Gains made by nationalists have been liquidated —Amaechi, Nigeria’s First Republic minister

Now in his 90s, Nigeria’s first Minister of Aviation, Chief Mbazulike Amaechi is full of fond memories about the struggle he and other nationalists led to secure independence for the country in 1960. Today, he is furious over how successive administrations have ran the nation aground, in spite of its immense opportunities and potential 60 years ago. KUNLE ODEREMI brings the excerpts of an interview with the elder statesman.

How was the country before it became independent in October on October 1, 1960; what are some of your fond memories?

The British came to Nigeria after the Berlin Conference of 1884 in South Africa. They established the area they called Nigeria and divided it into two zones. They ruled the northern side separately and the southern side too separately with the headquarters in Lagos and Calabar. Then in 1914, Lord Lugard merged the Northern and the Southern territories because the revenue from the North was very scanty and not enough to sustain the North. Then, the headquarters was moved from Lokoja to Lagos and they continued to rule Nigeria that way; the missionaries soon followed him just to enable him to indicate enough to be able to understand how to deal with them and so on and so forth, not for the purpose of leaving their country for them. In the late 20s, people like Herbert Macaulay and others founded the Nigerian Youths Movement (NYM). They included such people as Alakija, Samuel Akinsanya, who became the Odemo of Ishara. After the First World War ended, Nigerian soldiers who were forced to fight on the side of Britain, were demobilised. They came back and there was a growing consciousness. So, people started asking for positions in the civil service because at that time, there was discrimination; a black man was not allowed to live in Ikoyi and visit European hospital. You had African hospital; European clubs, African club, and so on based on racial discrimination. An African did a same similar job with a European but earned a lower salary. People became agitated about the discrimination. So, in 1945, there was a protracted railway strike led by Michael Imoudu. Many of those that led the strike were sacked. So, Zik established a number of newspapers because he thought that educating the people was very essential for the struggle: the West African Pilot in Lagos; Eastern Nigeria Guardian in Port Harcourt, Southern Nigeria Defender in Ibadan; Comet in Kano and the Nigerian Spokesman in Onitsha. The chain of newspapers indeed were founded to propagate political education and awareness. And by 1945, the Nigerian National Democratic Party (NDP) and the Nigerian Youth Movement (NYM) were abandoned because they were not active enough; a new body called the National Council of Nigeria and Cameroons (NCNC) was formed under the leadership of Herbert Macaulay.  Then, he was in his 80s. The leaders undertook a nationwide tour to collect mandate to go to Britain to ask for independence for Nigeria. In the course of the tour, Herbert Macaulay suffered a serious health challenge in Kano. He was taken to Lagos where he died. So, Azikiwe became the leader and president of the NCNC. Chief ObafemiAwolowo returned from overseas and established the Action Group. Later, the North formed the Northern Peoples Congress (NPC) under the leadership of the Sardauna of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello.

Why did it take so long before Nigeria could attain independence from Britain?

At that time, educated people were very few. There were no Nigerians in the system. The highest ranked Nigerians in the army then were Lieutenants and there were just two: Ugboma and AguiyiIronsi. At the time of Independence, the whole northern Region had only one medical doctor; one DrDikko and only one lawyer, AbdulRasaq, who died recently. Then in 1948, a radical organisation of the NCNC was formed: the Zikist Movement because the youths were pressing for more revolutionary measures but the elders were afraid of the white man sending them to prison and other forms of persecution. When some of us came in, we formed the Zikist Movement and in 1959, we delivered a lecture calling for a revolution in the country and the British authorities arrested us and sent us to various prisons across the country.  In 1960, we came out from the prisons. They banned the Zikist Movement. So, we changed the name to the NCNC Youth Association. Ayo Adebanjo and others formed the Action Group Youth Association. Even though we belonged to different political parties, we collaborated as youths fighting for independence for the country. We sustained the tempo of the struggle, which eventually led to the country attaining independence on October 1, 1960.

