By Sunny Awhefeada
Nigeria’s history has been so
abused and distorted that there is hardly a consensus on what constitutes a
genuine national narrative. Nigerian rulers have had to manipulate the history
of their record in office to suit their whim. History ought to be sacred as the
ultimate guide of a people. It is the unseen, but powerful propelling force
from which a nation derives inspiration in the tortuous odyssey of national
evolution. But when the history of a nation is subjected to deliberate
distortions then such a nation is bound to be moored to the past with the
people as captives. This has been Nigeria’s lot.
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| *Gen Gowon |
Nigeria hosted the 8th
Commonwealth Regional Conference for Heads of Anti-Corruption Agencies in Africa last week. It was at that forum that Nigeria’s
former military ruler, General Yakubu Gowon (rtd) did what amounted to a
desecration of history. Hear him: “During
our time, we did not know anything like corruption”.
He went a great length
to buttress his assertion. Let us dream up an apotheosis for Gowon so that even
in his lifetime he could become Saint Yakubu Gowon! What Gowon told his
audience was far from the truth. The government he led from the hurly-burly of
1966 to the sedate ambience of 1975 was one of massive corruption.
