In the cacophony of 2023 general elections troubles and confusions, it is easy to lose focus of the fundamental facts and issues that have bedeviled Nigeria from its creation to date. Deeply buried in the veneer of tribe, religion and to some extent pseudo-ideological construct, the great mass of the citizenry and even the intelligentsia are submerged in the seismic chasm created in the political volcanic eruptions. Helplessly found in this irredeemably conditioned social paralysis, every person takes position to defend the indefensible, straighten the illogical and mend the broken shell of Nigeria’s socio-political and economic organism. This hopeless situation did not start today and it is not going to end until the evil spirit implanted in Nigeria’s body politic is exorcised and destroyed.
But who is going to undertake this arduous task if the ignorance of the basic and fundamental condition remains as it is now and may continue? In all the narratives and conversations I have encountered in Nigeria’s media space about the 2023 general elections, most sided with the ruling passion for continuity and aversion for anything tending to disruption of the peace while the other side harps on the need to retrieve the so called stolen mandate laid claim to by two political gladiators in the persons of Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi. It has even drawn the country’s cultural icons like Wole Soyinka and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie to the fray. You can imagine that! As stated at the beginning of this piece, it is easy to lose focus of the fundamental questions assailing Nigeria and rather be drawn and sucked up in the vortex of the political conflagration ignited by rogue politicians whose only object is to acquire power to rule and exploit the country. In this situation like in all unjust wars, truth and reason are the first casualty. It is in this situation that one Nigerian, Lasisi Olagunju in one of his offerings published by the Crest, an online medium pointed Nigerians to this problem of being deliberately distracted by the ruling caste as they continue to keep Nigeria as plaything in their hands. And what is that fundamental fact, issue or question that has ensured that Nigeria remains dysfunctional, inef- ficient and in an intolerable and miserable condition? That fundamental fact that has dogged the existence of Nigeria and well-being is the British deliberate act of creating and operationalising Nigerian state as a neocolonial entity with autocratic constitutional framework and devising a political infrastructure with a contrived culture of “coalition of expediency” as FD Fage with William Tordoff call it.
And what do we mean by “coalition of expediency”? By ‘coalition of expediency’, we point to the fact that Nigeria was deliberately designed by Britain to be a neocolonial state that is structured and purposed to serve not the best interest of its people but to remain and be an imperial outpost dedicated to beneficial interests of Britain and its allies. This hurtful design by Britain can only be possible and endure if the country’s rulership is made or con- sist of people helped to power by unfair means clearly recognized by it. For this reason, Britain before acceding to the nationalist demand for independence craftily destroyed the mass movement created by Nigerians of all ethnic and religious persuasions comprising over hundred syncretistic associations (labour, trade unions, community unions and students) coalesced under the National Council of Nigerian Citizens and this critical social force was crys- tallized and strengthened by the Zikist Movement formed by four Nigerian journalists (Nduka Eze, Abiodun Aloba, Kola Balogun and MCK Ajuluchukwu) unjustly sacked by their Lebanese employer at the behest of British colonial government. Between 1946 and 1948, the Zikist Movement had cre- ated a national consciousness that Independence would be achieved not on Britain’s terms but on popular sovereignty of Nigerians. Knowing that this Zikist’s objective would achieve popular government as was the case in Ghana under Nkrumah, British Governor-General John Macpherson cultivated the friendship of Nnamdi Azikiwe who inspite of his weaknesses was adopted by Nigerians as the obvi- ous national leader. Azikiwe fell for the British bait and was sucked in while hoping that Britain would ‘dash’ him power on “platter of Gold.” Consequently, Azikiwe betrayed the Zikist Movement whereupon British colonial government fell upon the Zikists, jailed many, destroyed the organization by proscription in 1950. Having destroyed the nationalist movement under NCNC, Britain ignited ethnic passions and stealthily created tribal parties sprung forth in Northern People’s Congress and the Action Group. These two major parties were led by ethnic champions (Ahmadu Bello and Obafemi Awolowo).
In the first regional election in 1951, NPC was helped to win Northern Region while in the West Region, Awo’s AG was helped by a political artifice of separating NCNC allied par- ties in the West so that the parliamentary majority achieved by NCNC was truncated thereby enabling the elected members of Western Region House of Assembly to cross-carpet to Action Group to rob Azikiwe of control of the Western and Eastern Regions.
Thus scattered by this British devious artifice, the real nationalist movement embracing North, East and Western regions was stultified thereby leaving the new political stream created under the Northern aristocracy in an un- stoppable ascendancy and in an irreversible march to seize control of Nigeria as Britain intended. By 1959 the process of instituting a political leadership anchored on a “coalition of expediency” was completed when having ceded half of membership of the national legislature to the North, the North achieved technical majority while the British-designed competition between the Igbo and the Yoruba ensured that the Hausa/ Fulani would always assail both in political contests. This British designed political construct ensures that popular democracy will always be a mirage and the emergence of a charismatic and popular leader cannot never be realised. Furthermore, unpopular leaders will always be foisted on the people through this mechanism of “coalition of expediency.”
This was the case in 1959 when NPC was joined to radical and liberal NCNC to form government. What a mixture? As expected, it did not last. In 1979, NPN’s Shagari was joined to Azikiwe’s NPP to form government and barely two years, the alliance col- lapsed. FD Fage and William Tordoff posit that Britain designed this system to restrain the progressive forces in Nigeria from transforming the country from its neocolonial strings thereby freeing her from British apron string. In 1993 when MKO Abiola through the mistake of General Babangida’s transition programme shattered Britain’s imposed “coalition of expediency” by winning the June 12 presidential election, the rulers incurred to this British tradition cancelled the election as allowing it was tantamount to liberating Nigeria from the yoke of internal colonialism supervised by British neocolo- nial framework. The emergence of the All Progressives Congress in 2015 epitomizes this tradition of “coalition of expediency.”
It can be seen that the political tradition has not served Nigeria well. The disastrous rulership of President Buhari had laid bare the evils of that “coalition of expediency” while the current travails represented by the APC government since 2015 to 2023 has bludgeoned Nigeria into a regime of fascism and nihilism. The Nigerian youths’ effort during 2023 presidential election to overthrow this regime of fascism and nihilism has opened the eyes of Britain and its local agents and they were not amused.
To stifle the movement, they have unleashed the worst form of social upheaval as tribe is set against tribe, individual against his fellow compatriots and religion is being bastardized and set to wreak havoc all in the bid to sustain this tradition of “coalition of expediency” that was forcibly instituted since 1951 to date. Humongous effort has been deployed to confuse, confound and bemuse Nigerians to accept this culture of ‘coalition of ex- pediency’ as ordained, a fait accompli but then, no condition is permanent. If the current Nigerian youth generation stay the course of their liberation movement expressed in the Obidient political risorgimento that like their colonial counterpart of the 1950s Zikist Movement that but for the betrayal by Nnamdi Azikiwe would have liberated Nigeria from British colonial and neocolonial agenda that materialised and has been the trouble with Nigeria since 1960 to date, they may yet succeed in freeing Nigeria from this curse and institute a Nigeria of their dreams that is founded on truth, justice, freedom and egalitarianism where no man is oppressed. This Nigeria of their dream is possible.