleum prices, the economy went sour.
The economic down turn caused an increased hardship for
the majority of Nigerians.
Alhaji Shehu Shagari wasted the unique opportunity
created by Generals Murtala Mohammed and Olusegun
Obasanjo to keep the light of democracy shinning in
Nigeria. His administration was incapable of settling the
political and economic crises that unfolded during the
second republic. This led to disorder and chaos. The
people lost fate in him and the military utilized the
opportunity - the "complete state of decay and
crisis" to scale back the ticking clock of democracy
in the country (Europa, 1992, p.2075; Dike, 1990, p.91).
If the majority of Nigerias voters were politically
mature and educated, Shehu Shagari could not have been
re-elected in 1983, given his abysmal performance during
his first term. What does it take to be a good leader?
Virtue, Value, and Governance
"The virtuous leader lives!", intoned
James E. Liebig in his book, Business Ethics: Profile in
Civic Virtue. A virtuous citizen, according to him, is
one who understands that personal welfare depends on
general welfare and therefore acts accordingly (Liebig,
1990, p.1). What is Virtue and how does it different from
Value? Ordinarily, "virtue" is easily confused
with "value." The concepts of value and virtue
have been extensively treated in academic journals.
Before dealing with the issue of virtue, we shall
illustrate the diversity in the usage of value by citing
three definitions of the construct, as offered at
different times by well-known social scientists.
For Gordon Allport, "A value is a belief upon which
a man acts by preference" (Gordon, 1961). Harry A.
Johnson defined value as a "
standard, cultural or merely personal by which things are
compared and approved or disapproved relative to one
another - held to be relatively desirable or undesirable,
more meritorious or less, more or less correct"
(Johnson, 1960). Rokeach in his book, The Nature of
Human Values, describes value as "an enduring belief
that a specific mode of conduct or end-state of existence
is personally or socially preferable to an opposite or
converse mode of conduct or end-state of existence"
(Rokeach, 1973; Oloko, 1989, p.13). Value, therefore, is
a morally neutral term that merely indicates preference -
to choose one thing over the other.
Comparatively, virtues are dispositions or
traits that are not wholly innate. They are
acquired, or at least in part, by teaching and practice,
or perhaps, by grace (a virtue coming from God). Virtues
are traits of "character," rather than traits
of "personality," like charm or shyness. And
virtues involve a tendency to do certain kinds of action
in certain kinds of situations, not just to think or feel
in certain ways (Frankena, 1963, p.63). For MacIntyre,
"virtue" is an acquired human quality, the
possession and exercise of which enables us to achieve
those goods which are internal to practices, and the lack
of which effectively prevents us from achieving any of
such goods. In other words, virtue means recognizing and
doing the right thing (MacIntyre, 1981).
Thus, virtuous persons are those of high ethical
standards who pursue (or have pursued) the good for the
benefit of society as well as for themselves.
Intellectual virtue (acquired through teaching) is
equally important in a society. However, this essay
emphasizes moral virtue (produced by habit and practice).
Virtuous leaders are persons of honesty, integrity, and
This applies to people in business as well as those in
government. Virtuous business leaders are those leaders
who are mindful that the needs and realistic expectations
of others in the society in which they carry out their
businesses, must be satisfied if their own needs and
realistic expectations are to be met. Therefore,
"Virtue requires the acceptance of equity in human
relationships, and a commitment to act accordingly. It
involves that core element, the belief system of a
person" (Liebig, 1990, pp.1-5).
The recent upsurge of crises in the oil producing
Niger-Delta areas is a good example of the lack of virtue
on the part of the oil companies that are doing business
in the area. The Jesse incident - the vandalism of oil
pipeline and fire that killed many people also
demonstrates the governments failure or refusal to
find a lasting solution to the problem. The oil companies
that degrade and damage the environments in the
Niger-Delta areas are not putting back enough money into
the communities from which they drill billions of dollars
worth of oil. Sadly, some of the communities do not have
good roads, schools, drinking water, health clinics, and
even gas stations (Mowoe, Dec. 7, 1998, p.2).
