Vision is what we lacked, and still do (I)

I like to bust myths. I like to interrogate what people have accepted as received wisdom. And this I do by thinking critically about issues. At the back of my mind is that fact that the only way to achieve different results, is to think, and act differently from the past. This attitude comes highly recommended for Nigeria at large. It is the only thing that has ever worked for humanity. This way of thinking is at the base of innovation; and innovation is the driving force of socio-economic development these days, and will continue to be until the end of time. So please forgive me if I sometimes challenge some deeply-held opinions of yours. 

Just a glance at an old picture of Idumota in the 1960 got me thinking. There was a time when Idumota was pristine and orderly. One could see a few Nigerians conducting themselves well, even if they wore no shoes. Carter Bridge was in the forefront. I just discovered it was built in 1901!  Now, all that infrastructure, and this new way of life, was handed to us by the retreating Brits in 1960. Why else was Idumota clean and dandy in 1960? One answer which may sound obvious but which is very true, is that there was a small population in that environment.  Nigeria’s population hadn’t ballooned. And most people remained in their villages. So why is it chaotic today? It is because of the population explosion and rapid, unmanaged urbanization. Let us add one more reason to cover everything else; we had no vision; no critical mass of visionary leaders who could imagine the future and ensure that Nigeria moved in a way that provided for eventualities. And the few we had perhaps weren’t prepared to take every risk to ensure they got Nigeria where it needed to be. It was my friend, Barrister Tunde Irukera, who recently defined leadership at an event I attended, as the ability to take a people to a desired situation, in spite of themselves… yes kicking and screaming. People will talk, and complain. People are known to hate those who love them the most. A leader ignores all that, does the needful and bows out when the ovation is still audible. Or even when there is none at all. 

So, it is this same lack of vision that is responsible for our inability to sustain our educational system. I feel so sad when older people relate how they attended school on full scholarships. Well there was indeed a time that Nigeria paid people’s parents just to encourage them to send their children to school, which was then attended for free – plus extra lunch thrown into the package. There are people who got double scholarships, and were pampered throughout their early lives. There are many people who have been sponsored in many ways by the Nigerian state. Some of them are still with us today, jointly complaining with the rest of us unlucky mortals. What does not occur to many of them is that the visionlessness of leaders then was responsible for the failure to know that such practices were UNSUSTAINABLE. Visionary leaders think sustainability, because they have a way of imagining how things will pan out. They don’t throw caution to the wind. They think of what and when resources might run out.  It is of no use to us today to learn how graduates had four jobs waiting for them, and two cars plus a flat in a choice place. Looked at properly, indeed the jobs of today, the convenience of today, the good living standards of today, had been appropriated yesterday.  Worse, we are now borrowing against our children’s wellbeing 40 years hence!  Because we lacked vision. I was interacting with some youths recently, who didn’t know that a new Toyota Corolla now goes for about N15 million. Even a ‘Tokunbo’ car is beyond the reach of most of our working youth today. Imagine such a reversal in fortune for a country and its people!

 The painful aspect is that till today, some states in Nigeria – north and south – are still in the business of granting unsustainable scholarships to a lucky few who are mostly connected to politicians, to travel abroad and give nothing back to society, when they could have used such monies to make local schools and higher institutions better, or more importantly, to ensure that the millions of deprived children in our society get at least a head-start in life. No vision. Or is it wickedness?

 Even our corruption problem is a great manifestation of lack of vision. But first let me puncture what has become received wisdom; that Murtala Muhammad was the major cause of corruption, decadence and impunity especially in our public sector. I have heard many public servants heap the blame on Murtala. But evidence shows this cannot be true. Their allegation is that by purging the service, Murtala made public servants become desperate and detached. Someone like our current president buys into that idea. That is why one of his first actions after he was sworn in, was to reverse the 8 years tenure limit that Umaru Yar’adua had instituted for permanent secretaries and directors in the service. All that had to happen was for someone to sidle up to him and whisper sweet nothings in his ears about how that limit is making people steal. Now we are back to the era where people sit in positions for decades, adding no value, while their subordinates get frustrated. And they still loot.  This, in a country with an increasing population of competent people. The ‘Idumota’ of the civil service will only become more crowded and chaotic, and yes, more corrupt. 

 Let us look at some evidence. 

 I extracted this from an online article which relied on records kept by the British colonisers – as far back as 1940:

“Federal Representative and Minister of Aviation, KO Mbadiwe, flaunted his wealth by building a palace in his hometown. When asked where he had gotten the money to build such a mansion, KO replied, ”From sources known and unknown.””

“Minister of Finance Chief FS Okotie-Eboh responded to charges of accumulation of wealth by government officers by quoting from the Bible, “To those that have, more shall be given. From those that do not have, shall be taken even the little they have.””

In the same article it was detailed how ACB – the Bank – was wrecked in 1952 by reckless borrowing by one of Nigeria’s prime nationalists, and how the Western Region Marketing Board was bankrupted from a positive position of 6.2 million pounds in 1954, to negative 2.5 milion pounds in 1962. It was recorded that the company granted a loan of 6.7 million pounds of which only 500,000 pounds was ever repaid. Another nationalist was implicated. EFCC-type agencies are not a new phenomenon. As far back as 1947 commissions of inquiry were held to investigate cases of corruption. By 1955, an inquiry into the Igbo-Etiti District Council revealed in its report that there was ‘systemic corruption’ in the appointment and promotion of staff, and the award of contracts. The report also stated that “bribes of £80 to £100 were demanded for unnecessary appointments. The brother of the Secretary to the District Council was hired above a more qualified applicant.  In one case, a man paid a £400 bribe to secure a post and was never refunded his money when he did not get the job.”

More next week.