Nigeria At 64: Are We Truly Free Or In Another Version Of Slavery?

By Franklin Ogude

The outcomes of our fathers’ struggles for freedom—those of Anthony Enahoro, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Tafawa Balewa, and Ahmadu Bello, among others—came to pass 64 years ago, merging diverse rich cultural heritage from across 3 regions that are now 36 states, but we still strive to live free lives under the rule of the children to whom they gave power.

“Nigeria, my country,” is what our previous pledge screams: we all promised to be faithful, loyal, and honest—yet we all lead such dishonest lives. A nation in which an anonymous youngster cannot rise to prominence without knowing anyone. Whereas the younger generation is determined to survive by fraud because they see a failing education, matrix, and the elderly elites want to fraudulently drain dry the disadvantaged. Education has become a caricature and fraud, a god before us who has stained our image globally and brought about some level of segregation to Nigerians in diaspora.

On October 20, 2020, the government was suspected of killing its innocent citizens by allegedly opening fire on them at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos. To keep the populace in check and terrified, they allegedly give hooligans permission to hijack protests and then raise alarms about it. Academic institutions have not been any different, stifling any kind of opposition or questioning of the status quo while inflating tuition like water-soaked Ijebu garri.

64 bloody years later, our fathers will be looking down from the sky with discontent, seeing all they sacrificed with their blood washed away like seashore sand. The security agents were tasked with defending the populace, inflicting violence on civilians to shield the plundering authorities.

Martins Vincent Otse, also known as Verydarkman, is a citizen and social media influencer who posted a list of supporters to the Borno state government. He claims that the government has asked its citizens to leave the camp and has allegedly hoarded donations from both local and international bodies while the citizens are left homeless in the wake of the September flood outbreak that destroyed over 300,000 houses in Borno. He went on to say that specialists had informed this administration that an outbreak was inevitable, but she had done nothing to stop it and had instead set up camps for her population to dwell in if the water broke, which happened.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s Executive Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, has confirmed that former Kogi state governor Yahaya Bello stole $720,000 in advance from the state’s account. Despite this, Bello cannot be held accountable because the nation’s justice system is also impacted. The EFCC, which breaks into homes and hostels, is no longer able to hold such a governor accountable; the uniformed men are the men defending the man who took from the people without any repercussions.

The 64 years have turned into years of extreme suffering as the economy becomes worse every day and the average person has to eat with their nose.

As stated by a Lagos bus driver: “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is Joseph to Nigeria, and whoever comes after him will be the Pharaoh. We’ve not seen anything, this is the tip of the iceberg because that’s how former President Muhammadu Buhari said we would miss him, and we doubted him, but today, we miss him. Look at the price of fuel in the last year, and you’ll know this regime has not been funny.”

Going forward, the country’s situation has gotten worse to the point that its currency continuously loses value to other currencies like the dollar and pound. While there are other ways to escape the nation, such as immigration through the right means, people go as far as by road. Many people are now determined to leave in search of better opportunities elsewhere.

The House of Representatives called Verydarkman to testify on September 30, 2024, on a voice recording he had disclosed more than a week before that exposed several jaw-dropping flaws in the system. The recording reveals when the EFCC reprimanded Mr. Okuneye Idris Olanrewaju, also known as Bobrisky, who spoke on the recording, over charges including money laundering, the charges were dropped after a bribe of N15 million was paid to the EFCC. Bobrisky decided not to show up, disrespecting the system with the excuse of being ill, even after claiming in the recording that he has a Godfather somewhere who pulls strings for him.

Bobrisky revealed his godfather made a call to Haliru Nababa, FICMC, MFR, Mni, the Controller General of the Nigerian Correctional Service who made him stay in a special place that is neither the male prison nor the females.

The Chief Controller of Prisons has come out with a conflicting statement, denying any of it, while renowned journalists like Dr. Kemi Lawrence (in the Diaspora) have come out to throw further light on incidents like these highlighted situations where bodies like the EFCC fail to fulfil their duties. The case’s importance to the nation rests where the image of those involved is, as they will do anything not to dent their images.

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Many have died over the years fighting for a better nation, but just a few people’s voices are heard. The situation has gotten so severe that “In Nigeria, we are suffering and smiling” has become a catchphrase. The Stockholm syndrome makes an average Nigerian embrace their oppressors despite their hardship.

The situation has gotten so awful over the past 64 years that the government is using poverty as a tactic to bring its people to their knees. Moral decadence is rapidly reaching its zenith since everyone is desperate to survive in a broken society and will stop at nothing to obtain wealth, even if it means taking another person’s life.

Our praised democratic state is rapidly becoming a capitalist state as a result of government agencies succumbing to private companies and certain individuals monopolising locally produced goods. This is because few people in positions of authority can modify the law to their advantage.

For example, the Nigerian National Petroleum Cooperation, or NNPC, is tasked with using Nigeria’s oil and gas reserves for sustainable national development. It explores, produces, refines, and markets and retails petroleum products. This role has been left to one man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, who was previously the richest person in Africa until South African billionaire Johann Rupert overthrew him a few weeks ago, when his net worth surged by $1.9bn to $14.3bn, placing him at 147th position globally, and Dangote’s fortune fell by $1.7bn (£1.3bn) this year, giving him a net worth of $13.4bn, Bloomberg reports.

The NNPC now purchases fuel from the Dangote refinery, which quotes a higher price in a press release from the NNPC. Dangote refutes this claim in a counter press release. However, based on the pricing formula made public by the NNPC following the refinery’s initial fuel sale, it seems that Dangote is priced either higher than or similarly to petrol that is imported.

Even though NNPC utilised N1,637.59/$ as the FX rate rather than the official average of N1,594, the company claimed to have purchased the oil from Dangote for N842.61/litre and added all charges, bringing the pump price in Lagos down to N950.22/litre. This is in contrast to the current rate of N855. Dangote did not reveal the price at which it sold, but it denied selling to NNPC for N842.61/litre.

Will there be a problem with a man selling to a government agency if the NNPC has worked on the strategically placed idle refineries around the nation?

Will things ever improve in Nigeria?

The general public is asking themselves this question.

Speaking to an elderly market seller in Oshodi, Lagos, she conveyed her lack of hope for the improvement of the nation, citing the difficulty in affording meals these days compared to better times in the past. She also mentioned ministries that were meant to be leading and advocating for improvement but instead complained that there was not enough money and that the nation was in debt to build opulent houses and buy massive cars at the expense of the people they claimed to represent.

Nigeria is our country, and if we can overcome our innate greed, it will once again be magnificent. The average person is just as suspicious of the powerful as they are, which is why he will do anything to coerce the average person.

Rural region robberies are quickly becoming incessant. People fleeing the streets because of robberies in their homes can be seen in Oko-Afo, Badagry, for instance. People are being robbed at gunpoint in broad daylight.

Despite this, our armed forces who are to maintain sovereignty exist—the unrestricted ability of a state to exercise supreme legal authority over its affairs in the absence of any outside interference. This holds for the entire country. It is important to know that the sovereignty of a state resides with the armed forces because if you beat them, then you can access the country, yet insurgencies and insecurity are flying all about, birthing questions with no response.

Has Nigeria lost its power to conquer criminals and oppressors?

Or do the government bodies know what’s happening with Boko Haram and herdsmen but need them to be there for their selfish gains?

Too many questions unanswered but it is time for citizens to stand up and embrace the fact that it’s not getting any better because we’ve not made a deliberate decision to make the country grow.