Still crawling at 53

Urgent steps should be taken to rescue this sinking giant, Nigeria
There is a saving grace, at least, as the Nigerian government has acknowledged that little progress is being made in, and by the country. This it has done by refusing to roll out the drums in wild celebration of the country’s 53rd independence anniversary.
Things are not looking good. Poverty is ravaging; death is stalking the land, snatching both the old and the young. The very young, infants, do not enjoy any form of protection and the youth are restive as jobs are unavailable. Most of the social and economic sectors are comatose while infrastructure is permanently experiencing decay. Looking at the statistics, the future appears bleak.
This is indeed a time for sober reflection. It is a time to seek answer to the question: How did we get to this sorry pass? The founding fathers had lofty dreams captured in the first National Anthem. They looked forward to handing to their children ‘a banner without stain’. They designed a constitution that they expected would bring out the best in the people – allowing the various regions enough autonomy to promote competition and creativity.
After rounds of meetings and conferences, the leaders agreed that federalism would promote national unity and encourage the blossoming of ideas. In addition to the federal constitution, each region had its constitution. Each region had its autonomous legislature and judiciary and the executive arm did not feel inferior to the Federal Government. Police was not on the exclusive legislative list and each region had enough latitude to generate resources without depending unduly on allocations from the centre. All the gains have since been lost to years of over-centralisation occasioned primarily by military rule and sustained by their short-sighted civilian successors. A plural society with a unitary system foisted on it could only have bred mediocrity and underdevelopment.
In contrast, some of the countries at the same level of development when Nigeria obtained independence in 1960 have joined the League of Developed Countries. Others that are yet to be admitted to that exclusive club have made such remarkable progress that they are a toast of countries like Nigeria. It pays to ask again: Where were Indonesia, Malaysia and the South East Asian countries in the 1960s? India and China used to be the butt of derisive comments among the Nigerian elite before and after the country’s independence in 1960.
One country that has taken giant steps and thus deserves closer attention by the people and government of Nigeria is Singapore. A country of a mere five million people, it has very little in terms of natural resources. Ruled under British sovereignty between 1824 and 1963, it opted to go with Malaysia in 1963. That relationship lasted only two years before it pulled out of the union to stand alone. Today, Singapore occupies a pride of place in the comity of nations. It is one of the five busiest ports in the world, is regarded the fourth leading financial centre and holds the enviable record of having the highest percentage millionaires – one of every six households is said to have disposable income of at least one million dollars.
For a country not known to have oil reserves, it is one of the three top oil-refining centres in the globe. It is also renowned as a ship repairing country; the manufacturing sector contributes more than a quarter of the Gross Domestic Product and has been adjudged by the World Bank the easiest place to do business. As a prosperous nation sitting pretty in the club of rich countries, the people have a lot to be proud of. Alongside Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korea, Singapore is acknowledged as an Asian Tiger. Its prosperity has reflected in all the social and economic sectors – education, health, agriculture, manufacturing and maritime.
Conversely, Nigeria is quick to describe itself as the ‘giant of Africa’, relying solely on its huge population and natural resources. Those in government are quick to humour the people by describing the country as a potential world leader. Nigeria is the 10th on proven oil deposits and holding 180 billion cubic feet of gas. The huge agricultural potentials that could be derived from the available land remain a dream.