HISTORY AND THE NIGERIAN


The problem with most Nigerians is that they cannot deal with the bitter truth.


The late historian and lawyer, Mr.Akin Ajose-Adeogun, once told me that Africans generally and Nigerians particularly are incapable of talking about history without ending up fighting one another due to their insufferable ignorance, their inability to control their emotions, their inability to be objective and their lack of understanding and appreciation of the importance and sanctity of historical facts and truths.


Akin was right. Our people can best be described as prisoners of their own historical subjectivity and petty prejudices. It has ensnared them and it has beclouded their better judgement and ability to think in a rational and critical manner.


What most Nigerian fail to appreciate and cannot comprehend is that there are no angels in our history and there are no demons. Every single notable leader in our history has some good and some bad in them in varying degrees. Every single one of them has done some good things ahd some very bad things.


When you highlight the good you are hailed by their descendants, supporters and kinsmen but when you highlight the bad you are demonised by the same group of people. 


As a historian you cannot win with Nigerians. They will hate you for exposing the bitter truth about those they rever but they will love you for sharing the positive aspects of their heroes historical contributions and legacy. Either way as a real historian you cannot win.


It is only the historical revisionists, who are legion, that are appreciated and loved here. That is why self-serving historical books, often written by the players themselves or their proxies, sell so well.


Real historians that are prepared to be objective and tell the whole story, warts and all, are hated and despised for exposing things that others would rather bury under the carpet.


Let me give just one example. It is a historical fact that at least two former Heads of State of Nigeria were working for M16 and the CIA respectively when they were on office and were brought to power by coups that were inspired, organised, encouraged and sponsored by the British and the Americans.


It is also a fact that a well-known member of the intelligence community and military industrial complex has always been and will always be the CIA's number one person in black Africa and still works for them.


If I were to mention the names of all three of these foreign agents and spooks the foundation of this country would shake. Nigerians would not be able to sleep at night.


Sadly they have no idea and they do not care to know because they are not really interested, they are not prepared or are incapable of doing the research, their emotion has beclouded their judgement and history and historical facts mean nothing to them. The only thing they value is historical revisionism and half-truths.


I was scheduled to release an essay this morning exposing certain very big people and sharing some of those truths but I was prevailed upon not to do so by an elder that I have immense respect for who has said that it would "overheat the polity, create tension, embarass those affected and cause a massive stir in the nation".


Out of respect to this elder I have agreed to postpone the release of the essay but I will still publish it at a later date and a more auspicious time. I owe my fidelity to historical facts that much.


The truth, whether good or bad, must and will be exposed with the necessary evidence and proofs. History is everything and if we refuse to study it, accept it and learn from it we are doomed to repeating its mistakes.


(FFK)