Arresting the menace of military banditry in Nigeria
by Blessed Isi Momodu
A thick cloud
of uncertainty is looming once again over the geographical contraption
called Nigeria as the alleged date for assumed election or selection
as the case might be draws near. Events so far have shown that there
is little hope for a change as the military has completely taken over
the act of politicking in Nigeria. This is why it has become necessary
to expose the dangers of this military take over of nearly all facets
of our lives and the overriding need to arrest what could best be
described as acts of military banditry.
It would be
recalled that the West Africa Royal Force was the military formation
of British imperialists to oversee their interest in this sub region.
The interests of the African people and the British were diametrically
opposed to each other as seen by the ruthless suppression of Aba
market women riot of 1929, the Iva valley massacre of 1949 and a host
of other socio-economically exploitative and repressive measures in
the sub region. After the flag independence of 1960, political power
was effectively handed over to a conservative northern oligarchy
dominated by the fulanis rooted in the Sokoto caliphate. Pa Imoudu and
his class allies who did the actual fighting for real independence
were checkmated in the negotiated flag independence. The Nigerian
section of the Royal force became the Nigerian army retaining the form
and content of such imperialist military organisation like the Royal
force in West Africa.It was after the July 1966 counter coup that
killed Gen. Ironsi, in which according to Prof. Kirk Green History of
Nigeria Vol. II, British officers serving in the north actively
participated in the planning and execution of that coup that the
northern oligarchy took complete control of the military. Since then,
it has used the military in collaboration with international finance
capital not only to hold Nigeria together by force as seen by the near
annihilation of Biafra but also as a tool to harass, intimidate, kill,
maim perceived enemies and other ethnic minorities and most
importantly as cheap means of primitive accumulation. An unfolding
scenario in Nigeria is that the political wing of the ruling class has
subordinated itself to the military wing. This has been made possible
by decades of military banditry.
It is an open
secret that the Nigerian army maintained by tax payers’ money sees the
Nigerian people as its enemy. This is its military doctrine. An
unending list of facts tends to buttress this assertion. Just a few, a
journalist called Amakri who had the temerity to publish a critical
article on the birth day of the military governor of then rivers
state under the military dictatorship of Yakubu Gowon had his head
shaven with broken bottles, in 1978 when Nigerian students protested
against obnoxious world bank loan, OBJ military regime mowed down
scores of defenceless students and youths, under the notorious
military dictatorship of deceitful IBB, the Iri town in the Niger
Delta was wiped out of existence, Journalists were harassed, killed
and press house closed. Abacha’s madness, day light robbery of our
treasury, though now being celebrated in some bourgeois circles, is
still fresh in our minds. When virile, purposeful, democratic student
unionism in the 80’s was serving as leadership training centre for
Nigerian youths, the IBB military dictatorship openly sponsored secret
cults to thwart it, leftist intellectuals were dismissed from the
universities with the fraudulent statement that they are teaching what
they are paid not to teach. Today, are we not living witnesses to the
menace of cultism not only on campuses but in the larger society?
Recently we have head of the massacres of Odi and Zakibiam. Fela
Anikulakpokuti of blessed memory recognised the danger posed by the
Nigerian army to its people when he started war through his music
against these rogues in military uniform. But alas, he was lampooned
and disparaged as schizophrenic.
It is visible
to the blind that the Nigerian military whether in or out of
government will continue to snuff out lives from the Nigerian people
as seen by the Jan 2002 explosions in Ikeja military cantonment.
A look at the
present political dispensation has shown that almost all the political
parties are dominated by retired military bandits and their booth
lickers using their stolen wealth to intimidate, harass and kill
unsuspecting Nigerians. Also, members of boards of corporations
whether public or private are overwhelmingly erstwhile military men.
Is it mining sector or oil sector, these military gangsters have
become ubiquitous.
It is
bourgeois sophistry for members of the ruling class to say these
discredited military men can contest election after all ex military
men in the United States have contested and won election. The
questions to be asked are, did these respected generals in the States
loot American treasury? Did they kill and maim innocent Americans, did
they have fat Bank accounts any where in Africa? Is it not common
knowledge that these pepper soup or weeping generals after getting
drunk in mammy markets sit down the next day to award themselves
undeserved military titles? What contribution did IBB, Abacha, Useni,
Adisa etc make to advance military warfare that earned them their
badges? If they are to work even as assumed generals 40 hours a week
for say a 100 years , will they have their present wealth?
The fact is that by the criminal looting of oil money from the Niger
Delta, these military bandits in Nigeria have placed themselves in a
vantaged position. This write up is a clarion call on genuine leftist
and radical intellectuals to return to the political trenches, help
strengthen democratic institutions, NGOs, help fight for independent
unionism in the police and military,bring back the class question into
the polity that has now been hijacked by ethnic irredentists,
religious bigots, pseudo-intellectuals, budding fascists as a way of
arresting a culture of mediocrity and military banditry that has
eclipsed that part of the world presently called Nigeria. [back
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