Once upon a time Nigerians were universally respected and honoured, what changed? Well to understand Nigeria and what changed you need to appreciate where it came from.
In 1900, Britain took the responsibility for the administration of what we now know as Nigeria from the Niger Company. Over the years British protectors were established throughout the territory and in 1914 the protectorates were amalgamated into one Nigeria. One fact you may not have known is that in order to take over the territories from the Niger company, the British government paid £865,000 – a large sum of money back then. A simple truth, the British did not travel half way across the world to spread democracy Nigeria is nearly as big as France and Italy put together, blessed with natural resources – Nigeria was business deal between a company and the government. No surprise the Niger Company is still in existence today but goes by another name, Unilever.
Nigeria was created to fulfil a business requirement – to supply goods and services to Britain, but after 50 years Nigeria began to fight for their own self governance. In 1947, a delegate of Nigerians including Jaja A. Wachuku (First speaker of the house and first Foreign Affairs Minister) and Funimi Ransime Kuti (Fela Kuti’s mother and the first Nigerian woman to drive a car) visited England. As delegates of the National Counsel of Nigeria and the Cameroons, they demanded for a more democratic constitution allowing Nigerians to have more political responsibility to manage their affairs. Nigerians were ready to master their destiny, they were on a mission and it wasn’t just them, it was Africans all over Africa.
By 1950 it was clear by the colonial masters that Africa would no longer tolerate inequality in their own countries. Most of the African Elite as they continue to do today had sent their children overseas to ensure they benefited from Western Education. Africans in the diaspora enjoyed a sense of solidarity which was enforced by the racist treatment they received. They met up frequently organising a series of Pan-Africa meetings they called it the Pan- Africa Movement. The 5th Pan-African Movement held in Manchester England, drew a large number of attendees many of which went on to become political leaders. They included Kwame Nkrumah who went on to lead Ghana, Jomo Kenyatta who went on to lead Kenya, Hastings Banda who went on to lead Malawai and two important Nigerians Jaja Wachuku and Obafemi Awolowo. Despite the impressive attendees the conference was not meaningfully covered by the press (not surprising) but it should have been. The 5th Pan-
Africa Movement marked a turning point from a passive to active movement and it’s main effort spun the decolonisation effort around Africa.
When you compared the situation of Nigeria to other African countries we were not doing so bad. We were not independent like Ghana neither were we at a dire state like South Africa, Nigerian’s main export of cocoa, palm oil and peanuts contributed to a large trading surplus. Many expected Nigeria to be the foremost state of the continent, unfortunately that’s not what happened.
Over the years since then Nigeria had been handed to young military men to lead, following a series of coup and civil wars, it was clear that the Military could not rescue the country from collapse. Nigerians external reputation was at an all time low and it was clear the military had to go. Pressure was put on Babangida to begin a transition program which would push power back to the civilians. Then came MKO Abiola it didn’t matter that we did not know much about his policies, plans or background all we knew is that he was rich and gave money and gifts to everyone. These view are illustrated by the attitude of the ordinary Nigerian back then (arguably still happening), expectations for a new government were low and the focus was on reelecting someone who wouldn’t do much damage. A man like MKO in our option was less likely to steal and given his generosity, continuing to shower Nigerians with gifts and promises. Then came Abacha who detained MKO and Obasanjo, and after Abacha’s death Abdulsalami Abubakar was put in charge to lead the country back to civilian rules.
Obasanjo became the first civil president in 15 years, a historic moment. Eight years after that historic day, Nigeria was in a significantly stronger position than it was. It was make or break and we made it. Whether or not the credit is given to Obasonjo, the facts are clear, external debt reduced from 36bn to 4bn, foreign exchange reserves had risen to 40bn from almost nil. The Nigerian stock exchange market went up by 900%. GDP growth became an average of 7% per annum with a significant portion of that coming from the non oil sectors, new industries such as telecoms had established with significant job creation. The story to tell about Nigeria may seem like a long road of hardship, nevertheless it is the stories we tell, the stories of history that will redefine how we envision the future.
I envision a Nigeria were the creative industry is at the forefront of helping Nigerians gain their respect and honour back. It is already happening, with football, music and our movies. We cannot keep leaving Western media to represent Africa. Our identity is still being suppressed and what does this remind you of ? This reproduced idea of Africa as one huge warzone, potholed roads and a people with their hands held out asking for money has
become a continuing invitation to a new forms of colonialism. Stories like these are traits of colonialism, it is stories like these that perpetuate the idea that NGO’s and multinational conglomerates too have traits of colonialism.
Remember that we tend to feel better about our lives when we hear others have bigger problems than us, so in other words bad news sells well. It’s not just the media, but in other sphere such as academia, international relations, politics and business ‘Africa’ seems to hold a certain image. While this may be true we need to remember to be sensitive when representing ourselves because at the end of the day no representation is going to do us justice than the ones we portray and act out.
Nigeria needs to be seen as a place which has stunned the world by having growing industries, educated people, and investment potential. We are yet to have a microphone of our own on a global stage, no more waiting in line in hopes that others will lend us their eyes and ears from time to time. There are different and often positive stories to be told from Africa’s 54 diverse countries and they need to be told more especially from us! Al Jazeera has succeeded in giving Arabs a voice on the global stage. Where is Africa’s answer to Al Jazeera?
Representation may not transform our country but it can set the stage for economic development that can transform global perceptions about African countries. I feel strongly about how Africa is portrayed, after all if we don’t care about our country, how it is being covered, and what stories are told, who will? If there is something Nigeria still lacks today it is a balanced representation. Nigerians rich have never been richer, yet Nigerians poor have never been poorer. If you care about Nigeria we have a duty to leave a better legacy for successes and we have a responsibility to create a nation we can be proud of.
Reference : Naij – A History of Nigeria, produced by J. Olanrewaju, Nigeria (distributed by an actualize production), DVD, 2hours 35 minutes.
