Extraordinary popular delusions and the madness of politicians

In his famous book, “Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds”, nineteenth century Scottish journalist Charles Mackay showed how mass delusions can drive financial markets into a complete frenzy; plunging national economies into ruin. In his words, “Of all the offspring of Time, Error is the most ancient, and is so old and familiar an acquaintance, that Truth, when discovered, comes upon most of us like an intruder, and meets the intruder’s welcome.”

There are several popular delusions which must be debunked if Nigeria is to make any progress as a civilised political community.

First, there is the myth that our “Founding Fathers” were incorruptible patriots. There is much that I admire about Nnamdi Azikiwe, Ahmadu Bello and Obafemi Awolowo. But they were no saints.

Awolowo was the one person capable of leading our country into the ranks of first-rate industrial-technological nations. But he never could bring himself to transcend the Yoruba pantheon. The infamous Maroko land deal was not defensible in light of his ‘socialist’ pretensions. Although he had the gift of the garb, Azikiwe was not a deep thinker. And he was not immune to corruption. Ahmadu Bello became a martyr of sorts after his tragic assassination in January 1966. But h was not what the popular myths project. He may have fibbed with native authority tax revenues which nearly landed him in jail before he veered into politics. He never considered himself a ‘Nigerian’ in the true sense of that word; seeing our country as a terrain for the pursuit of the Jihadist dreams of his forebears.

Second, there is the myth that the institutions of the First Republic were unassailable and that the only problem had to do with the weak leadership exercised by Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa. That could not be farther from the truth. Sir Abubakar was a decent and good man. The British bequeathed to us a federal structure that was programmed to fail. The classic theory of federalism as espoused by Sir Kenneth Wheare requires that federating units are of relatively equal size such that no one federating unit overshadows the others. The erstwhile Northern Region dwarfed the East and the West in population as well as land mass. As Dame Margery Perham, an authority on colonial government famously observed, the foundations of the Nigerian republic were built on an unstable tripod.

Thirdly, there is the myth that the plot by the Awoists in the 1960s to overthrow the Balewa administration was a mere fabrication. The truth is that Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana mooted the possibility of overthrowing the ‘neo-colonialist’ Balewa regime with Awolowo and his disciples. No smoke without fire.

Fourthly, the notion that the first military coup in January 1966 led by Major Chukwuma Nzeogwu was a ‘patriotic’ coup is nonsense. All the key coup plotters were Igbo and most of the victims were, with a few exceptions, Northerners. The behaviour of the Ironsi administration and the humiliation of the North confirmed the Igbo thesis of the coup.

Fifth, the idea that the pogroms that followed the July 1966 counter-coup were justified is regrettable. The killing of over 300,000 Igbo in the North was genocidal in intent. It is a shameful chapter in our history.

Sixth, the belief that late Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu was the saviour of Ndigbo is a myth. Ojukwu took his people on a tragic misadventure because of his megalomaniac ambitions. Biafra was anchored on personal rule. People who disagreed with him – Nzeogwu, Victor Banjo, Philip Alale and Emmanuel Ifeajuna — were eliminated.

Seventh, the myth that more Igbo people than other Nigerians died during the civil war is untrue. An estimated one million Igbo perished, most of them on account of famine. About 1.5 million other Nigerians, most of them from the Middle Belt, died in the Biafra war. Most were young conscripts unfamiliar with the primeval tropical rainforest and were mowed down as wild game by the Biafrans.

Eighth, the idea that Murtala Mohammed was a hero and Yakubu Gowon a villain is a lie. Yakubu Gowon fought the war “to keep Nigeria one”. He was our greatest leader ever. Murtala was a disastrous field commander whose division perished in Asaba. As leader, he was driven by impulse rather than reason. Our civil service has never recovered from his purges to this day. He also had a sectional rather than a national agenda for Nigeria.

Ninth, the notion that Moshood Abiola was a hero of democracy is a myth. I can understand how “June 12” became a rallying banner for exile patriots who loathed military dictatorship. Abiola was a foreign agent who used his military contacts to amass a stupendous fortune. He had no plan for Nigeria. Anybody who could have so many wives and numberless children could not be considered a responsible man. I sympathise with him over the persecution he suffered and the manner of his death, but I believe he would have been a hopeless president.

Tenth, the idea of “the North” as a single, monolithic entity is a myth. The “North” was a phantasmagoria created by the British. It never existed in the past and does not exist today. The core North is rooted in Jihad. The Middle Belt were never conquered by the Fulanis in history. They do not share the ideals of the Caliphate and their collective interests are in diametrical opposition to each other. Every religiously motivated killing in the North, from Maitatsine to Boko Haram, has served to drive a wedge between the two communities.

On June 24th, marauders in army uniform descended on my own community in Sanga Local Government of Kaduna State, killing 70 defenceless children, women and men, and maiming many more. I never knew that love could be killed that easily. They have certainly killed something in me. The German philosopher Carl Schmitt said that anyone who takes up the sword against you cannot be regarded as a friend. He is an enemy.

OBADIAH MAILAFIA