To prevent the country from being torn apart by ethnic
discontent and sentiments, the oil
Companies and the government of Nigeria should change
their attitude toward these communities. I hope that
President Obasanjo and his civilian administration will
right the wrongs in this area, and break away from the
nations sordid past.
Politics, Policy, and Change in Nigeria
Volumes have been written on the subject of politics,
policy, and social change. In this section, I will offer
nothing more than simple facts, plain arguments, and
common sense. I will emphasize the important roles
of leadership and group cohesiveness to effect change.
Because the direction of change in a society depends on
the manner in which resources are mobilized by the
leader, and the attitude of the people toward change. The
ruler must be concerned with the needs of the ruled, and
must strive to gain their support. But with long-standing
ethnic prejudice in a multi-ethnic society such as
Nigeria, this has not been very easy.
The concept of politics is diverse. Aristotle and Plato
defined politics as a concern with general issues
affecting the whole community. This involves the pursuit
of the public interest, the operation of the state, and
the formulation and execution of public policy.
Contrasting public concern with private matters, they
viewed the public concern as morally superior. Thus,
political leaders have the responsibility to conform to
constructive ideas and actions with "perfect
goodness" (Andrain 1975, pp.12-20).
In addition, It is the art or science concerned with
winning and holding control over a government. It
involves competition between various interest groups
(parties) or individuals for power and leadership in a
government or other group. The winning party guides or
influences policies, and the distribution of resources in
that polity (Dike (forthcoming) August 1999). In other
words, politics does involve the struggle for power and
wealth - that is, the production, distribution, and use
of scarce resources. Historically, some leaders have
sought the common good and others a private good. But
without the politics of virtue (that is,
doing what is right), a leader may not bring about the
necessary changes that would benefit the general public.
How does one differentiate actions that are for common
from those that are for private? The effects of a
particular policy decision are the determining factors.
The process of making and implementing decisions involves
cooperation and competition, both of which may lead to
social change. As many writers have noted, many factors
are involved in social change; no single factor can
adequately account for it (Lauer 1982, p. 37). And as a
society, our needs can be fulfilled only through the
cooperative efforts of everyone. Change or social change
is defined as "significant alteration of social
structures." And social structures here mean the
"patterns of social action and interaction,"
which include norms, values, and cultural phenomena
(Moore 1967, p.3). Others have defined change as
"variations or modifications in any aspect of social
process, pattern, or form;" it is also "any
modification in established patterns of inter-human
relationships and standards of conducts" (Fairchild,
ed. 1955, p.277, as cited in Lauer 1982, p.4).
As we have seen, change can start anywhere. In fact every
system is to some extent altered by changes in any of its
parts. Given our leaders penchant for corruption,
Nigerians are cautiously optimistic about the positive
changes that are presently taking place in Nigeria. And
since what has been on the minds of the world is that
Nigeria is bad, we have to get our act together. After
that we can say to the world, You held me in
contempt, now look at me. Am I so contemptible?
Can the present political leadership maintain the tempo
of positive social re-engineering going on in the nation?
For any intended change to occur in a society the people
must be convinced by the leaders that such a change is
both possible and desirable. Hence the need for
systematic set of ideology that reflects the feasibility
and desirability of particular change. Ideology
interprets the past, make meaningful the present, and
portray an ideal future.
Lack of political ideology is a serious problem in
Nigerian politics. Strangely, some politicians are known
to have discounted the importance of ideology in
politics. And since some of them are not committed to
politics or democracy ideologically, they tend to waffle
on issues. Consequently, nobody is held responsible for
any policy failure in the society. For our politicians to
behave, we should device means to hold them responsible
for their actions or in-actions.
In an educated and politically mature society the vote is
the ultimate weapon of the people. But we must positively
change our personal attitudes to be able to change the
social structure. "For in part, at least, the
structure is the product of the attitudes of many single
people" (Allport 1979, p.507). Why is good value and
virtue essential for the survival of a polity such as
Nigeria? Can a leader successfully govern a vibrant
society without an ideological compass?
