Militarisation of Highways in Nigeria – Democracy Dividend?

Introduction

You need to travel around the country on intra-state or inter-state business to realise that contradictory and complex political contexts exists. Interaction is one measures of advancement and progress within a territory and physical interaction via arterial routes and especially highways is an important variable. Since no society is self-dependent, independent or isolated, unimpeded interaction allows for trade, supply of shortages and meeting demand obligations. Nigeria, her communities and multi-nations have engaged in these interactions for thousands of years before New Economic Geography arrived behind Washington Consensus. The question now is why are these lifelines dominated and choked each day by members of Nigerian Armed Forces?

Stillborn Democracy

One of the worst expressions which rightly mirror ontological stupidity is the media adoption of ‘nascent democracy’ as code to narrowly legitimise appropriation of history. Sadly revisionists continue to signpost Nigeria and her peoples with a 1914 start up. No, the glorious peoples of various nations under Nigeria’s current leaking umbrella have variable histories of democratic experiences over 1000s of years. The idea of regarding democracy in the territory as ‘nascent’ indicates serious historical neglect and abandonment.

Nevertheless, there is unquestioned acknowledgement that the experiments in Nigeria since 1960 are incomplete rather than ‘nascent’. The gaps, holes and ignorance of current implementations in democratic dividends are glaring. One may go as far as regarding the experiences as nuclei of confusion, malfeasance and degradation. At every level of governance the principal stakeholder, the peoples, have continued to be deprived and be marginalised including restricted of their rights of unimpeded travel. Free movement is a right and the current experiment has failed as most highways are imposed with illegal roadblocks manned by uniformed armed members of the armed forces on average of every 4 kilometres. They are unaccountable, extra-judicial and beyond the state though allegedly abuse the same state and her peoples.

The question one now wonders is what is the role of chief state security officer of states? The Executive Governor of each state is constitutionally responsible for protecting his/her citizens and encourage their collective growth including unimpeded movement. If the administrations are civilo-democratic, what are members of Nigerian armed forces doing on their roads in defiance? This is not Afghanistan, France or Germany. This role has failed in every state rather Governors benefit from their status with associate security details and siren to avoid daily humiliation, bully, insults and abuse on the roads. Such serious abdication of responsibility reveals the cancer of current political experience, which is the lack of legitimacy from the people. The people are unprotected, exposed and abandoned.

True Ugly Picture

What does these marauding bands of uniformed armed men do at illegal roadblocks? To all intents and purposes, there is nothing productive from their presence rather on the contrary commuters and drivers live in perpetual fear. In the absence of internal conflict and security deterioration, these armed uniformed men are imposed on each route spread out at almost every 4km to harass, extort, bully, humiliate and abuse innocent Nigerians. Most of the uniformed men are armed with AK – 47 Kalashnikov assault rifle pointed towards each vehicle, towards unarmed civilians and towards fearful citizens. 

Unarmed citizen cannot negotiate with these uniformed armed men who are law unto themselves and who sustain negative view of armed forces ethos, traditions and objectives. Sadly they are also citizens of Nigeria but one must admit their understanding of citizenship is maligned, distorted and disabled. So in summary, the illegal roadblocks are illegal money collecting shops.  Sadly some innocent men, women and children have been killed unlawfully without justice at these odious roadblocks. Quite a dividend of democracy!

Institutional Abuse

While I refrain from US-que glorification of armed forces, I must admit to the fact that the Nigeria I’m aware of has never had the military far away from public life and public space. In any case I do not subscribe to the imposed duality of choice of who runs the state or directs governance.  Nigerian military remains a subject that needs to be studied carefully rather than celebrated without reason or disrespected without calculation. 

However as an institution it is a victim of the project Nigeria from its emergence as a remnant of colonial baggage and post-colonial political reconfigurations.  While its congenital disability is part of a wider problem, the sustained absence of credible & people-friendly image has continued to diminish her ability to meld seamlessly into the society as a force of positive change.

Nevertheless as a former British colony and current client of Washington DC, it stands to reason that Nigerian military remain unreconstructed consumer of strategic geopolitical outputs of the former powers. The absence of internal national identity or distinct coherent cultural template has forced this institution to maintain anti-people image rather than a hope for positive change. In a sense it became a part of consolidation of post-colonial power elite in the newly ‘independent’ countries a la Nigeria. Therefore the Nigerian armed forces is in a cultural, temporal, political and strategic trap struggling to clarify her battered image and identity. Rather it seems to easily go with the flow of meeting wider needs of the power elite. To be part of the wider power elite mean becoming their tool to some extent which involves compromising its military processes and internal coherence greatly to the detriment of her existence as a highly regarded institution in internal affairs.

A summary of the contradiction of Nigerian Armed Forces or military is the imposition of strategic existential threat on the country by the erstwhile head of state on the post-Nigeria-Biafra war hubris that the main problem of the country is how to spend her bulging oil wealth. In the absence of a strategic plan of wealth spending, the country since has descended into a frenzy of cursed irresponsible spending of her natural resources sales. This consolidated military contribution to Nigeria problem or Nigeria question which is now inter-generational. What happens at the illegal roadblocks is rather trickle-down effect of a compromised military rather than mere abuse of military tradition and abuse of law.

In the final analysis, Nigeria military have become an object of fear for ordinary Nigerians especially on the highways, compatriots to be avoided at all cost as some communities will testify; an institution still trapped with colonial mentality and uncertainty in a country confused of her role in a geopolitically reconfiguring world.

