Two personalities were mentioned in the Holy Bible as Shamgar. Both in the book of Judges, but one is more prominent in the Songs of Deborah.
One of them, in the book of Judges, was reported to have repelled the Philistines who attacked regions occupied by the Israelites. This Shamgar finished 600 of the invaders and thus effectively defended his people.
The other Shamgar, mentioned in the Songs of Deborah, was described as an ancient ruler under whose leadership road construction and maintainance were abandoned and communal life got miserable.
No one knew which of the Shamgars a Nigerian seer claimed would win the 1979 Presidential election contested by Alhaji Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari of the National Party of Nigeria, Chief Jeremiah Obafemi Awolowo of the Unity Party of Nigeria, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe of the Nigeria Peoples Party, Malam Aminu Kano of the Peoples Redemption Party and Alhaji Ibrahim Waziri of the Great Nigeria Peoples Party.
The seer insisted the winner is a certain Shamgar. But none of the candidates bear any such name. When Shehu Shagari was declared winner, the seer said his prophesy came to reality. What he couldn’t say was if this Shamgar was the replica of the one who saved Israelites by slaughtering 600 invaders who wanted them wiped off the planet earth or the Shamgar who couldn’t provide roads and made the citizenry miserable.
However, on October 1st 1979, the first civilian President of Nigeria was sworn in, long after British colonial powers transfered political leadership to Nigerian nationals in negotiated circumstances to avoid a socio economic and political convulsion that could further deepen the diminishing British imperial powers. The transfer though remain a major part of the problem that has made our national question unanswerable as yet; because the British left a seed they couldn’t take with them to the Queen as they signed off the country they knew would have to walk on one leg while she struggles to speak with one voice.
With the advent of civil rule, everyone looked up to an effective reunion, healing of collateral wounds, collective progress and global greatness, away from the destructions of years of colonialism, unnecessary civil war heralded by ethnic cleansing that was obviously the machinations of bad governance; and years of unaccountable military dictatorship.
With an accountable government elected by the people, we should lead Africa and let the world see how native African governments can reshape the continent and scramble for markets in Europe rather than submit our continent to further scrambles through neo liberal institutions, the armoury and soldiers of the Third World War. The most deadly war without bullets but policy papers coordinated by the Breton Woods institutions that define good governance and national wealth in relation to how much in capital flights benefits the few who wants the globe in their palms.
Shamgar became the real President the seer talked about. The Songs of Deborah reverberated across the country as hunger and penury became the lot of the Nigerian people. Infrastructures started failing and the country grew in reverse.
Corruption invaded every facets of the Nigerian society in hurricane-like speed. The Shagari regime discredited civilian governance and eventually truncated the growth of democracy such that when a certain Brigadier Sani Abacha anounced the end of the regime through an early morning broadcast on 31st December 1983, three months into Shagari’s second term, the Nigerian public jubilated; not in celebration of the termination of democracy, but the end of mass plundering of our collective wealth, which the politicians mercilessly diverted to their private vaults while the national economy slumped, occasioning an austerity measure which targeted the poor, deepened poverty, chased out many brilliant Nigerian academics and professionals, especially in the medical profession, to other countries. Many of them still don’t have any reason to return to the country, as the country slides deeper in ineptitude as the grand children of that regime have grounded the country in near total wreck.
The Second Republic witnessed the exposure of the ineptitude, criminality and absolute irresponsible nature of the Nigerian ruling class to whom a cultured, disciplined British ruling class had entrusted their outpost.
Corruption was high; very high and ministers and other public officers stole heavily; and they threw stolen wealth at the public without fear. In fact, Adisa Akinloye, the National Chairman of the ruling party had a customised Champagne made in his name to celebrate his birthday, while rice importation became a major source of lavish lifestyles for ministers.
Though, it was all totally bad and as viciously corrupt as Nigeria experiences at the moment, workers rights were not as violated as they have been in recent times. There was only one national strike throughout the period Shagari was President. The first National Minimum Wage was signed by his regime, while May Day, 1st May, which stands globally as a day of reflections by workers and their allies on the sacrifices made by working class protesters who were murdered in Chicago in 1886, became a holiday, first declared by the PRP led government of Kano State under Abubakar Rimi in 1980, followed by Shagari’s Federal Government in 1981 when it became a national holiday.
It is remarkable that when the military dictatorship, led by Major Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, took decisive actions against corruption, most of the people who held public offices between October 1st 1979 and 31st December 1983, including President Shagari, were arrested and investigated for corruption. Shagari was found clean, but most of his ministers and political aquaintances were found guilty.
A leader who can’t control his subordinates is not free of incompetence and ineptitude. President Shagari was clearly just a figure head President while Umaru Diko, his Transport Minister, Akinloye, his party Chairman held sway and dictated the pace and direction our affairs and resources should move. Together they sucked the country dry. Almost sold off Nigeria as a country.
The level of graft, the rascality of politicians who held high offices, the impunity unleashed on the Nigerian people during that republic is though not comparable to the crisis of leadership, vision and good governance Nigeria is currently contending with, but high enough to destroy values, economy and the collective image of our people and country. The resultant effect is the collapse of industry, public infrastructures, education etc. Young graduates who should be in productive employment were left on the streets to choose between crime and hunger.
Corruption, being a systemic product has since the Shagari regime become the only surviving “industry” in Nigeria as it has produced hundreds of multi billionaires without visible sources of income other than stolen public funds and their factory address remain the corridors of power. Pension savings of workers who work hard to create wealth for public use are not spared these days.
As President Shagari marked his 90th birthday a few days ago, it is important Nigerian politicians, especially those currently in leadership learn from the errors and consequences of the second republic, which was terminated by the glaring ineptitude of the Shagari government and the endemic spread of corruption under his leadership. Indeed, the level of corruption under President Goodluck Jonathan is clearly higher and more damaging, but the style remains the same. Party men have massively looted our treasury and they remain untouchable for as long as they remain in the ruling party.
Nigeria is one country without a living statesman of integrity, otherwise, we should have had a national celebration of Shehu Shagari’s birthday, being the first elected President of our country, but looking back at the events under his leadership during the second republic, he can only deserve a reminder of how he missed the opportunity to be celebrated as a credible statesman. But, that won’t stop us from wishing the old man a happy birthday.
Yaqub is an Assistant Secretary at the headquarters of Nigeria Labour Congress, Abuja.