Policies and decisions constitute a crucial part of
political leadership. Usually when the majority of a
population refuse to accept certain policies as binding,
this would move committed leaders to make changes in the
various parts of the system: the content of the policies,
the ruling personnel, the governing structures, or even
the society over which the policies have jurisdiction.
This is a democratic process that Nigeria should strive
to adopt, if it needs to survive as a democratic nation.
In a democracy there is no room for arbitrariness.
Policies must be debated, and exhaustively too before
implementation. To underscore the feelings of many
well-meaning Nigerians, we cannot afford to fail this
Policy represents a set of decisions taken in response to
specific problem. Some good examples are the recent
actions of President Obasanjo: the setting up of a panel
to probe the human rights abuses since 1993; to probe
abandoned projects since the mid-1970s; the
termination of the contracts and the major appointments
made by the Abubakar military regime. Justice Chukwudifu
Oputa is the chairman of the human rights panel, while
Alhaji Iguda Inuwa is the chairman of the committee on
abandoned projects. Lets not neglect the present
favorable and inviting period in Nigeria. Instead of
gazing at each other with suspicious or doubtful
curiosity, lets unite and expose those who
have dragged us to the mud.
The civil rights panel will identify the persons involved
in the various abuses, the nature of the abuses, and the
policy responsible. It will also recommend measures to
ameliorate the problems and formulate strategies to
forestall incidence of human rights abuses in the society
All these policy actions have drawn praises from within
and outside Nigeria. However, all these probes will not
have the desired effects if their recommendations are not
implemented. Legal action, proper reparation, and
exposure in the press may be the better ways to curb
corruption, and moderate social discontent. Perhaps
nothing frightens politicians more than chastisement in
President Obasanjos boldest policy decision so far
has been the retirement of 149 political-senior military
and police officers an apparent purge of those who
participated in the autocratic and atrocious regimes of
Generals Babangida and Abacha. His spoke person, Doyin
Okupe, was quoted as saying that "In future, all
officers of our armed forces must recognize that the
ultimate reward for participating or benefiting from
coups will be premature or forced retirement from service
in the minimum" (Cindy Shiner, June 16, 1999).
Nevertheless, I would recommend death sentence as the
minimum punishment for benefiting or participating in
military coups in future, and for the politicians who
should conspire with other government officials to loot
the national treasury. There should be no sacred cows
here. Any person found guilty after a due process should
be given the stated punishment. The consistency and
enforceability of this consequence will ensure discipline
and professionalism in the Armed Forces. It will also
guard against the excesses of our civilian politicians -
many of whom are in office to acquire wealth illegally,
and not to serve the public. In particular, this will
ensure the survival of democracy, and an antidote to
corruption in Nigeria. For the actions to be legitimate,
the Congress should haste and insert the appropriate
provisions in our constitution.
Corruption is widely known as the bane of Nigeria. This
construct, corruption, has been defined as "
behavior which deviates from the formal duties of a
public role because of private [gains] regarding
(personal, close family, private clique [cohorts],
pecuniary or status gains; or violates rules against the
exercise of certain types of [duties] for private [gains]
" (Nye 1967, p.419).
In fact, many writers have noted that it is probably the
only viable industry in the society (Dike, forthcoming,
August 1999). This covers "grand" corruption,
at senior levels, and "petty" corruption, when
junior officials take facilitation payments. The abysmal
failure of military rule and our previous civilian
administrations is associated with huge corruption in the
state and the economy. Like other problems in the
society, this essay cannot fully address the problem of
corruption because of its limited focus.
As Kofo Awosika pointed out in his recent piece "A
Presidents responsibilities": "People are
poor because they are being denied access to
opportunities. People steal because they are hungry and
destitute. People are hungry and destitute because they
cannot earn wages. They have no wages because they have
no work. They have no work because they have been
retrenched. They have been retrenched because industries
cannot cope with their wage bills. Industries can not
cope with their wage bills because production costs have
increased. Production costs have increased because our
infrastructures have died. [The infrastructures have died
because the funds meant for their upgrading, repairs,
maintenance and installations of others meant for the
common good end (up) in private pockets]" (The
Guardian, June 17, 1999).