Conclusion

One would hope for immediate positive change where the military is withdrawn from Nigerian highways or reverse their daily observation as enemy of progress via extortion, bullying, humiliation and abuse and even extra-judicial killing. Nevertheless it is not easy to shush the military back into the barrack and claim democracy incorporated.  What is currently obtained is a cocktail of political confusion in a vortex that has sucked the military among other things into it. The democratic process or experience to ensure taking responsibilities, that enhances institutional respectability and uplift the common man will and should be unique, negotiated by all (including the military) and committed and uncompromised.  

If recovery of Nigeria’s dignity means that credible military take the helm of affairs, such outcome shouldn’t be surprising, illegal or unwarranted.  Nevertheless our highways and roads should be part of wider geography of free expression, free movement and laboratories for experiencing positive democratic dividends which is currently absent.

Where Does MV Imo State Go From Here?

Introduction

It is interesting to raise an important question on the state of the State. The question is rather an admission of a disconnect between the rhetoric and substance of the current administration in Owerri. There is also a subtext in a grand narrative of Igbo nationalism which situates its raison d’etre on marginalisation by the Federal government of Nigeria. While there may be legitimacy on the grand narrative, evidence on the ground indicates rather bankruptcy of leadership of the current administration which is masked with great degree of competence.

Post-Ikiri Regime

One of the significant developments in Imo State politics post-Mbakwe is the difficulty of having an administration in Owerri that makes the effort to perceive the whole of the State as her constituency.  It is no gimmick to conclude that even from the grave, Chief Sam Mbakwe PhD, remains the man to beat in leadership of Imo State. Fast forward to the current administration of Owelle Rochas Okorocha, a few issues refused to be addressed in the euphoria that brought him to the fore of leadership.

By now it is no longer denied that his honeymoon is over. Nevertheless it is crucial to reverse back to how he emerged to occupy Owerri.  In the climate of abysmal performance, alleged malfeasance and incompetence of Mr Ikedi Ohakim; the zeal for his replacement by the population by anyone from another party foreclosed any attempt to critically review potential options.  Owelle Rochas Okoracha has no pedigree in democratic tradition and public administration however he had the convergence of time, connection and place to elevate him to realise his ‘aspiration’. Of course he was duly (s)elected with all the pregnant expectations in the world and he didn’t fail the rhetoric test with hyperbolic Restoration Agenda.  

One must situate his emergence in the socio-economic context to begin to delineate some realities. He may have started as a common man but prior to vying for the top seat; his association with common man/woman has turned into using them as tools. He is one of the power elites via powerful connections.  Secondly, while Imo State population ran wild in expectation, masked underneath is raw ambition for greater things of which the same population are excluded.

Power Corrupts

A few years into office one beginnings to wonder what it takes to transforms a State that receives its full share of the Federal allocation. For one who claims to know and understand intergenerational pain of Ndi Imo, there is no evidence of policy implementation that indicates a strategic vision, production-oriented strategies and capacity development even with infrastructural investment.  What we are unpleasantly confronted with is consistent expansion of consumption economy, poorly implemented infrastructural contracts and potential for extending abandoned project syndrome. No credible production firm have been completed and signed off. While the noise of foreign investment is litany, even efforts of well-meaning domestic capability are not encouraged. 

For all the foreign travels, there is little to show for it. What do you expect from a visit to Kovoso, the basket case of Europe? Why would an Imo State governor visit a beggar for investment in the guise of Kosovo, whose top officials including Prime Minister, have been accused  of among others of drug running, human organ trafficking and all sort?

While Nnewi is less than 150km from Owerri as a template for serious minded development, I doubt if her significance mean much to the new power elites in Owerri. Rather air miles are accumulated probably for miscellaneous accumulation. In summary Restoration Agenda has failed to fly and may not fly after all.

Project Igbo President

Fast forward to the last few months, you wonder why Imo State with so much potential only remains a potential. The governor (s)elected on sympathy has abandoned the sympathy to project his grand geopolitical aspiration for Nigeria. Whether real or imagined, he has joined the ongoing reconfiguration of national political platforms for 2015 before he completed a term in office.  I would have expected someone in that capacity to maintain a positive relationship with Abuja in other to attract various resources and investment to the State as a measure of leadership dividend to consolidate his capacity to run for second term. There are a number of federal projects in the state including dualisation of Owerri-Aba road which can be switched off by the Fed but saved if GEJ calculating for second term under PDP banner.  A political leader takes his/her chance but patience and hard calculation marks out the boys from the men.

Now I am very much aware that the fig leaf of such ill-fated aspiration will be the old mantra of Igbo marginalisation in the leaking umbrella called Nigeria.  Who will buy such expired product? The truth is that Ndigbo are holding themselves down. If Igbo leadership at State and Local levels fail miserably to invest strategically with their share of the national cake, forget about blaming others/outsiders.  This farce peddled by among others the top-echelon of non-elected branch of power elites called Ohaneze has failed badly to whip up expected concern.  Therefore it is very sad that Owelle Rochas Okorocha has joined the long list of failing leaders in Igboland who refuse to credibility lift their people up when they had the chance. In any case his Restoration Agenda is a personal project masked with public/collective legitimacy.

Conclusion

In final analysis it goes back to the primary problem of Igbo (political) leaders at various level within and beyond Igboland; identity crisis. The consistency at proclaiming confusion as identity is now pushing into an intergenerational patrimony with little or no positive dividend. The elevated understanding of everyone/neighbours but oneself is gradually becoming pathological because while self-preservation motivates both personal and collective aspiration, the absence of nuanced objective and clear ontology is a problematic.  In this crisis, Owelle Rochas Okorocha has a gilded seat. This is the burden of the Igbo nation.