June 15, 1966 remains my worst memory – Sarkin Ban Kano
What would you say
is the happiest
moment in your life?
Well, there are so many happy days in my life, but the most striking was the time I received a telegram of cong-ratulations from the premier of Northern Nigeria, Sir Ahmadu Bello (Sardauna of Sokoto). In the telegram, he commended me for articulating the position of my constituency (the north) during a hot debate at the Federal House of Represent-atives. He also commended the role I played in the interest of my party, the Northern Peoples Congress (NPC) as well as the religion of Islam.
And what would you consider your saddest mom-ent in life?
The worst of all was when I woke up on the 15th of February 1966, to see soldiers barricading the parliament building. When I enquired on what had happened, I was told that the premier, the prime minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and the leader of the House, as well as the minister of finance, Chief Okotie Eboh had been picked from their houses to an unknown des-tination. What followed was restlessness, as Sardauna from the North, was killed along with some senior officers in the military. And in the Western region Chief Akintola was also killed, among others. I really grieved because we never imagined a military coup. Those were times when we were never corrupt but worked hard for our people, without caring to loot from the public treasury. It is indeed a day I will never forget.
To what extent can one say that present day Nige-rian politicians have learnt politics from your genera-tion of the First Republic?
Well, it is unfortunate that the present day politicians are young politicians. And why perhaps they could not give responsible leadership like we did, was partly due to the several years of military intervention in governance. So, they found themselves in a difficult situation, since the number of years that the military had spent in power was far greater than that in which the civilian adminis-tration reigned. But I don’t blame them a hundred perc-ent. However, they should strive to give the electorate a responsible leadership, rather than trying to feather their own nest. I suggest they dedicate their lives to their country like we did. During our time, we respected our political party leaderships, and we worked on our party’s ideology with as much party loyalty as humanly possible. They should discard their selfish interest first and foremost, for that is where we differ.
There is the belief that the neglect of traditional rulers by successive govern-ments in Nigeria is respon-sible for the growing insec-urity in the country. Do you subscribe to this view?
I agree with that view. We have been kicking against a series of government refor-ms, the worst of which was the 1976 local government reform. They usurped the powers of emirs, district heads and even ward heads. Ever since, the security sit-uation in the country has deteriorated to alarming pro-portions. Before then, all was well. As Mai Unguwa (ward head) for instance, one could know which stranger was in town. We had a simple met-hod of monitoring people’s movement such that it would be easy to identify who com-mitted what crime. We were able to detect, not only the arrival of strangers in our domains, but also why they were there, and when they would leave.
But now you see hundr-eds of thousands of people trooping into the country, more often without proper immigration papers. Most of them are criminals. Add this to the number of unemployed youths caused by policy inc-onsistency, and you will see what I really mean.
Do you also see a logical link between the absence of responsible leadership in today’s Nigeria, and the gro-wing insecurity?
Exactly, when the political leadership took over the roles that royal fathers play in society, what do you expect? When we were in control of social security, things were not so bad.
How do you think Nig-eria can move forward then?
Until such a time when we are prepared to dow-nplay sentiments like eth-no-religious and political issues. Looking at the con-duct of the country’s polit-ical class today, to get there we have a long way to go.
Our differences should have been over sources of strength as a people. We should also provide a fertile ground for people to work, based on merit in both the public and private sectors.
With some eminent Nigerians calling for a Sovereign National Confe-rence, and some challen-ging the legality of the nation’s constitution, do you still see the country reaching the desired dest-ination?
I do not support all these calls for a sovereign National Conference. We don’t need it, since we have a constitution guiding our conduct as well as the exe-cutive and legislative arms of government already in place. We have since agre-ed that there exists a coun-try called Nigeria, and a democratic structure to chart the course of national development. So conferen-ce for what? I see the whole charade as a political gimm-ick. The advocates are mere-ly playing to the gallery. And the sooner they shun this act, the better for the coun-try. We cannot afford to con-tinuously promote confus-ion.
Did you experience similar degrees of agitati-on for a Sovereign Natio-nal Conference during your time?
That time, there was maturity in our approach to issues. And that is why I told you that the military coup of 1966 was an unnec-essary distraction to national development. Indeed, the coup was later the cause of the near break-up of Nigeria. If they (military) had allowed us to continue under the premier and prime ministerial system of government, Nigeria would have been much greater than it is today.
You see, during First Rep-ublic we were dedicated. We had a programme and vision of moving forward, but all of a sudden the Khaki people came and spoilt everything. And that is why the coup represents my worst moment in life. It was really sad that by the grace of the gun, the military uprooted the elected representative of the people. What you have today is the bush fire effect.
So, it was unnecessary to overthrow a stable govern-ment. When the economy was buoyant, there was an understanding government peacefully in place. Even the opposition Action Group was cooperative. On the day of the coup, we, from the North, went to late Zanna Bukar Dipcharima’s house, and summoned the then commissioner – Sir Carmon Brooth. We told him that Sardauna, Akintola and others were killed, and we wanted the British government to inter-vene.
His reply was that the British government could not do anything because its involvement in the case of Southern Rhodesia under Ian Smith, turned into something else. And that we would see what the British government would do for Nigeria. That was how it ended, nothing else happened. It was really sad.
Assuming that things will change for the better, how would you want the nation’s leadership to promote mutual tolerance and purposeful develop-ment?
Well, like I have always said, they should set their priorities right, bearing in mind the purpose for which they were voted. If we had shirked in our responsibility as leaders, we would not have received a pat on the back by the premier of Northern Nigeria. It is my wish to see this generation’s leaders getting similar or more profound commendation. Above all, I want the present day Nigerian leaders to examine their conscience. This, I believe, should serve as the springboard for strengthening the ligaments for building Nigeria together.
At this point in the history of this nation, nothing short of accountable leader-ship should be given to the populace. I foresee a situat-ion in which the nation’s leadership will recognise the pivotal role of the traditional institution, in complementing the efforts of people at var-ious levels of governance.
I don’t want to believe that this generation is blind to the logical link between collective responsibility and purposeful development. All segments of the society can be made great again, if not greater, provided there is political will and a strong dose of patriotism. This requires going an extra-mile with an institutional push by the leadership, and a corresp-onding loyalty from the followership.
Will our leaders embrace these realities, going by the unfolding socio-political and economic scenarios?
I pray they will.
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