17/09/2022
WE ONCE HAD A GREAT NATION
By Adakole Peter Idakpo -- 17/September/2022
We tell people (young people) that Nigeria use to be great..... It's difficult to talk about these things and not get emotional. - Babajide Kolade Otitoju.
“The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,” so said the Bible. Sadly and unfortunately, this is not the case with Nigeria. The reality of this country is the exact opposite of what the holy book says. The glory of the former temple is (in this case) greater than the latter.
"The giant of Africa," as we have been nicknamed over the years - meritoriously we really were. However, fast forward to today, one can say, in all honesty, that 'our head as a country' doesn't befit the crown. All that remains today of this once great giant is the size of her population and the extraordinary resilience and ingenuity of her citizens.
We once had a great nation. Those were the years when leadership was more about character and a sense of patriotism; when politics was more about service and selflessness; when governance was really for the people and by the people; and when hard work and production was our lifestyle. Then our Nigeria stood shoulder high in the committee of nations.
In those years, the naira was on a par with other major currencies of the world. Our parents flew in the Nigeria Airways - considered then to be one of Africa's best airlines. They rode in Nigerian assembled cars. Our Universities where immensely respected worldwide. Our health service was a benchmark, at least within Africa. We produced our foods, made our textiles, and tanned our leather - all from locally sourced materials. Our graduates selected jobs, leaving the less paying jobs to foreign nationals who trooped into Nigeria en masse for greener pastures.
God bless our heroes past – Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Sir. Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Sir. Ahmadu Bello, and others. These men did a fine job by laying for us a foundation to build upon. Unfortunately and shamefully though, should any of these visit Nigeria today, they will hardly recognize her - a country they forth so hard to free from her Colonial Masters, the British and set on a path of greatness.
For those of us born in the 1970s and early 1980s, we were fortunate to catch a glimpse of that great Nigeria before it faded out. You just can't help being nostalgic when you engage in discussions about the Nigeria of our childhood. I talk to younger people about what it was like growing up in this country, but it always seem to them like a story line from one of the Nollywood movies – a fiction not a fact.
The greatness of any nation can be judged by the quality of her educational system. Human capital is an essentially inexhaustible ingredient for growth and development. The Nigerian university education was a standard at that time, particularly in Africa. The Nigerian degree was held in high value worldwide. The products of such universities stood shoulder high amongst their peers and went on to achieve excellence in their various fields
From the establishment of University College Ibadan (now University of Ibadan), to University of Nigeria Nsukka, to University of Northern Nigeria (now Ahmadu Bello University Zaria), to the next generation of universities established in the 1970s, and up till the late 1980s is a period one cannot be wrong to refer to as the glory years of the Nigerian universities. Indeed these early generations of the university community contributed in no small measure to the human capital development of our country.
The quality in our secondary and primary schools were so evident. They provided the foundation for the universities to build upon. For those privileged to attend any of the Unity Schools across the country, it was indeed a sense of pride. These Unity Schools which were then of the best standards were highly competitive and offered admissions largely on merit, hence only the best students were admitted. They also ensured that their products could stand their ground anytime anywhere.
Since the days before independence agriculture has been the mainstay of Nigeria’s economy, providing the largest chunk of foreign exchange as well as Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Cash crops such as rubber, cocoa, palm oil, cashew nuts, groundnut and cotton formed a bulk of the export. In those good years, Nigeria accounted for over 43% of the global production of palm oil, 35% of groundnut, 23% of groundnut oil and 25% of cocoa.
The groundnut pyramid as one writer puts it was ‘’a symbol of agricultural wealth and economic prosperity; a historical identity on Nigerian postage stamps. An awesome view, attracting tourists all over the world for a glimpse into an amazing architectural design of the groundnut-peanut pyramids; towering up as a great national symbol of pride.’’
Back in the 1970s and early 1980s, Nigeria was the home to Africa’s largest textile industry, with over 180 textile mills in operations, which provided employment to tens of thousands of people. The industry, at that time, was one of the largest employers of labour in Nigeria. It was contributing over 25% of the workforce in the manufacturing sector, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria.
For those old enough, you'll remember the good old days when Peugeot and Volkswagen cars were the darlings of the Nigerian roads. However, a census of cars on our roads today will tell you that a greater percentage of automobile used in the country now are Japanese fairly used cars. I refer to those as the good old days because these were locally assembled cars - and Nigerians drove in them with pride.
The 1970s was the era of the Nigerian automobile industry. Apart from Peugeot Automobile Nigeria Limited, Kaduna and Volkswagen of Nigeria Limited, Lagos, the government entered into partnership with four other foreign automobile companies which led to the establishment of their assembly plants in Nigeria. These other assembly plants included: Steyr Nigeria Limited, Bauchi, Anambra Motor Manufacturing Limited, Enugu, Leyland Nigeria Limited, Ibadan, and National Truck Manufacturers, Kano.
In the 1970s soon after the Nigerian civil war, marked the period of the oil boom. The country received stupendous wealth from oil resources that her problem ceased to be money but what to do with it. The years around 1980s marked the most dizzying heights of this oil-fired economy. Nigeria was a land flowing with milk and honey and oil money was literarily flowing through everybody’s fingers. There was a job for everyone, at least those who cared to work.
In as much as the oil boom ushered in great wealth, it also ushered in the 'Nigerian problem' - it was a boom to burst actually. Starting from that period, attention was given much more to the oil sector much to the neglect of other sectors like agriculture, textiles, etc, which have for many years before then being the corner stone of the nation's economy. The boomerang effect of this neglect is what we suffer today.
In all fairness, the oil boom itself wasn't really the problem - it is actually a blessing turned into a curse. The problem lies in the inability of the powers that be then to manage the huge success that came with such boom. The successive military regime of those years can be blamed for their gross failure to manage the oil boom resource for the purpose of long term strategic national planning.
The return to democratic rule in 1999 offered a ray of hope to Nigerians - they were indeed severely in need of it. However, over two decades down the line, this hope have dwindled in most Nigerians and even died out in some. The successive civilian governments since then haven't lived up to expectations. They have done next to nothing to change the situation of the country. As a matter of fact, the situation is noticeably getting worse by the years.
According to William George Jordan, "Man has two creators – his God and himself. His first creator furnishes him the raw material of his life, and the laws in conformity with which he can make that life what he will. His second creator – himself – has marvellous powers, which he really realises. It is what a man make of himself that counts. Man in his weakness is a creature of circumstances; man in his strength is a creator of circumstances. Whether he be victim or victor depend largely on himself."
If the saying of William George Jordan is anything to go by, then we are where we are today as a result of what we made of ourselves. We are victims of the circumstances we ourselves have created. The consequence of which has proven to be fatal to the economic developmental growth of the nation.
Indeed Nigeria is a country endowed with enormous resources . All we need to be a great nation has never been what we lacked, hence no excuse of 'hands being tied.' All that we needed, we actually have. It's just a question of a political will to make this country work. Unfortunately (and funny so), we are incapable of taking advantage of the enormity of our God’s given resources to build a great nation.
This nation cannot afford to suffer any further. Our people cannot continue to live like this - not even knowing where the next meal is coming from. This is a clarion call to all well meaning Nigerians, politicians and citizens alike, to join hands in restoring the glory of this great nation. The Giant of Africa shall rise again. Our country shall take it's due place in the Committee of Nations.
Four things we would like to do: 1: Follow and like The Pages on Facebook @ https://fb.me/thepages247 2: Like this article. 3: Drop a comment in the comments section. 4: Share this article to as many groups and persons as possible. Good bless y
The Page is an online media organization for political analysis and current affairs.
