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The immediate
challenges before an independent Nigeria in 1960 were how to sustain the
economic growth, foster unity and sustain our leadership role in Africa. These
issues, thus, serve as benchmarks for appraising the progress or otherwise of the
Nigerian nation.
On the morning
of our fiftieth anniversary, I listened to BBC journalists asking Gen. Yakubu
Gowon, former military leader, to list what he feels are the successes of the
nation after fifty years of independence. The general was more emphatic on the
unity of the nation. According to him, the ability of the leaders to ensure the
continued unity of a country with a complex ethnic and religious diversity
should be seen as the greatest success recorded and for which Nigerians should
have something to cheer about. He talked about the civil war his administration
fought to keep the nation as one between 1967 and 1970 as one demonstration of
the ability of the government to live up to expectations. Yes, it is true. The
war succeeded in keeping the nation as one. The point of concern, however, is
that while the people were united, they did so with grudges. It is not that the
Ibos or Biafrans never wanted to be part of Nigeria. They wanted it under
circumstances that ensured their happiness. The leaders never gave Nigerians
generally, this desire up till this point when we are celebrating fifty years
of nationhood.
Music despite
its amazing influence on people is often taken for granted. Without any iota of
contradiction, the music era of the Tufaces, D’banjs, Ashas and the rest has
played a remarkable role in uniting the nation. The industry has given
Nigerians reasons to be proud of their nation. These young men and women have
exported the beautiful Nigerian spirit to all nooks and crannies of the world
through their acts. Suddenly, Nigerians realized that their country has
something that is appealing to the rest of the world after all. The realization
is that there is something in this nation after all and many from north, south,
east and west are opting to be part of the nation.” People should want to be
part of a nation by will and not by coercion. Music has given people reasons to
be part of the nation by will.
While I listened to BBC Africa Have Your Say on the BBC on the eve of Nigeria’s Golden Jubilee, listeners from different parts of the continent were asked to say how the Nigerian culture has influenced them. Nearly all of the youths from Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya and Ghana listed Nigerian music of the era of Dbanj, Tuface and P-Square and the humour in the parlance of Nigerian cultural English (Pidgin English) as the greatest things that have made Nigeria the apple of their eyes. I noticed that these people never wanted to mention the negative parts of our nation. When somebody loves you, you notice that he doesn’t want to talk about your weaknesses.
Along this line,
music has also become the greatest weapon of rebranding for the Nigerian
nation. We must effectively rebrand to preserve our integrity and remain the
leader of Africa. The artists are doing it at no cost to the federal government
that has committed billions of naira to rebranding the image of the nation
since the time of Gen. Sani Abacha.
Critics have
often complained that the current music industry in Nigeria has forgotten the
Nigerian culture as compared to the era of Haruna Ishola, Fela, Sunny Ade and
the rest of them. These old generations of musicians are most cherished by
people around the world who are more interested in the study of the cultural
diversity of the world. While they are there doing their cultural studies, we
are here experiencing the pains of suffering as caused by poverty. The
contemporary music industry, besides working on the Nigerian image abroad, is
also generating money for the artists, their families and communities and
healing the economic wounds of the nation. That is what matters for now. But, I
believe that, the music is merely a reflection of contemporary Nigerian culture
which is gradually succumbing to the West as is the case anywhere else.
At the age of
fifty, this is the contribution the new era of the Nigerian music industry has
made. Only a few politicians have done this much. The industry has achieved
this against all odds such as piracy and the non-challance of the authorities
to the challenges of the industry, despite this obvious capacity to make a remarkable
contribution. Given this, the government should work towards ending piracy and
other challenges of the Nigerian music industry that have demonstrated what it
can do for the nation. According to the Holy Bible, “the greatest thing about
the youths is their strength.” The leaders must know this.
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