But (Not) Always as Friends

Olusegun Adeniyi

The title of this column is adapted from the controversial memoir of Sir Bryan Sharwood Smith (1899 to 1983), easily one of the most consequential British colonial officers in Nigeria. Arriving our country in 1921 as an assistant District Officer, the late Smith spent 36 years before retiring in 1957 as the last colonial Governor of Northern Nigeria. Interestingly, he took his memoir’s title, ‘But Always as Friends: Northern Nigeria and the Cameroons (1921–1957)’ from a speech delivered by his friend and then Prime Minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa. The British, according to Balewa in the speech, were regarded by Nigerians “first as masters, then as leaders, finally as partners, but always as friends.”

Considering the exploitation by the British colonialists who adopted a divide and conquer approach between Northern and Southern Nigeria that still haunts even till today, there is a huge question mark on the genuineness of that ‘friendship’. But we cannot discount our colonial experience which perhaps accounts for the significance of President Bola Tinubu’s current State Visit to the UK, 37 years after the last one by then Nigerian military leader, General Ibrahim Babangida. Yesterday morning at the Fairmont Hotel Windsor, Tinubu and the First Lady, Oluremi, received in audience the Prince and Princess of Wales (William and Kate) who later travelled with them to Datchet Road, where they were first hosted to a ceremonial welcome before joining King Charles III and Queen Camilla in a carriage procession to Windsor Castle. 

The Royal pomp and pageantry continued last night with a State Banquet. This morning, the President will visit No. 10 Downing Street for a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Keir Starmer. But perhaps more significantly, Mrs Tinubu’s itinerary this morning begins at the Lambeth Palace where a short church service is being held in her honour before being invited to preach at the chapel. She will also join a reception with representatives from the Church of England and faith charities including Christian Aid and Mothers’ Union, who have supported work in Nigeria. The first lady’s Christian faith has obviously become a huge political asset for her husband.

Meanwhile, on the sidelines of the presidential visit, there have been many Nigerian events in recent days organised by both the private and public sector actors. These include the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) as well as commercial banks and oil companies. Quite expectedly, many of our governors are participating in these sessions. I am also in London to attend some of these conversations whose main objective is to drive investment in Nigeria. But my attitude has always been that as good as these forums may be, they must translate into concrete action in order to advance our people. Besides, charity must begin at home.

I started the piece on the premise of our colonial history and the exploitation that went with it. On that score, let me say something quickly before I conclude. While I do not discount the harm of colonialism, we cannot use that experience as justification for our failings. Nigeria, I have always argued, is what it is today because of the choices we have made since independence. I once referenced a 1947 newspaper advertisement in the UK where then Colonial Secretary, Creech Jones, asked a visiting delegation from Manchester to suggest how Nigeria could help the UK to overcome its economic challenges at the period. Even when it was largely agrarian, since we are talking about a pre-oil period, the fundamentals of our economy were stable in the years before independence. That is not the story today.

I repeat: We cannot continue to blame colonialism or the UK for our woes. After all, Cyprus was not only colonised like Nigeria but also shares with our country the same Independence Day: 1st October 1960. Like Nigeria, Cyprus has faced wars, military coups and all manner of disruptions, instigated from within and without. But with a per capita income of $38,000 to our $2,900, Cyprus has done relatively well for itself. Indeed, in practically all indicators of development, Cyprus has fared far much better than Nigeria. 

But back to the presidential State Visit. Beyond the fact that the UK is home to many Nigerians, we should also not ignore the painful reality that thousands of our young people are desperately doing all kinds of jobs just to earn their stay. Many of them are qualified professionals in different fields. Yet we cannot continue to pretend that it is in our long-term interest to deny them opportunities for self-advancement in their own country, leaving them little choice but to flee. And while this may be an inconvenient issue for many Nigerians, we also cannot continue to breed a largely unproductive population that is growing at an exponential rate without consequences. A reminder here: At independence in 1960, the population of Nigeria was 46 million while that of the UK was 52 million. Which means our population was far less than theirs at the time. Today, our population is almost four times that of the UK, despite lacking the resources even for basic things.

The paradox of Nigeria, as I have written in the past, is that while we may not be doing well as a nation, many of our citizens are doing well as individuals—both at home and in the Diaspora. For instance, there was a story in The Guardian (of London) yesterday of how Nze Ed Emeka Keazor, an Anglo-Nigerian lawyer, historian and filmmaker has made Nigeria the first African country to place the archives of our cultural and literary records below “the Arctic permafrost of Svalbard”. The cold, dark and dry conditions the data storage facility offers will help preserve materials for more than 2000 years. Therefore, that our entire country remains far less than the sum of its parts is the real challenge of Nigeria that we must untangle.

Now the chips are down and truth calls. We must rein in the current madness. We need to create a new productivity-based economy and value system. We need to reinvent merit and play down the entitlement syndrome that defines our national conversation. We can also remain religious without replacing scientific consciousness with superstition as a national creed. Moreover, we need to redirect the Nigerian state to ensure the security of citizens and the welfare of all those who call this country home. 

Considering that State Visits are high-level diplomatic tools that strengthen ties, the ongoing engagements in the UK by President Tinubu and members of his team are beneficial to Nigeria from both a cultural and developmental perspective. But while substantive agreements can be reached, especially with investors, Tinubu’s primary responsibility is to address the growing security and socio-economic challenges in Nigeria. Until that is done, engagements with the world through State Visits would be no more than mere rituals of ceremony and back slapping that do not in any way advance the common good at home.

Return of the Suicide Bombers

Monday’s multiple explosions in Maiduguri by suspected suicide bombers have taken more than the lives of dozens of our people. The peace of our nation has also been shattered. According to the police, preliminary investigations indicate that the explosions were carried out using improvised explosive devices (IEDs) by suspected suicide bombers. The gory and chilling videos of the tragic incident are sad reminders that insurgents are still very much engaged in their dastardly business.

