FEATURE ARTICLE

Omoh Tsatsaku Ojior, Ph.D.Thursday, March 8, 2007
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LET'S CELEBRATE NIGERIA OUR HOME, OUR COUNTRY


igerians are preparing to take another major stride in their political life, come next April. A second general election will be held to usher in a second Nigerian civilian administration after 40 years of military destruction led by its able general, Badamosi Babangida. History reveals that he masterminded most of the coups of the regimes while he personally administered one of them to the detriments of the nation, all Nigerians and the world communities.


Nigerians must celebrate Nigeria at this time. They have something for which they should celebrate. Nigeria, or whatever name we chose to call it down-the- road, it is the only place we can call, Home; home sweet home. Yes, home sweet home, and yes, I made this statement a long time ago that "Nigeria is the only place we can call our home" and has been echoed since then.

I should be able to take issue with any one who may feel that my opinion that Nigeria is the only place we can call our home is wrong one, because there are such person or persons amongst Nigerians who are contending that where ever one could lay his or her head is a home. One may be in the prison and lay his or her head there, it cannot be a home but prison; and one's residence in a place where second class citizenship is his or her status cannot actually be regarded as home. Especially that citizenship being granted to many foreigners in many foreign lands are revocable in some cases depending on the gravity of the situation to the host country.

This being the situation, Nigeria must be celebrated by all Nigerians where ever they may be at this time irrespective of what may be their political, religious, business and social persuasions and predisposition because after haven been battered for 40 years of misrules and mismanagement, Nigeria is still going on strong and prosperous. Nigeria has come of age and Obasanjo should be congratulated while we celebrate. Yes, we must in celebration and prayers invoke now the power of the God of our universe in us and us in Him, the Gods of our land and the Spirit of our ancestors, to continue to hover all over our country especially at this time.

And yes, we must in prayers invoke the Spirit of our Founding Fathers, our nationalists and their leaders who rescued our land from the claws of imperialism: the Spirit of Herbert Macaulay, The Right Hon Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, D. C. Osadebay, Dr. A. O. Olorun-Nimbe, Prince A Ibikunle-Akintoye; the Anthony Enahors; Earnest S. Ikoli, Oba Samuel Akinsaya, the Odemo of Isiara; the Adeniran Ogunsanyas; Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Smauel G. Ikoku; the Adegoke Adelabus, Mrs. Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti; the T. O. S. Bensons; the Sardauna of Sokoto, Ahmadu Bello, Dr. E. M. L. Endeley, M. T. Mbu, J. M. Johnson; the A. C. Nwankpas; L. P. Ojukwu, Mr. J. S. Tarka, Mallam Aminu Kano, Mallam Ibrahim Immam, Mallam Bukar Dipcharima, and Eyo Ita, to mention but these few.

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Nigerians must not forget from whence they came and where they are today. By the current assessment as revealed recently in Atlanta, Georgia USA, by Frank Nweke, Jr., the Honourable Minister of Information and National Orientation of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the country has become a force to be reckoned with in Africa in-spite of all odds.

Nigeria is now one of the largest markets in Africa with over 140 million in population;

Nigeria's film industry is the third largest in the world;

Nigeria has become the largest producer of home made videos in the world;

Nigeria has continued to be consistently involved in peacekeeping efforts within the Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group ((ECOMOG);

Nigeria has been recognized as having been playing an important role in Africa's development in the areas of abolishment of apartheid and decolonization in Africa;

contributing to Africa's economic development through the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD);

playing a prominent role in the Commonwealth;

and Nigeria is assessed as having the richest cultures in Africa and is steeped in decades of history and heritage.

What is more to be celebrating: for the first time in the history of Nigeria, the country is currently waging a war as never before fought against corruption in government and in the society. Two commissions, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (IDPC) are operating having been established constitutionally. In-spite of the bane placed on Nigeria's ways by saboteurs, it is reported that over one hundred billion dollars has been recovered by the country;

and Nigerians are campaigning with a view to usher in a new political administration in which there is a transfer of power from one civilian administration to another. Do I still hear some one says that Nigeria and Nigerians have nothing to glorify about at this time in their life? I doubt it.