President Olusegun Obasanjo must not stop at his first
salvo. The peoples enthusiasm and interest in the
administration should not be allowed to die down. He
should establish a forum for people to voice out dissent
on controversial issues in the society, and procedures
under which ordinary citizens can sue for any
infringement on their civil rights. More importantly, a
general public sector reform is apropos. Reform here
refers to large-scale and comprehensive change in the
role, structure, values, staffing, or size of the public
sector. This should also involve privatizing our
ill-managed government corporations, and contracting out
services in the domain of inefficient and corrupt
corporations to the private sector for greater efficiency
and accountability. International blueprint in the
process could be adopted, but it should be adjusted to
meet local conditions.
The struggle for survival
As psychology has noted, to redouble ones efforts
is a healthy response to an obstacle. For Nigeria to
survive as a nation, we have to remain vigilant and
intensify our efforts in areas of deficiency. And our
value-violators should be punished. In
addition, our negative frame of references (e.g. the
advance fee fraud - "419") that are anchored in
our social environment should be dismantled. We should be
realistic in our struggle for survival, because the world
President Obasanjo should wage war on ethnicity and
nepotism, which are inimical to the unity of this great
nation. This does not mean that groups would not retain
their identity and work for their progress. But this
should not be carried out in a manner that would
undermine the unity and stability of the nation. And in
future politicians who are pandering to ethnic interests
should be rejected at the polling boot. It is imperative
that Nigeria is re-structured into a mobile society; a
nation where one could live in any state of his choice,
secure employment at the state and local levels without
limitations, and participate meaningfully in the affairs
of the community of his abode (see Umez June 11, 1999).
And hard work, good skills and intelligence
should be rewarded strictly on merits, without regard to
ethnicity and religion. This will help to tame the
dangerous trend of brain-drain in the nation.
It will also motivate people to give their undivided
loyalty to the central government. At last, this will
mean unity and the establishment of a common identity for
Nigeria. But given Nigerias cultural diversity,
this may not be an easy undertaking.
Instead of setting up programs to encourage national
unity, our leaders are dismantling or weakening the few
programs that are in place. For instance, the recent
reduction of the age group for prospective youth
service members from 30 years to 25 years by
General Abubakar is a step toward scrapping the program.
The National Youth Service Corps program was designed by
General Yakubu Gowon after the civil war to foster
national integration and reconciliation (The Post
Express, June 11, 1999). One problem with our leaders is
policy instability. We need more programs like the NYSC
to facilitate and encourage inter-cultural interaction in
the nation. President Obasanjo and his civilian
administration should not allow this program to die.
However, the program could be redesigned if it has not
been achieving its purpose.
The problem of secret cults or youth gangs in our
tertiary institutions is a serious threat to the survival
of Nigeria. Our universities have been turned into
killing fields, instead of places of learning. The most
recent incident was the killing of the principal
assistant registrar at the Delta State University, Abraka
(The Guardian of June 13, 1999). The congress should
institute appropriate and enforceable laws against cult
activities on university campuses.
It is recognized that there are laws around to this
effect. But these laws have either not been enforced, or
they have not been effective. Unenforceable laws are only
good on the book. The leader who can only give orders but
cannot enforce them is not a leader by the standard of
many societies. And to restore quality education in our
educational institutions, the Congress and Prof. Tunde
Adeniran (the recently appointed education minister),
should increase funding for education and institute
policies that will improve the low moral and motivation
of professors and the support staff.
Sound economic policies should also be instituted to
diversify the nations mono-product economy. The
diversification of the economy would help reduce
Nigerias dependence on the outside world for her
basic needs (food, etc), and lend credibility to claims
that the country could someday join the ranks of
superpowers. In particular, it will create employment for
our burgeoning population. Among other measures to
stimulate employment in the society is to give aid to
state and local governments and accelerate public works.
Our social problems (poverty, diseases, illiteracy,
prostitution, crime, etc), are in one way or another
related to the sour state of the economy. These things
can all be done with proper leadership in Abuja.
