Protocols
Mr Chairman, Your Excellencies, my lords, spirituals and temporals, distinguished ladies and gentlemen. I wish to begin by saying Happy Birthday to Dara Mbazulike Ameachi, the man we used to call the ‘Boy is Good’ the name given to him by our political god father Zik of Africa, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, of blessed memory.
Only a few days ago, in an exchange of Christmas messages, an old friend who is still waxing strong at the age of 94, Chief Ayo Fasanmi made mention of a Nigeria of our dream. When Ayo made mention of the Nigeria of our dream, I quickly remembered our struggle for Nigeria’s independence and the enormous sacrifices made by millions of Nigerians in the cause of that struggle. Some were sent to jail, several were made to lose their means of livelihood, and many paid the supreme sacrifice. Dara Ameachi, Ayo and my humble self are among the few Nigerians still alive today, who fought the British colonial rulers for the independence of our country. We thank Almighty God for this rare privilege.
Chief Amaechi was one of the first few Nigerian youths to setup a militant anti-colonialist movement called the Zikist Movement. Members of this movement comprised of nationalist from all parts of Nigeria, headed by Habib Raji Abdallah, an Abira man from Northern Nigeria, alongside others such as Chief Amaechi himself, Mokugo Okoye and D. C. Ugwu from the Eastern Nigeria, Yahaya Adda, Chief Abagu and Magaji Dambatta from Nothern Nigeria, Olu Fayemi, Kolawole Balogun and Ahaji Ishaq Adewale from the Western Nigeria, and numerous others including Umaru Altine, a Sokoto man resident in Eastern Nigeria, first to be twice elected the Mayor of Enugu during the colonial era. Chief Amaechi was amongst the Zikist movement members to be arrested and imprisoned at the early period of Nationalist struggle in Nigeria.
Our friendship started in the early 1950s, when our two political parties (NEPU and NCNC) joined forces to promote national unity and struggle for independence. My first encounter with Dara, was at an NCNC convention when the party was struggling to redeem its stolen mandate in the 1951 election to the Western House of Assembly, denied through imperialist machinations.
When we were carrying out that struggle, we all had a vision of an independent Nigeria of our dream. We had a vision of a Nigeria free from foreign domination, an egalitarian nation in which all citizens will enjoy freedom and fundamental human right. A nation where all shall be equal before the law and a Nigeria of abundant opportunities, where every citizen will have an opportunity to pursue his ambition to the highest of his abilities. Alas, that dream was suddenly terminated when the military decided to betray their oath of office and overthrow the democratically elected government of our country in 1966. Things have never been easy for the country and the citizens ever since. It is no longer feasible that people like Dara Ameachi, Ayo Fasanmi, myself and many of our contemporaries who are still alive shall not see that Nigeria we all aspired to live in.
Things have been deteriorating with each passing day. From the time when the military decided to truncate our journey to true democracy in 1966, to this very moment, our country has since been practically under military rule either in uniform or in mufti. Patriotism which inspires people to make sacrifices in the interest of their country has been undermined. Political party system, which is meant to be the training ground for leadership cadres, as well as articulating policy for national development and progress, is turned into a mere debating society for individuals who aspire for leadership position out of selfishness and aggrandisement.
Esteemed Ladies and Gentlemen, it is paramount to underscore both the need and urgency for patriotic Nigerians to strive to explore attainable ways of redefining the goal of rebuilding our dear country, Nigeria along that dream. This noble undertaking represents a necessary step in attaining short, medium and long-term objectives of bequeathing a stable, united and prosperous Nigerian entity to our succeeding generations. This is especially in the wake of the recurrent social tensions and outbreak of needless and despicable conflicts across the nation, which are undermining the efforts to advance our country into a greater heights.
In the quest for a better and more prosperous Nigeria, the imperative for canvassing for, and working hard to restore political party supremacy to our polity is of primary significance. Party supremacy is the surest means to sustain democracy everywhere and to create effective insurance and safeguards against the ascendancy of the rule of impunity and dictatorship by those supposedly elected under the same platform.
In this country today, treasury looters are openly decorated with public offices, our judiciary is thoroughly intimidated, resulting in some judges becoming eager to do the bidding of those in power. Unlike in the olden days, love for your country is no longer the criterium for national respect. People in power are in the forefront of disrespecting the judicial pronouncements, our younger generation are not encouraged to imbibe the spirit of patriotism and sacrifice, rather they are made to believe that greatness lies in how quick they can get rich by whatever means.
Unlike many other countries at the same level with our nation at the time of our independence, Nigeria is now left far behind in almost every aspect of human development. A case in point is the position of our defunct national career, the Nigeria Airways. A few years ago, Nigeria Airways was at the same level with some airlines such as Egypt Air, Saudi Airline, and Ethopian Airline. Today, all of these Airlines can boast of owning hundred or more aircrafts in both their domestic and international operations. But today, Nigeria has no national career of her own, with the number of aircrafts belonging to the defunct Nigeria Airways have either sold or vandalised. A visit to countries like South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brazil and a host of others, will enable people to see the difference. The task ahead is to take this country back to the original trajectory so as to enable us to re-connect with the vision of our founding fathers and continue our journey to greatness. This is the challenge the present generation must tackle with all the strength at their disposal. This is a task that must be done in the interest of our survival and progress.
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, sorry for taking so much of your precious time for that narrative. I now wish to congratulate Chief Ameachi on his 90th birthday anniversary and wish him many more years of good life, happiness, peace and prosperity.
Happy birthday Dara.
