The world has changed and is still changing. Today’s modern and efficient societies are but positive mutations of erstwhile powerful empires of the 16^th century, which have lost relevance in the emerging world order. In those days, countries like Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong, which have raised the bar for good governance, would be still-born. It would have been unthinkable to coexist with powerful Mainland China, because size was equated to might. In the same vein, the days of conglomerates and big corporations are numbered. In the current global economic order, big size has become a needless drag on the ability of nations and organizations to deliver expected outcomes to various actors/stakeholders as a condition for sustainable development.

For reality check, can we compare the miniature size of the computer chip and its universal application in modern science and technology? Ditto the tiny cells that make up the superstructure of the human body, including those of tyrants, terrorists, kidnappers and politicians. Societies that have made the most progress in the last century have had to focus on simple things often glossed over by others. In advanced societies, election are won by parties and individuals whose policy choices guarantee simple things like jobs, homes, family values, tax cuts, healthcare, citizenships; and not rocket science, Wall Street rebound, or atomic bombs. Any wonder the global debate on microfinance has paradoxically dwarfed the sky scrapers of Manhattans and London, as a lever for the lingering global financial quagmire?

Unfortunately, simple things appear demeaning for us in Nigeria. As a self-styled “giant of Africa”, we have serially missed greatness because we spurn everything simple. Our love for the loud and grandiose remains the reason we don’t seem to get it. From politics, through our titles, luxury cars and agbada, we feel insulted by anything simple and noble. Even the national economy has been placed on permanent life support machine fueled by crude oil exports, because oil is presently a global big deal. In spite of local and international treatise on proven benefits of diversification of the economy, fake promises by each administration in this regard have paled into the current grim economic cliffhanger on which our collective fate now dangles.

The counterfactual scenario prior to the rain of petro-dollar was a peaceful society, where citizens freely intermingled irrespective of language, religion or tribe. It was a macro environment that produced the groundnut pyramids of Northern Nigeria, the bounty cocoa harvest of the West and the free flow of eastern palm produce. Creative Nigerians who worked hard along the value chain of each of the three export earners eventually became undisputable and genuine millionaires, with a little something for every stakeholder, unlike the cruel income gap we live with today on account of oil. The decentralized structure of the parliamentary system of governance enabled regional governments to adopt development policies that served local needs optimally and contributed to the efficient supply of public goods by the Federal Government. The school system supplied adequate manpower needs of both the public and private sectors, to create a symbiotic fit between demand and supply of labor. There was a pervading sense sufficiency, integrity and self-worth across the entire spectrum of professions.

The singular event that put this dear county on the current auto pilot to nowhere remains the handling of the aftermath of the 1966 coup which abruptly aborted the first republic and not the coup itself. A situation that called for statesmen and intellectuals from all the regions and professions rather brought “area boys” onto the hallowed stage of governance. Ever since, we have done all things we ought not to do and left undone, the critical simple landmines that dot our path to progress. We have replaced diligence with federal character, the dedicated school teacher with political thug as role model, citizenship with state-of-origin, Godliness with religion, scholarship with inordinate craving for wealth, and a hug with a bomb.

If only we can fervently pray as a nation that God removes the crude he generously placed under our feet and possibly takes it to Benin Republic, Ghana or Cameroun; we may have another chance to advance our society. It may yet, dawn a new morning and opportunity for a national introspection and bring to the fore, the simple things that count in our long and hard journey to attain our national potentials. For the most part, crude oil has been the toxic solvent, steadily corroding our politics, cultural values, national ethos, institutions, livelihoods, environment, nationhood, our status as a responsible citizens of the global human community and lately, threatening our faith in God. A Nigeria without oil will leave us with nothing to quarrel about, give us the needed peace to honestly amend our constitution, enable us conduct acceptable census exercise, reduce the population of same day political millionaires amid unprecedented levels of poverty, and most of all, restore the little things that give us joy and sincere laughter. If and only if God will take back this oil.

Author: UGO IHEJIRIKA