New Telegraph

Lessons for Nigeria from Britain

R ecently, there was a change of leadership in Britain with Rishi Sunak, 42, becoming the new leader of the ruling Conservative Party (CP) and the country’s Prime Minister. This followed the resignation of Mrs Liz Truss as the leader of the CP and Prime Minister after only 45 days in office. Mr Sunak and Mrs Truss have both entered their names in the books of history.

Mr Sunak is the first Asian-Briton to serve as the British Prime Minister. He is also the youngest to serve in that position in a period of 201 years. He has joined Lord Liverpool, in the list of youngest-ever British Prime Ministers. Lord Liverpool was in office as Prime Minister in 1821. He too was 42 when he became head of the British government and was in office from June 8, 1812 – April 9, 1827, a period of 15 years. New Telegraph commends Mrs Truss for courageously throwing in the towel on coming to terms with the fact that she was overwhelmed by the nation island’s challenges. We also give a pat on the back to Mr Sunak on his emergence as the Leader of the CP and eventually as his country’s Prime Minister.

Both were chosen for the exalted office of Prime Minister because of their demonstrable capacity and readiness to serve. This brings to nostalgia the situation in Nigeria before and during the First Republic, when sincerity of purpose and selflessness to serve towered above nepotic considerations.

It is in this connection, that we recall that, after ensuring the setting- up of Nigeria’s first-ever nationwide political party, the National Council of Nigerians and Cameroons (NCNC) in 1944, an accomplished journalist, political scientist, sociologist and nationalist, Dr. Benjamin Nnamdi Azikiwe objected to his emergence as the party’s pioneer President. He preferred to have the equally renowned but older nationalist, Mr Herbert Samuel Heelas Macaulay occupy the position. Dr. Azikiwe eventually became the founding pioneer Secretary-General and only became the second President of NCNC following Mr Macaulay’s heavenly transition on May 7, 1946.

A nationalist, who made a mark as a respected cultural ambassador, Mazi Mbonu Ojike was elected to the post of Deputy Mayor of Lagos. Mazi Ojike’s successful cultural campaign known as “Boycott the Boycottables” made him to be referred to by the media industry as “The Boycott King”. Mazi Ojike later served as Eastern Nigeria’s Minister of Finance. His financial management ingenuity resulted in the creation of a model known as Pay As You Earn (PAYE), which enabled different tiers of administration within and outside Nigeria to earn increased revenue from the personal income tax without the use of force, as was the case in the pre-PAYE years New Telegraph also recalls that a female nationalist of South South origin, Mrs Margaret Ekpo, who was residing in the Enyimba City of Aba, Abia State, was elected to represent the city in the Parliament of the Eastern Region.

An indigene of Edo State, Mr John Umoru was equally elected to represent Port Harcourt in the Eastern Nigeria Assembly. The Sarakin Hausawa of Onitsha, Mallam Umaru Yushau was elected into the Eastern Nigeria House of Chiefs. Mr Felix Okonkwo, popularly known as Okonkwo Kano, was elected into the Northern Nigeria House of Chiefs in 1957. He was reported to have founded Kwankwanso town in Northern Nigeria. Earlier in 1952, a Fulani man, Mallam Umaru Altine, who was the Vice Chairman of the Enugu Chapter of the NCNC Youth Wing, had been elected to serve as the Mayor of Enugu.

None of these persons was known to have identified with or promoted policies that undermined the harmonious co-existence of the people such as the Water Resources Control Bill, open grazing, Grazing Reserves and the retention of grazing routes It was heart-warming that Mr Sunak, like his immediate predecessor, Mrs Truss, announced members of his Cabinet 24 hours after his emergence as Prime Minister. This was a clear indication of his readiness to serve the people of Britain at the outset.

He shied away from running the affairs of the First World country as a Sole Administrator by giving the impression that he was searching for capable men to populate his Cabinet, as is often the practice in many developing countries including Nigeria. We urge all political activists to refrain from seeing politics as a means of livelihood. They should all have careers, professions, businesses or vocations and be ready to serve selflessly. If at any point, they are unable to cope with challenges confronting them in their different political offices, they should be courageous enough to vacate their positions, just like Mrs Truss did, without waiting to be removed.

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