Coming back to your question, what happened was that during the election, the NCNC, with its allies in NEPU, scored about 2.5 million votes; the AG polled 1.51 million votes and the NPC got a total of 1.53 million votes. Yet,  the NPC said because there was a clause that was entered in the Lancaster House Agreement that if any region of Nigeria objected to having independence in 1960, then Independence would be postponed indefinitely. So, the NPC decided that if we denied them the position of prime minister, they would opt out of our independence. We in the NCNC were very serious about Nigeria gaining independence; we decided to compromise. That was how the NPC produced the prime minister and he continued in that office until 1966 when some unpatriotic military elements struck and took over the affairs of the country.

 How did that intervention by the military affect the country; in what specific ways?

They took over the country; led it into a civil war. The civil war divided the unity and understanding in the country and in all, they exorcised a section of the country and started using the Igbo as slaves, and not as equals in the whole thing because they crushed the Igbos who wanted to go to Biafra. The Igbo are not being treated fairly in the country.

Look at everything we started in the country, they have been liquidated. I was the Minister of Aviation. I know what effort I made to set up a standard and viable national airline, the Nigeria Airways. But the military destroyed everything. They only know how to loot and kill. Look at what is happening in the government circle now! And in any case, I am the only remaining Minister of the First Republic in this country out of the whole ministers from Balewa cabinet. Do they remember me; do they know where I am? They don’t even know my address; they don’t even know me.  They are not interested in governance; they are trained to loot and destroy and that is exactly what those in government are doing.

Are you saying that even under the civilian dispensation so far, they do not bother about you as an elder statesman?

As far as I am concerned, neither the civilian state government nor the Federal Government has ever invited me to even take part in the Independence celebrations. They said that they are celebrating 60 years of Nigeria’s independence now, they don’t even remember people like us. It doesn’t matter to them. They steal all the money belonging to the country and stash it in foreign banks. They produce indolent children because their children don’t need to work; they live indolently for life and they themselves are dying of diabetes and other chronic diseases. Useless people!

What was the kind of rapport that existed among the political leaders from different ethnic backgrounds and geographical locations: North, east, west and so on?

These days, ministers often engage in discordant tunes over state policies and programmes.

We had ministers from the North; we had ministers from the West; we had ministers from the East, as we had only one East as at that time. There was no South-South that time. Every year, there was a budget and each ministry had its own budget. If a minister wanted to take a substantial part of it, he would go to the Council of Ministers with a memorandum stating how the money would be spent and on what.  He would attach a certificate from the minister of finance that the amount he was asking for was within the budget of his ministry and that the money had not been spent. We would examine the merit and value of the memo and approve. A minister never handled money; permanent secretaries and directors of finance in every ministry handled money or the accountant general. So, there was no way a minister could steal public fund. But this time around, I don’t know how they do it! Governors have the key to the treasury of their states in their pockets.

So, what went wrong on the issue of transparency and accountability in government circle? Was it because we opened a parliamentary system then that there was relative sanity or it is a function of the human element?

No, it was the human element. We went into government as nationalists, who fought for independence. We went in for what we could give and offer in terms of service. But the people who are going to government now are maiming and killing people to capture power for what they can get out of government. That is the difference.

 Should we go back to a parliamentary arrangement, following the demerits some observers have used to pooh-pooh the presidential system of government in the country?

My honest view is that what we are operating now is expensive. The country cannot afford it. When a governor is travelling, a fleet of 15 cars or more are in his convoy. During our days, a minister only had one official car and another car used as advance. Now, a minister has a large number of special advisers, special assistants, a retinue of security details and they have access to money. We didn’t have access to money; that’s why we had permanent secretaries; a minister can come today and leave tomorrow but a permanent secretary remains in the system.

What will you suggest as the way out of the increasing wave of ethnic agitations for self-determination and restructuring? What does the current trend portend for the future of Nigeria?

There should be restructuring; let’s have a peoples’ constitution.

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