Nigeria became an entity in 1914. This controversial amalgamation of several unique social enclaves surrounding a River, which the Colonialists called The Niger is often thought to be the root of Nigeria’s problems. One basic thing was ignored and that was ‘the people’.
From then, a culture of nation building and development that did not put people and their interests into consideration was birthed. The most recent and glaring evidence reared its head in the just concluded national elections. Lives were willfully dispensed of and electoral materials destroyed as long as the will, other than that of the people is actualized.
Anyways, this is not about the elections. It is about a system that has failed to put the people first. Though examples can be drawn from a variety of sectors, let us limit our discourse to the love for natural resources and the expense of human lives.
As far as natural resources are concerned, Nigeria is probably the most endowed or cursed nation in the world. Whichever option agrees with you is quite correct. Currently, Nigeria remains the 6th highest Crude Oil producer in the World. When natural resources are found or mined from any particular location, it should be an opportunity to buildup the people. Develop local content via training, skill building, employment and opportunities to create wealth in their localities.
But the harsh reality is that wherever the Nigerian government takes interest in any natural resource, there is death, destruction and devastation. Rivers and Bayelsa States have had their fair share of environmental degradation, social exclusion, radicalization and militarization.
Today, the bloodshed is massive in Zamfara State where whole communities are wiped out by militias or bandits as they say. The people’s crime is that gold exists in their lands. It is rare to find any part of the country where natural resources have made the people develop to their best potentials. This is not an error, it is a well-orchestrated plan to keep the people subjugated, impoverished and dependent.These occurrences are not new but have been around from the very beginning.
The discovery of natural resources in all parts of Nigeria has brought mostly disadvantages to the people. Mining in Nigeria began in 1909 when Coal was discovered in the Udi Ridge in Enugu State.
In 1949, Coal Miners approached the Colonial authorities to protest poor pay and demand improved work conditions. 21 men were shot dead and 51 others were injured in a single day. Mind you, the people who owned the land were never compensated but were employed under harsh work conditions and received minimum wage.
Today, the mining towns called Iva Valley and Coal Camp remains the most neglected and underdeveloped places in Enugu State, despite being the first place in the region where the colonialists settled and carted away wealth from.
The Coal Corporation is still a ghost agency while the camp and mines appear as irrelevant relics from forgotten times. Such trends still exist. Oloibiri (Bayelsa State) should be the most important town in Nigeria, being the place where Crude Oil was first discovered in 1956.
If you understand trends, you should be able to predict what has become of it today. If you thought – ghost town, you will be absolutely right. Then it should not be difficult to predict what will become of your home town if some form of mining is ongoing there. All these happen because our people don’t matter. They never have, but will they ever?
What is the value of a human life in Nigeria? Is it worth a barrel of crude oil, a ton of Coal or maybe just a pound of Gold? Nigerian leadership philosophy has not changed from 1914 till date. This is true because Nigerian lives did not matter then and still don’t matter today.
Jingoism was the guiding principle of the Colonial masters and the fact that this principle still holds sway is the only evidence that this nation has been led by puppets.
The Nigerian spirit which makes nationhood and national interests supreme is a myth. The leaders only work for the best interest of their true masters, the Colonialists and will do away with irrelevant Nigerian Lives if the need arises. Isn’t that shameful?
Political Analysts must start philosophizing on real issues. The quest to shake off the influence of colonialists’ jingoistic regimes that have held our people captive must become top priority.
There is little wonder that we operate government-designed food chains that have the people at the very bottom. A system as this will not thrive, it will fail and self-destruct.
our best brains live and work in the diaspora and the government has little interests in reversing that trend. As long as the people development is neglected, our future remains uncertain.
Putting people first will preserve national wealth and manifest all round national development. People seeking solutions to Nigeria’s problems must think of creating people-centered systems wherever they work. People should be our nation’s foremost resource and should be protected.
But when the government has failed to build up the people, can the people not build themselves up? Alas, we may be forgotten and never matter in the government’s scheme, but what roles do the people play to help their own conditions? Today it is Zamfara bearing the brunt. If the people remain silent as we have done in a hundred years, what changes?
Michaael Ukwuma writes from Enugu. He can be reached on [email protected]
The views expressed in this article are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect WikkiTimes’ editorial stance.
