“In my humble opinion, democracy is the best kind of government and the rule of law man’s victory over the capricious use of power.”Obafemi Awolowo, Chief (1909-1987).
Any nation that has lost its history will undoubtedly be condemned to a lack of a thorough knowledge of its political, social, and cultural values. Up until recently, Nigeria was at a crossroads when Olusegun Obasanjo, the country’s president, outlawed history as a subject in schools for the vile purpose of trying to hide his shady political past.
Any Nigerian who is currently forty years of age or older may not, unless they work for it, have any historical awareness of the significance of our late political icon and sage, Chief Jeremiah Oyeniyi Obafemi Awolowo, to our wonderful nation because of Obasanjo’s local and presidential insensitivity. Awolowo passed away on May 9, 1987, and is still regarded as the unquestionable founder of progressive politics in Nigeria.
I apologize to the late Biafran warlord Dim Odumegwu Ojukwu, but Awolowo will always be remembered as the “best president Nigeria never had” because of his lasting contributions. Furthermore, Awolowo will always be regarded as the most prominent, knowledgeable, and powerful one-man political opposition this potentially great nation has ever produced—as long as Nigeria exists. Awolowo was as powerful as his political groups, which spanned the first and second republics, during his lifetime. His political group, the Action Group, AG, which he founded on March 21, 1951, was as powerful as he was throughout the first republic. More significantly, the party was a rift in the fabric of the central government at the time and was firmly established in the hearts of his people.
Ignoring Awolowo, a successful opposition leader at the time, would have put the ruling party in danger politically. The nunc dimittis of that political epoch was signaled by his imprisonment during the first republic. At the time, the Awolowo opposition phenomenon was so powerful.
In the second republic, fast forward. Awolowo ran under his progressive Unity Party of Nigeria, or UPN, but was unsuccessful. While his UPN had the greatest and most empirically supported political party manifesto/program in Nigerian history, Awolowo continued to be a particularly powerful and effective opposition voice against mal-governance until the fall of that republic and beyond.
It is founded on Awolowo’s welfare-socialism political philosophy, which he developed when he was the Western Region’s premier in the 1950s and founded the Action Group party. No Nigerian, educated or not, can dispute Awolowo’s developmental and progressive influence, which has made his region one that other sections of the country follow and envy, whether in the ancient western region, modern southwestern Nigeria, or the entire country. The policies that his party successfully implemented—free health care, free education at all levels, full employment for all residents, and integrated rural development—were deemed too idealistic to be implemented by the nation’s succeeding administrations.
Awolowo’s ability to oppose is unselfish, intellectually critical, and prophetic. The “ship of state is fast approaching a huge rock,” he said in a 1981 letter to President Shehu Shagari of the National Party of Nigeria, or NPN, warning that Nigeria would suffer “unspeakable disaster” if nothing changed.
His warning was unheard, and the disastrous results are, as they say, history. In the southwest region of Nigeria, no political party has been able to duplicate the Awolowo uniform cardinal program magic wand, not even in modern-day Nigeria.
The authoritarian Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida established a Political Bureau under the leadership of Professor Samuel Cookey just months after seizing power in a military takeover in August 1985. As was to be expected at the time, Awolowo was one of several prominent Nigerians invited by the Bureau. But when no one else did, Awolowo bravely identified the Babangida abracadabra in his letter to Professor Cookey dated February 28, 1986. “I do fervently and will continue to fervently pray that I may be proved wrong,” he said, speaking truth to ruthless military force. Because something in me makes it quite evident that the search we have started is pointless. We would ultimately be quite disappointed when we imagine that the new order has arrived. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the current president of Nigeria, was one of the members of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) group that emerged from the horrific conclusion of that experience, which prevented Nigeria from having its best elections ever. At the time, few Nigerians took him seriously.
No opposition leader in modern-day Nigeria possesses the political ideological discipline and selflessness of an Awolowo. Across current political boundaries, we now have avaricious political harlots posing as advocates for the public. They attack the current administration and ruling leaders for financial and appointment chances and criticize for their own personal gain rather than the good of the group.
Awolowo offered a strong basis of political resistance. Whether you love him or hate him, there is no denying his political savvy, moral integrity, and unwavering discipline. The administration of that day trembled when Awolowo spoke. He was the moral and political conscience of his day, something Nigeria has yet to replicate. Awolowo offered alternative viewpoints free of pointless oppositional critique in response to a shared national dilemma.
In contrast to Awolowo’s selfless oppositional model, modern opposition squandered a great deal of time, effort, and money settling preventable internal party disputes and divisions, leaving little opportunity for any significant checks on the current administration.
There are several instances of power struggles and splits among the nation’s current political parties that hinder the development of significant opposition. Leaders’ avarice for power and insatiable desire for financial gain have put the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the African Democratic Congress (ADC), the Labour Party (LP), and the New Nigerian People’s Party (NNPP) in an avoidable political bind.
These political parties’ leaders lack the political legitimacy and qualifications necessary to persuade voters that they are desirable alternatives to the current administration.
Is it Peter Obi or Atiku Abubakar who have crossed political parties in their excessive desire to control this nation, in violation of any recognized ideology? Is Rabiu Kwankwaso or any of the former politicians running for president without any set policy programs or principles?
Nigeria’s opposition is dispersed and lacks coherence. Without a cohesive or alternative vision for governance, they continue to harbor the fantasy of taking power in this chaotic condition. Where is the intended strategic course instead of the opposition’s present disorganized and feeble front?
Is it possible for the current opposition to hold the ruling party effectively accountable? The opposition of today lacks a clear ideology. Instead of reinforcing their opposing base, they are more concerned with facilitating easy alignment with the ruling party. Due to the absence of a strong message from the political establishment, it is understandable why the opposition consistently finds it difficult to carve out a place in the electoral landscape.
Today’s opposition is still looking for a “Awolowo,” and finding answers to the nation’s ongoing security and economic problems is becoming more and more difficult.
Hon. Dr. Philip “Okanga” Agbese, a transformative leader in Enone. Discover his achievements, community projects, and vision for 2027
