POLITICAL LIE OF THE CENTURY:
One of the heartbreaking political lies of the 21st century is that, "the worst civilian government is better than the best military regime." But, in Nigeria, for example, the successive military regimes had done better than civilian administrations since the return of democracy in the country, beginning from Obasengo's government in 1999 to Tinubu's administration since 2023.
In terms of state creation by the military regimes, available records show that
- *General Yakubu Gowon (1966-1975)*: Created 12 states from the original 4 regions on May 27, 1967, including:
- *North-Western State*
- *North-Central State*
- *North-Eastern State*
- *Kano State*
- *Benue-Plateau State*
- *Kwara State*
- *Western State*
- *Lagos State*
- *Mid-Western State*
- *East-Central State*
- *South-Eastern State*
- *Rivers State*
- *General Murtala Mohammed (1975-1976)*: Created 7 states on February 3, 1976, bringing the total to 19 states, including:
- *Bauchi State*
- *Benue State*
- *Borno State*
- *Imo State*
- *Niger State*
- *Ogun State*
- *Ondo State*
- *General Ibrahim Babangida (1985-1993)*: Created 11 states in two batches:
- *September 23, 1987*: Akwa Ibom State and Katsina State
- *August 27, 1991*: Abia State, Delta State, Enugu State, Edo State, Jigawa State, Kebbi State, Kogi State, Osun State, Taraba State, and Yobe State
- *General Sani Abacha (1993-1998)*: Created 6 states on October 1, 1996, bringing the total to 36 states, including:
- *Bayelsa State*
- *Ebonyi State*
- *Ekiti State*
- *Gombe State*
- *Nasarawa State*
- *and Zamfara State*
But, all the civilian governments, since the return of democracy, from Olusegen Obasanjo in 1999 to Tinubu's regime, 2023 to 2026 have not been able to create one state, despite huge sums of money and materials allocated for state creation. This means that every effort for administrative efficiency and grassroot development in Nigeria today is downplayed by civilian governments, which is said to be better than military regimes. Who is fooling who?
Furthermore, in other to instill discipline and order in Nigeria, the military government that instituted the War Against Indiscipline (WAI) in Nigeria was led by General Muhammadu Buhari. The program was announced in March 1984 and aimed to correct social maladjustment, promote discipline, and combat corruption. Key aspects of WAI included ¹:
- *Phases of WAI:*
- *Phase I: Orderliness*, which emphasized queuing and respect for fellow Nigerians.
- *Phase II: Work Ethic*, aimed at improving productivity.
- *Phase III: National Unity*, which encouraged Nigerians to put aside tribal affiliations and promote national unity.
- *Phase IV: Corruption and Criminal Activities*, targeting specific crimes like oil bunkering and smuggling.
- *Phase V: War Against Filth*, focusing on environmental sanitation.
The programme was a comprehensive effort to instill discipline and order in Nigerian society, with strict punishments for crimes and vagrancy. Again, under the successive civilian administrations in Nigeria, since 1999 till date, orderliness, work ethic and national unity, are in great decline, as corruption and criminal activities increase on daily basis. Here, also, the military regimes have kudos, whereas, the civilian administrations have knocks.
Equally, as a measure for environmental cleanliness designed to promote good health and hygiene in Nigerian society, the sanitation exercise in Nigeria was instituted by General Muhammadu Buhari's military regime in the 1980s, specifically during his tenure as the military head of state from 1983 to 1985. This initiative was part of his War Against Indiscipline (WAI) programme, which aimed to promote discipline and cleanliness across the country. The programme included environmental cleanliness as one of its key components, with monthly sanitation exercises being conducted in various parts of the country, including Lagos ¹.
*Some notable aspects of the sanitation exercise include:*
- *Environmental Cleanliness*: The program emphasized the importance of keeping the environment clean and promoting public health.
- *Monthly Sanitation Exercises*: Residents were required to participate in cleaning their surroundings on specific days.
- *Discipline and Order*: The Programme was designed to instill discipline and order in Nigerian society. However, the lack of political will and audacity to improve on the lofty idea of sanitation exercise initiated by the military government in Nigeria, have left the country in the state of environmental filth and decay, just as the annual budgetary spending on sanitation, continues to increase. The aforestated points to another pitfall of the civilian administrations in Nigeria since 1999, as well as nullifies the claim that, civilian regimes have dividends of democracy which benefits citizens more than all the goodies that military governments can offer.
Away from Nigeria, countries like, Burkina faso, Mali and Niger Republics, which are currently under military regimes may equally serve as prospects of hope for the people of that West African subregion, as testimonies from that areas show that the so called military juntas are doing extremely better than any known civilian administrations that have governed for years or decades. According to fillers, these countries now have governments that really cater for its citizens. Unlike any civilian administrations in the past, job creation and employment opportunities are presently on the increase, as good healthcare services and affordable housing schemes as well as the provisions of qualitative education programmes, which were absent before the military takeover in the cited countries, are now available to the people, no matter their social strata. What else do the people need? So, if the military regimes have the magic wands that can save the people in Africa from economic woes, I suggest they come, more and more!
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