Nigeria has always struggled with good governance but this current administration portrayed that flaw like we have never witnessed. The embryonic stage of Nigeria was characterized by young agile Nigerians at the helm of affairs. The overthrow of the civilian government by the military in 1966 ushered in a new era in Nigeria’s political community. On top of that, it made power succession synonymous to a child’s play.
When Nigeria was a new born nation, with the right strategies, ammunitions and company, you can displace any government in power. All these political gymnastics were executed by young military officers. It is disheartening to see that our current public offices are occupied by the previous young men who are now old men that once ruled this nation. They are responsible for the present decay in our nation. Unfortunately, they have recycled themselves into leadership again. They have created a structure that ensures they control and share power amidst themselves. Overtime, they called themselves different names and rebrand their parasitic nature for social acceptance. They control the nation since the military began meddling into political affairs.
An apt study of the turn of events since independence, you will realize that Nigeria has always been ruled by the same set of persons. I’d prefer to call them the class of 1966; members of this class are the active military officers in 1966. They have continued to pass the baton of political power amongst themselves up until today. They do not care about their age, they just want to be the head of Nigeria at any cost even. They want to field themselves in for political positions even if they’re on their sick bed. They were young when they began handling power but when the time to handover to younger generation came they refused to give way. Like hurricane, they can take away whatever stands in their path to power.
A young Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu was twenty nine years when he led the first military coup in 1966. At this time, a group of military men who would forge another brand of Nigeria were Major Ademola Ademoyega, Murtala Muhammed, T.Y Danjuma, Abba Kayari, Muhamadu Buhari, Ibrahim Babangida, Mamman Vatsa, Sanni Abacha, John Shagaya, Chukwuemeka Ojukwu, Olusegun Obasanjo, and Emmanuel Ifeajuni. They were 32, 28, 28, 28, 24, 25, 26, 23, 24, 33, 29 and 32 years of age respectively.
These particular set of people have kept on passing the baton of power amidst themselves. We suppose that former president, Umaru Musa Yaradua was a replacement for his deceased senior brother who was OBJ vice in his military era. It took intense agitation against the “Yaradua cabal” to let GEJ act as president in Yaradua’s stead while he was away on medical treatment prior to his death. The people loved Jonathan, hence, another four years of his own government – it still required the approval of living members of the class of 1966.
Then came the ‘change agent’ – our current president – a very strong member of the class. Every member of that class has been ruling Nigeria ever since. T.Y Danjuma was given the opportunity to rule Nigeria on a platter of gold but he refused for reasons best known to him, hence, they looked to OBJ. If care isn’t taken, another member of that class will govern our nation again in 2019.
Nigeria isn’t a piece of cake to be shared among some group of people. If we do not break this cycle of selfish governance, we will continue to get the same results. If they do not vie for the seat of the presidency, they impose someone of their caliber upon this nation or infuse incompetent members of their family into our political affairs. They have created more problems for Nigeria than solutions. Little wonder, we move two steps forward and ten steps backward.
Nigerians must be wise.
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