For Nigerians with a good sense of History, what’s playing out currently in the country’s political space should be very worrying. They are clear indications of a country which either has not been able to learn from its History or has refused to do so. The outcome in this scenario will be predictable: a descent to anarchy!
Indeed, the situation now, reminds the older generation of the situation in 1966 which led to disastrous consequences.
What happened in 1966?
The country, still in its infancy, was riddled with corruption and violence. So much so that in the western part of the country, matters come to a head that it was given the unwanted alias of “Wild, Wild West.
This state of affairs in the country then, led to the nation’s first coup which was a pivotal moment in Nigeria’s history, leading to significant changes and challenges.
The January 1966 Coup, led by Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu, cited several reasons for the coup:
– Corruption and mismanagement by the government
– Ethnic tensions and regionalism
– Economic instability
– Allegations of electoral malpractice
– Desire for a more unified and stable Nigeria 🇳🇬
Now, the current scenario in the country looks like a return to 1966, with corruption thriving massively alongside election malpractice. The country has fallen into the hands of leaders without conscience who loot and plunder and have now, added intimidation to their long list of infamy.
It is as if some people are anxious to plunge the country into chaos by their unbridled greed and corrupt tendencies.
Last Tuesday the former Anambra State Governor and Presidential Candidate of Labour Party in the last Election, Mr Peter Obi, was attacked by gunmen at a political event in Edo State, even though no life was lost.
The attack had drawn outrage from across the country as to the safety of the opposition.
What amazes one was the threat by Edo State Governor last year that Obi should apply for permission before entering Edo State or else he would not guarantee his safety and Obi should be ready to take whatever he would see. Very serious and unfortunate statement. With what just happened to Obi in Edo State, we may have just seen the consequence of that warning.
We are worried that the country is teetering on the precipice of anarchy by those who should know better. A situation where the ruling party wants to take no prisoners should bother everyone. It will be very unfortunate to treat what happened in Edo State with disdain or not to take it seriously because it happened to Obi. It should be seen as a serious threat to democracy and if left unchecked, could soon become the norm. Those who are not affected today may be affected tomorrow.
Sadly, despite outrage by a section of the populace, no word of condemnation has been heard from the Presidency. It will be asking too much to expect the Southeast Governors to react, given the anxiety of many of them to be politically correct.
The result is that an evil seed of a new wave of violence may have been sown ahead of the 2027 General Elections. This comes shortly after reported cases of ballot box snatching and shooting in the Abuja Municipal Area Election.
The events of 1966 seem to have suddenly returned from what is playing out and we fear that if care is not taken we may descend into anarchy as no one has a monopoly of violence.
May God help us.
