Nigeria’ s Golden Jubilee: Blood, tears and recrimination

On 1 October 2010, celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of the independence of the Federal Republic of Nigeria were marred by bomb blasts that killed 12 and injured 8 in Abuja. The Nigerian blogosphere has been torn between sadness for the innocent victims, anger at the perpetrators, and outrage at the federal government for its inept handling of events before and after the blast.

Nigerian Curiosity is outraged that the Nigerian government did nothing to prevent the blasts even though officials were warned:

‘Hours after the incident, it became clear that the media and even individuals were forewarned of the impending explosions. Yet, the Nigerian government argues that it was caught unaware. The inconsistency of that position, in light of further evidence, reiterates the failure of leadership that continues to destroy Nigeria. A failure of leadership that, once again, resulted in death.

‘Nigeria's security forces were warned of an impending attack at least five days before October 1st. Additionally, the perpetrators sent a warning to members of the media and other individuals on the day of the attack. The warning indicated the time and specifically mentioned that Eagle Square should be evacuated as an attack would happen. Given such information, it is unacceptable that the government did not do more to anticipate and prepare for the attack. There was no reason to not consider the warnings credible especially considering that MEND has blown up pipelines in the Niger Delta and even did the same in Lagos in 2009. As a result of the government's failure, many were injured and at least 12 died. Adding insult to injury is the fact that at least one foreign government alerted Nigerian authorities of a potential attack. And after the attack, Nigeria's Minister of Information, Dora Akunyili, stated that the government was "caught unawares" but that the attacks "failed because the celebrations were a resounding success." This statement was absolutely inappropriate. Consequently, the failure to prepare does little to instill confidence in the government's ability to protect Nigerian and in fact reflects a failure of leadership at all levels.’

Naijablog also zooms in on the issue of failed leadership in Nigeria:

‘Why do Nigerian leaders fail their constituents or members so consistently, in politics, in commerce and elsewhere? Why does almost every young hopeful end up being such a tawdry disappointment? It cannot simply be on account of a repetitious failure of personality, or a renewed shortfall of moral fibre. An individualistic explanation cannot suffice. But why then is leadership in Nigeria such a seemingly insurmountable challenge?

‘Of the main routes into the seemingly impenetrable forest in search of the clearing of truth, one opportune path we might take is an examination of the master-slave relationship that is alive and well in Nigeria...

‘It seems to me that this state of affairs is often regarded as the natural order of things: some are born to own and control a household; others are born to clean it up in perpetuity. The pampered children of the elite are brought up with a sense that there are lesser humans among them. Other children are brought up with little sense of a destiny beyond the bondage of a life Sisyphus would recognise: the forever undone task of keeping the compound starched and clean...

‘Until the “problem of leadership” is unpacked, and trite formulations are discarded in favour of unflinchingly honest analysis, it’s hard to see how highly efficient and productive value-enhancing organisations can flourish in Nigeria; it’s also hard to imagine that Nigeria will get the political leadership it so badly needs. The way those who work for us are treated is the form that leadership takes.’

Fragments of a broken dream laments the absence of viable leadership alternatives for the 2011 presidential elections:

‘There is no doubt that Goodluck Jonathan is a better option to IBB, but there are still better options to GJ. If we trail the lane of history, it is clear that it is those cabal of SDP and the military elite that conspired in annulling our struggles for emancipation in 1993, this same elite class had incessantly hijacked the nation in different disguises since the first coup d’état in 1966, hence the major reason for our underdevelopment and national retardation. While in Lagos I wondered. Could it possibly be that my intuition was pacing above space and time? Or the Nigerian populace is not just ready for the kind of change an angry man like Nuhu Ribadu might bring to us? Such change which will surely take away a certain kind of liberty that we all enjoy through a corrupt system. With my little understanding of the affairs of governance, there is always a huge gap between the masses who demand an immediate, unconditional improvement of their situation, and the anti-change cadres who fears the scarcities that is likely to be created by such change.