The first suicide bombing attack in the nation’s history occurred on 16 June 2011 at the premises of the Louis Edet House in Abuja, headquarters of the Nigeria Police Force. The bomber apparently targeted then Inspector General of Police Hafiz Ringim whose convoy he was following into the compound before being stopped by security. But the greater suicide bombing occurred two months later at the United Nations (UN) building. 23 people were killed and 116 injured. Then on Christmas Day, (25 December) of same year, at St. Theresa’s Catholic Church, Madalla, Niger State and Jos, Plateau State, no fewer than 43 worshippers lost their lives with 75 others seriously injured. Obviously, the intention of the perpetrators of those heinous crimes was to provoke instability on a national scale. Fortunately, they failed.

From the April 2012 attacks at THISDAY offices in Abuja and Kaduna to the April 2014, early morning rush hour bombing at a bus station in Nyanya on the outskirts of Abuja, there have been many of these attacks. Even at that, before the latest suicide bombing in Maiduguri, multiple deaths and terror killings have become commonplace. Yet when such tragedies become the norm, lives of ordinary citizens matter little and people in government will only continue to proceed with mere rituals. That is a very bad place to be as a nation which is why we must deal with this challenge. But perhaps the bigger issue here is the state of our military preparedness.

First, we need to have neighbouring countries on our side. Not necessarily because we need them as friends but rather because we cannot afford to have them as our enemies. Regrettably, we have mismanaged the relationship with Niger Republic and the reality is that this must have weakened the cohesion within the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNFTF). To compound the problem, there are reports of deficits in arms, ammunition and critical battle winning equipment as well as in the number of our troops, resulting in insurgents sacking military battalions and carting away arms and ammunition. In fact, I have it on good authority that more than 70 percent of the arms and ammunition insurgents deployed in their war against our country are “captured arms” looted from the armouries of our military.

While Nigerian soldiers are as valiant as their counterparts, what has come out of the recent joint military operations is that our neighbours have superior weapons which is a shame considering the resources of our nation compared with these smaller countries. For instance, information from the theatre shows a gross lack of air assets to support the troops who are mostly located in remote areas with difficulties for their reinforcement when attacked. Even Cameroon that has not given as much commitment to fighting the insurgents has been helpful in the deployment of its air assets and support for the offensive by providing requisite surveillance and some of the military hardware that we lack.

In a special report yesterday on Nigeria, the Financial Times described the approach to the security challenge as piecemeal: “Solders have struggled to cope with the hit-and-run tactics that motorbike-riding bandits and terrorists use across Nigeria, and have responded too slowly to intelligence warnings of impending attacks.” Shortly before leaving Nigeria on Tuesday, President Tinubu said he had given approval for the procurement of military hardware. While that is commendable, equipment procurement should not be done in piecemeal, as hinted by the FT and confirmed by some of the military officers with whom I have spoken in recent days. With the right equipment and sufficient ammunition, as well as adequate motivation for the fighting troops whose numbers need to increase, we can defeat the insurgents. And in the interest of our country, it is a battle we must win! 

Disgraceful CAF!

Morocco, according to a social media joke, is the only country to win a football tournament 90 minutes after the final match plus two months extra time. But followers of the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) which they hosted in January were not surprised that the Confederation of African Football (CAF) is using a contentious boardroom decision to award them the trophy they lost on the field of play. But maybe that was the deal from the outset. The reasons given for the decision to strip Senegal of the title are as dubious as they are reckless. This was what I wrote in January after the tournament:

“…The host country had benefited from dubious officiating throughout the tournament, including in their semi-final match against Nigeria. But at the final against Senegal with the world watching, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) did not care very much about fair play. The match officials, including centre referee and Video Assistant Referees (VAR), seemed determined that Morocco must win. Beside ruling out a good goal scored by Senegal, Morocco were awarded a soft penalty right at the end of the match. Angered, the Senegalese manager, Pape Thiaw ordered his players to leave the pitch. Although they returned after around 15 minutes—thanks to their most renowned player, Sadio Mane—when the game resumed, Brahim Diaz missed the contentious spot-kick for Morocco. The game went into extra time and Senegal scored the winning goal to the damnation of CAF whose officials seem to have bought into the nonsense by some western media commentators about African football. Because of the lies being sold that what the Senegalese players did was unprecedented. It wasn’t.

“In the game between Kuwait and France during the 1982 World Cup hosted by Spain, Kuwaiti players walked out of the pitch when France scored a goal at a time their players had paused play because of a whistle blow that turned out to have come from the crowd. Kuwait only came back to the field after the goal was chalked off by the referee, although France still went on to win. Also, during a World Cup qualifying match in November 2023 between Argentina and Brazil, Lionel Messi, (yes, the same GOAT) led the reigning World Cup champions to walk off the field after the booing of Argentina’s national anthem had provoked their fans to anger. And Argentina did not return to the field of play until about 30 minutes later for the match they eventually won.

“What the foregoing says is that there is nothing unprecedented about what Senegal did at AFCON in the face of glaring injustice even when one does not condone it. But the real problem is with CAF that needs to put its house in order. The idea that the host nation must win by hook or crook was what led to the fiasco in Morocco…”

ENDNOTE: It is difficult to fault the allegation of “suspected corruption” against CAF that was levelled yesterday by Senegal. All the people at CAF who conspired to award the 2025 AFCON victory to the defeated Morocco should be ashamed of themselves.

• You can follow me on my X (formerly Twitter) handle, @Olusegunverdict and on www.olusegunadeniyi.com