By Ayodele Fagbohun
When all or most of the able-body Nigerians, male and female alike, are trained militarily, our needs for defence and for the suppression of large-scale internal disturbance of a violent nature, can be effectively met by appropriate adhoc mobilization– Chief Obafemi Awolowo (1909 – 1987), a foremost nationalist and elder statesman.
Preparatory to the deliberations of proposed Constituent Assembly (CA) to usher in civil rule in the ill-fated Second Republic (1979-1983), Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the late elder statesman vigorously advocated compulsory military training to prevent and combat envisaged security challenges which could arise and become inevitable due to adverse effects of abnormally prolonged military rule in a fast developing, but unplanned or at best plainless economy like Nigeria.
Our problem of insecurity does not arise or emanate from our ethnic differences or diverse religious backgrounds. But essentially through sheer failure of our contemporary leadership ranging from the temporal, secular and spiritual that fail absysmally to harnees the right ingredient of leadership for national development.
The post-war Gen. Yakubu Gowon military era was considered in some quarters a weak megalomaniac, morally bankrupt and not decisive to take the bull by the horns in effectively planning the economy, to channel the enormous resources realised from the oil receipts in meeting the basic social needs and demand of the people by way of free education, employment, infrastructural development across the country and providing for the raining day.
It stands to reason therefore as a results of extreme planlessness of the economy, corruption in official quarters and greed all over the place, the nation is ignited with unrestrained youth restiveness, brigandry, unemployment, lawlessness, bloodletting, and ritual killing reaching the anti-climax of dirty sing song and unpleasant narrative of every one to himself and God for us all.
Law and order have taken flight in the country giving ample room for anarchy and dare devil insecurity to reign unhindered in a society which professes democracy and good governance.
This had been the unfortunate scenario and lots of the country after the Civil War whose masterminds in the two opposing camps were youths under 35 years old, trained and over pampered by their privileged positions in the Nigerian Army which is a public institution.
Colonel Odumegwu Ojukwu, the former Biafran war-lord and General Yakubu Gowon, the war-time Head of State, both devout Christians brought bloody Civil war, strife and tribulation upon the country.
Ever since, the security situation in the country had taken or nosedived to the worse, in global terror and nefarious activities of the Boko Haram, Islamic State in West Africa (ISIS-WA) and other contemptible groups lurching around which could not have seen the light of the day, let alone reared their ugly head if men of violence and soldiers of fortune had not hijacked and infiltrated our system of government right from the onset i.e independence on October 1, 1960.
Successive governments, civilian and military alike are unable to tackle the concomitant security menace arising from the Civil War imbroglio and the wounds continued to fester and rise astronomically beyond their capabilities, and with all venom and monstrosity to swallow the country hook, line and sinker.
It is indeed a clarion call for all stakeholders in Nigeria’s project to heed the timely advice handed down by Dr. Myles Munroe, an international motivational speaker educator and consultant consultant for government and imminent disintegration.
According to Munroe, “every country on earth is challenged by absence of resolute leadership as it struggles under precarious times. Politically, economically and socially, our nations are experiencing turmoil and moral decay-characterised by crime, religious conflict, economic uncertainty, unequal distribution of resource , political corruption, civil unrest and distegration of the family, cyber-crimes, poverty, disease, famine, sexual abuse, greed, racial clashes, ethnic cleans, global terrorism and war.”
He was quick to proffer solution in the following terms: “However, time and again, history shows that the most important quality a true leader should and must possess is the moral force of a noble and stable character” for any embattled nation to overcome her own crisis and challenges’.
To pull Nigeria out from the present security reconsider the must urgently reconsides and imperative for compulsory military training for our able bodied men and women as obtains in the defunct USSR and Israel. This vital provision should be inserted in our constitution.
Fortunately, the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) introduced by General Gown military junta in 1973 could be streamlined and restructured to serve and bolster the architectural apparatus of the country.
Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the leader of men, canvassed compulsory military training for able-bodied men and women out of the intrinsic advantages which could be derivable from the bold policy.
Nigeria will not need indulgence of keeping and maintaining a large army for the country being the so called the giant of Africa, has the largest army in Africa, South of Sahara and use to spend conservatively about 50% (percent ) of our total recurrent expenditure on a negligible few of our teeming population on the army uniform.
In fact, common sense and modern trends in warfare dictate that effectiveness of an army as an offensive and defensive outfit does not necessarily consist in the preponderance of numerical strength. It ipso facto consists basically indiscipline morale and efficiency.
That is the secret of huge success ascribed to the nation of Israel which came into existence in 1948. It is hightime we eschewed our arrogance and vain religious piety and learnt fast at the feet of Israel to overcome our security and agricultural problems.
As a result of abolition of large standing army, the nation would be able to divert to economic and social development, funds which otherwise would not have been available for beneficial purpose.
According to Awolowo, “one of the major causes of inter-ethnic suspicious in Nigeria would be removed. For, when all able bodied Nigerians have been given military training, no group or groups would be prone to accuse or suspect the other group or groups of actually using or wanting to use their predominance in the army to dominate the country. Nor would any group or groups have the incentive or audacity to make ay open misguided and inflammatory pretensions to the effect.”
If we still persist in error and folly, and fail to utilize for national development he invaluable assets and treasure of the late sage, Obafemi Awolowo, as codified in his numerous thought provoking political literature which have grown as master piece, our national efforts in nation building, I am afraid, may be tantamount to child play, mere prattle of hare and hounds which in the ultimate is national mirage and wild goose chase. To be forewarned is to be forearmed.