faulker002

By  Chiedu Uche Okoye Nigeria ’s political troubles and the vexed issue of her disunity date back to our pre-independence era. We should remember that we had the 1953 Kano riot during which the northern people produced the nine point programme and threatened secession, thereafter. And soon after the country had become a sovereign nation-state, it descended into an internecine civil war, which raged for thirty months and caused the loss of millions of human lives. *Nigerian leaders' during the 58th Independence Celebrations  It is a known fact that political squabble, which has existed among the ethnic groups that make up Nigeria , is one of the major features of our political history. Have we forgotten the annulled June 12, 1993 Presidential election, which led Nigeria to a political cul-de-sac? That Nigeria didn’t disintegrate owing to that cancelled Presidential poll is a miracle of high magnitude.  In addition to the political troubles, which have continuously beset o...

By   Chiedu Uche Okoye It’s sad that political ideologues of the first republic, who evinced and manifested the traits of philosopher-kings, couldn’t entrench national unity in Nigeria as they placed primordial and ethnic interests and their personal aspirations above our collective good.  So, they caused the failure of the first republic soon after Nigeria had become a politically independent country. *Atiku Abubakar  As a consequence, Nigeria slipped into a fratricidal civil war, which nearly caused her dismemberment.  The Nigeria-Biafra civil war, which raged for three years, heralded the entrance of the Jackboots and brass hats into our politics. And they would tell us that their military regimes were corrective governments. But, the sad fact as well as the harsh reality is this: they caused the depredation and ruination of our economy, hindered the evolutionary growth of democratic governance in Nigeria , and violated our inalienable fundamental human righ...