Economic development or growth (increase in an
economys capacity to generate more goods and
services) requires changes in human skills, attitudes,
values - and people have to be formally educated;
construct an economic infrastructure - basic
transportation, communication, irrigation, and other
power facilities; maximize agricultural productivity;
increase capital accumulation - that is, tangible
physical goods that will serve as means of production.
These include machinery, technological innovations,
buildings and equipment (Andrain 1975, pp.284-288).
Therefore to survive, we need a strong ethic to
save and invest, not simply to consume; to develop
sophisticated skills, with an educated and a highly
motivated work force. As John Stuart Mill has said:
"What a country wants to make it richer is never
consumption, but production. Where there is the latter,
we may be sure that there is no want of the
"(Mill, as cited in Bartlett 1981,
pp.1-2). A democratic political system seems best suited
to achieve this.
Nigeria has been doing poorly in these areas, despite her
enormous oil wealth. For our economic revival efforts to
be successful, the civilian administration should axe
those corrupt and inefficient managers of our public
utilities and facilities - NEPA, NNPC, NIPOST, NITEL, the
Refineries, the Ports, and other establishments that are
the hub of our economy. How does one justify the payment
of monthly salaries to the executives of these
corporations that are not performing? No serious society
can afford to do that. The salaries of our executives
should be tied to their productivity - that is, the
effectiveness of their policies.
It is imperative to understand that the
"underdevelopment of a country is the result of its
deficient value system and economic structure"
(Chirot 1977, pp.2-3). It is equally important to
understand that the key social forces that have fostered
democracy in the United States and other stable
democratic nations are not yet in Nigeria. Our
deficiencies are many; but we must have to give democracy
a chance to survive in the society. For this, the present
socioeconomic re-structuring in Nigeria should be pursued
with speed and sincerity.
Leadership commitment is essential to the survival and
progress of Nigeria. The people have an important role to
play too. But the peoples commitment would be
difficult to secure if the leaders who are calling on
them for sacrifice do not themselves make any sacrifices.
To stamp out corruption in the country, Nigerians should
always elect or appoint people of probity to manage the
affairs of the nation. This group must analyze each
situation in the society critically, in order to
determine appropriate target of change, who should be
involve in the effort, and what method will most likely
lead to the desired outcome.
The majority of Nigerians are pleased with the initial
policy actions of the civilian administration.
Nevertheless, we should keep an eagles eye on the
legislature, because some of them are corrupt. Nigeria
still lives in the history of the future. The way our
history will be written depends upon the extent to which
and the manner in which we - leaders and the people -
strive to shape our future. There is a lot of unknown in
the society. But since we cannot foresee what the remote
future has in store for us, we can only hope for a better
tomorrow. Nigeria, the world is still watching!
Victor Dike, Sacramento,
Achebe, Chinua (1983);The Trouble with Nigeria,
Enugu, Fourth Dimension Publishers, 1983, p.1.
Akintoye, Seth, et al (June 13, 1999); "Cultists At
Work Again In Varsities;" the Guardian, June 13,
Allport, Gordon W. (1979); The Nature of Prejudice; 25th
Anniversary Edition, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company,
Andrain, Charles F. (1975); Political Life and Social
Change: An Introduction to Political Science, 2nd
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Apter, David (1960); "The Role of Traditionalism in
the Political Modernization of Ghana and Uganda,"
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Awosika, Kofo (June 17, 1999); "A
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June 17, 1999.
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Absence of Change in Africa" Political Science
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Bretton, Henry L. (1967); The Rise and Fall of Kwame
Nkrumah. London: Pall Mall Press.
Chirot, Daniel (1977); Social Change in the Twentieth
Century; Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., New York,
Dike, Enwere (1990); "Nigeria: The Political Economy
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Affairs, Vol. 16, No.2, pp.94-95.
Dike, Victor (Forthcoming, August 1999); Leadership,
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See PostExpress (June 11, 1999); "Good Intention,
Shiner, Cindy (June 16, 1999); "Healing Wounds and
Building Democracy in Nigeria;" African News
Service, June 16, 1999.
Umez, Bedford N. (June 11, 1999); "Urgent Apple to
President Obasanjo: Repeal the Separatist Law"
(www.odili.net/nigeria.html, June 11, 1999).