‘This lot that turned independence from colonial rule to their advantage, are driven mostly by their thirst for power and social relevance. Until now Nigeria is still pretty much a one party state, a party of big people, run by big people and their only interest is empowering the already empowered. This elite class attach primordial importance and blind devotion to the cult they now call PDP, which in the end gives priority for the agendas of the cult over a rational study of the needs of the masses.’

Wetin Dey Happen wonders whether the confusion over the identity of the alleged perpetrators of the Independence Day bomb blast is not part of a political ruse:

‘Then, this evening word came that Raymond Dokpesi, media mogul and the Director of IBB's campaign for President, had been arrested in connection with the bomb blasts, and the evidence against him is that two "suspects" already in custody had exchanged messages asking if Dokpesi had "paid the balance" and setting out plans to meet in IBB's campaign office.

‘The world record pace at which "suspects" have been arrested by a police force which couldn't catch a cold if you injected it with swine flu, immediately raised my suspicion. That they now claim the existence of these "text messages" as proof of Dokpesi's and, by extension, IBB's involvement in what happened on Friday, tells me that clearly, Goodluck and his "advisers" consider themselves to be the smartest people in a country filled with retards.

‘It all seems so convenient that not only wasn't MEND responsible for the attack, IBB and his campaign director are. Throw in that IBB is easily Goodluck's stiffest challenger in the presidential race, and other far more sinister pictures begin to emerge.

‘Suppose MEND did it, and Goodluck knows it was indeed MEND, but has acted quickly to pin the crime on IBB in order to get him out of the way? That doesn't require a hell of a stretch. Or, suppose it really wasn't MEND? What if the whole thing was simply a plot by Goodluck and his advisers, led by Baba and Mr. Fix-It, designed to get IBB out of the way?’

Mr Fix Nigeria mourns the death of his friend, Tahir Hassan Zakari Biu, one of the victims of the Independence Day bomb blast:

‘What a shame. At the tender age of 27, Tahir's dream of a new Nigeria has been cut short by the failings of the same system he believed so much in. It was enough that some of us thought there was nothing really spectacular to celebrate about Nigeria at 50. Still, we believed and expressed hope in the possibility of a new dawn only to be thrown into mourning with this irredeemable loss on a day we mustered faith to celebrate 50 years of great expectations...

‘I use to help Tahir with his Facebook; he knew I was very active online and gave me his account details so I could do for him some of the things he couldn't do by himself. This morning, logging into that Facebook account threw me into deeper grief. I just can't believe he's gone...

‘I pray for his parents, his widow (they wedded only last year) and their little baby girl. Only the Almighty God can grant them the strength to bear this loss.

‘The time has come for us to wake up from our apathy as a people. Today, it's Tahir. We don't know when the next bomb will explode, where it will explode and who will be the next victim. The future of Nigeria is in the hands of its people. If we can rise in 2011 to determine with our votes, a new set of credible leaders who can give us a future, Tahir and all those who have died as a result of the failure of the Nigerian system, would not have died in vain.’

Scribbles from the Den reviews the just concluded 9th Africa Media Leadership Conference (AMLC) which held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania:

‘Are bloggers journalists? Are they operating ethically by upholding the rights and limitations of media freedom? If not, should bloggers be regulated by statutory boards? These and similar questions framed some of the key debates of the just-ended Africa Media Leadership Summit.

‘The three-day summit was attended by nearly 70 media owners, chief executive offers and editors-in-chief of leading media companies from East, West, Southern , Central and North Africa, plus the Horn of Africa, the Caribbean and the US. It was held in Tanzania’s former capital Dar es Salaam.

‘Meeting under the overarching theme of “Sustainable Media Business Models in the Digital Age”, delegates to the Africa Media Leadership Conference (AMLC) heard testimony of successful digital media business models already being run by some of their peers in Africa.

‘They also examined a range of challenges thwarting the sustainability of media and journalism on the continent, especially the lack of appropriate training and skilling among journalists and media managers, and poor editorial content, and suggested practical solutions on how to address these.’

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* Dibussi Tande blogs at Scribbles from the Den.
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