The title of this
article should ring a bell to any Nigerian who was an adult or a youth between
1979 and 1984. I was born in1985, therefore I was only able to read about the Regime of Hope in history and because I
was born during this regime this makes me believe strongly that the principles
of this regime were imbibed in me at birth and that has made me a disciplined
and upright person even in a society filled with moral decadence. That is my
own superstition!
The Regime of Hope was the military regime
that took over government from the civilian government of the Alhaji Usman
Aliyu Shehu Shagari-led administration of 1979-1983 in Nigeria. The democratic
government was actually overthrown by a military coup. Although I prefer a
democratic rule to a military one because of the Rule of Law, Freedom of
Speech, Respect for Human Rights, etc. which are the basis of a true democracy. But because of the kind
of democracy practiced in Nigeria in the past, the military had reasons to take
over government from the civilian. The military government of Major General
Muhammadu Buhari and his Chief of Staff, Brigadier Babatunde A. Idiagbon which
began on December 31, 1983 was called the REGIME OF HOPE. And after reading
about most of the activities of this regime, I had always hoped for a regime
like that in Nigeria which I will not read about but experience it myself.
Before I begin my
discussion proper, I would like to give a short excerpt from a 42 paged booklet
which is titled Regime of Hope. This
booklet was actually produced by that same regime of hope I talked about in the
previous paragraph to orientate Nigerians about the regime.
Introduction
This booklet as the
title suggests becomes necessary and important because of the return to power
of the military in this country barely four years after they had relinquished
power to civilians.
The chequered
history of Nigeria since Independence has seen her through many changes of
government. Within this period, Nigeria has had fluctuating fortunes as a
country. Often she had stood on the brink of political disaster but had been
saved by some timely intervention.
The Civilian governments
throughout the country, denuded and eroded all hopes of the average Nigerian
citizen for a better life and a greater tomorrow.
Brazen acts of
indiscipline in all its ramifications were the other of the day.
Misappropriation of public funds amounting to billions of naira from the
nation’s treasury went on unchallenged.
Oil merchants and
agents emerged overnight owing their massive wealth to illegal oil deals.
Contracts were over
inflated in order to raise the amount of kick-backs for unscrupulous officials.
Food prices began
to rise. Salaries of civil servants and teachers fell into arrears by several
months, schools lacked text-books and hospitals ran short of drugs.
Life and property
became unsafe as everyone became a law unto himself.
At this point, the
average Nigerian citizen yearned for a change. He prayed for a better government.
And when the military intervened in the early hours of December 31, 1983, all
Nigerians jubilated for the dawn of a new era, the beginning of A REGIME OF
HOPE.
This booklet is a
catalogue of measures and efforts made by the new military regime since it came
to power to give the nation a fresh lease of life.
(Excerpt from REGIME OF HOPE, produced and published
by Federal Ministry of Information, Social Welfare, Youth, Sports and Culture,
Domestic Publicity Division, Ikoyi Road, Ikoyi-Lagos.)
According to the reasons
given in this excerpt and in the spirit of patriotism and love for the
fatherland, I agree that the military seizure of power in Nigeria in 1983 was
justifiable owing to the political and economic abyss in the country at that
time. And what prompted me to write this article is not just to analyze the
governments of Nigeria in the past, but to also compare them with the current
situation in the country. In other to achieve this aim, it is mandatory to make
a quick comparison between the governments of Nigeria in the past and the
present. Starting with the democratic government of Nigeria from 1979 to 1983,
this government proved weak in the building of a country on democratic values.
And the military took over. Now another era of democracy began in 1999 in the
country. These regimes were not only similar to the 1979 to 1983 regime in
terms of corrupt practices; these regimes took corruption to the highest level.
In this period in time, the political, economic and societal decadence in the
country was far more than that of the 1979 to 1983 situation that led the
military to take over. But why couldn’t the military take over since 1999
democratic or civilian regime? The administration of these regimes did not only
increase the deplorable state of the nation’s economy, politics and level of
corruption, it also crippled the military to prevent it from taking over
government again by retiring its generals who are capable of organizing a
military intervention.
A Flashback to the history of politics in Nigeria is sincerely
necessary to help explain and discuss the aims in this article. It also helps
us to better understand and analyze the present politics in the country. Since 1979,
the best government that served Nigerians well was the Regime of Hope, because
it practiced a government based on discipline,
true patriotism, responsibility, respect and protection for life, etc. And having
read much about the regime of hope, I had always wished to experience that kind
of regime myself and even imagined a government in Nigeria where Major Gen.
Muhammadu Buhari or Brigadier Babatunde Idiagbon would be the president or head
of state as the case may be just to have a taste of it.
The administration in
Nigeria from 2007 to date is the only administration which from my experience
of democracy since 1999 has attempted and is still attempting to practice a
true democracy. It tries to destroy the structures and principles of the Nigerian Democracy (democracy of deceit)
which it met on ground. By so doing this government is definitely the present
prototype of the Regime of Hope. It is upon this basis that Nigerians must stop
ethnical, partial and partisan politics and be ready to support any government
which is re-creating and re-branding our democracy according to the real
principles of democracy. As a Nigerian and a political observer, I discovered
that the present democratic administration in Nigeria is getting closer to the
type of democratic government we have been praying for although we still wish
for something better and that is why I believe this is our present Regime of Hope, only that it takes a
non-partial observer to see this clearly.
The only problem I see
with this present administration of Nigeria is that it takes only optimistic
and long-sighted observers to see the real positivity in administration.
Although that is in the real sense not a problem. And I have always wondered
why it is so difficult for many Nigerians to sacrifice for the future of this
nation. We want a better Nigeria but do not want to pay the price for it. If
great men of America could pay huge sacrifice hundreds of years ago for the
present Americans, why can we not sacrifice today for the unborn Nigerians?
Issues are clear, I am not among Nigerians hoping for a better Nigeria, I
already found Hope in this present
administration and will support it to partake in the building of a better
Nigeria, which many are still hoping for, and in life I will be proud to count
myself among those who actively or passively built a better Nigeria.
By
Kunle Adesokan