The foregoing is one of the reasons Nigerians must celebrate our country in spite of what they have gone through for the past forty years. It is also the reason Nigerians must make their choice carefully in terms of those who must be given the opportunity to take over the running of the affairs of our country, come April which is less that sixty days away. It is the more reason Nigerians ought to thank Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, the President of Nigeria for the past seven years plus. This is important because if one is not grateful for whatever he or she may have received, little or big, good or opposite of it, the good tiding or buoyancy may never come to them. This brings about the need to examine the conduct and behaviour of the current legislators in the Nigeria's National Assembly and the Judiciary as it relates to the issue of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, its amendment or no amendment. What makes it constitutional for a vice-president to contest an election while still in office as vice-president, for the position of president in a future election in another political party having decamped from the party in which he was appointed and serving as current vice-president? One is not a constitutional lawyer, yet one understands that every provision in a constitution and the interpretation of a legal question arising upon or the verdict of the court or judiciary is usually for the good of the people of the system in which the constitution and the judiciary operate.

Nigeria's current vice-president has been indicted several times and the court has continued to declare the vice-president a saint. This author has had problems with the Nigerian judiciary for a long time. In 1987, he stated that

"Mention must be made of the fact that the second arm of the realm which is the judiciary has not helped in any way to ensure that the Second Republic or the over all socio-political and economic policies of the country were streamlined since independence.

"Rather the judiciary or the men and women in that organ of government have helped to compound the degree of malpractices, corruptions, and frauds in Nigeria. Equally, it appears during that period in Nigeria the legal profession did not adequately contribute towards effective improvement of the society. This is so because each time a judge or an advocate shirks his responsibility in judicial judgments, decisions and reviews it worsens the lot of the society. This frequently occurred in Nigeria occurred during that (Second Republic) administration.

"Many a time, cases that would have assisted the development of society through the influence of the successful outcome of such cases were turned upside down due to selfish motive and greed," devoid of scholarship political or legal wisdom. (See Presidentialism: New Recipes for Nigeria's Political System), p.19. It appears, the Nigerian legal system has been consistently unhelpful to the people.

One would also ask a similar question regarding the intention of some of the legislators who at this 11th hour, are being reported of planning the impeachment of the President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo. Nigerians should know that a government is as good as the people who established it and they should know that it is not easy to organize and manage Nigerians. Therefore what will be the benefits of such impeachment, either personal to these legislators or to the Nigeria nation, if the reports are correct? Obasanjo should be given a pass mark. Only last year, members of this National Assembly threw out a Bill containing 19 amendments to the Constitution proposed by the President and sent to the Assembly. One particular important amendment on the list was the immunity position that every Nigerian wanted to be removed because it had prevented from doing away with some corrupt governors. The Assembly threw the whole proposed 19 Amendments out without the wisdom to go through them line by line and cross out what was not in the interest of the nation at the time. Should Nigerians allow these law makers take them for a ride? Of course, like the "Cato Conspiracy" is not advisable in Nigeria, but should these legislators who have spent the Nigerian Tax payers money and the Oil wealth discussing nothing else but "impeachment" of this and that throughout the life of the their tenure be allowed to continue to want to disrupt the nation?

If any thing at this 11th hour, these men and women of our legislature should be aiming to create a legacy for which they would be remembered whether they return to the next Assembly or not after the coming elections. Nigerian politicians ought to have learnt a big lesson from Al Gore and John Kerry of the United States who accepted defeat for the sake of peace of the country because from all indications they had not losers in the elections. That was magnanimity at its best. Our politicians must not destroy the legacy already created by this President. History will remember Chief Olusegun Obasanjo good or bad. Let us celebrate his achievements and his departure. Send response to [email protected]