Memorial Sculpture of Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa as an Instructional Material

Article Citation: Olusoji O. Oshisada (2020). Memorial Sculpture of Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa as an Instructional Material. DEGEL: The Journal of the Faculty of Arts and Islamic Studies, Vol. 18, No. 2. ISSN 0794-9316

MEMORIAL SCULPTURE OF ALHAJI SIR ABUBAKAR TAFAWA BALEWA AS AN INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIAL

By

Olusoji O. Oshisada

Abstract

This paper presents the public sculpture of Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa as an instructional material to identify the exemplary personality of the late prime minister as a distinct leader in relationship with his leadership performance in governance in order to ascertain if good governance is achievable solely by a reputable leader regardless of obstacles hindering progressive governance in Nigeria. The state of Nigeria suffers ethno political conflicts, favouritism, corruption, insecurity and economic crisis which make Nigeria a complex nation to govern by a reliable, reputable, initiative and visionary leader without the same exemplary attributes among the subordinates. An instance is the prime minister of the first republic (1912-1966) who experienced national crisis during his tenure in office (1960-1966). Despite Tafawa Balewa’s excellent personality, why was his government in political turbulence? Could he have resolved ethno-political crisis being a peaceful gentleman with the intention of fostering national unity? Interviews in dailies and articles in publications reveal the prime minister’s personality and highlight events in his administration. While history remains excluded from school curriculum, it becomes imperative to adopt public statues as an instructional material to teach historical and political issues such as the Case of this paper.

Introduction

Public arts are embodiment of artworks displayed in strategic locations in public spaces. Public art are permanent or temporary artworks mounted on sites with available public space which are located outside museums and galleries (Quadri, 2016:30). Thus, public art are outdoor art,. The categories of public art are historic art, landmark art, art of personal or social expression and art with a commercial purpose. The public art under discussion is an historic figure. Therefore, such public art is representational and functional in qualities. These public arts are public sculptures representing iconic and historic personalities. The intention of erecting larger than life size or life size statues is to venerate icons. A statue is identified with history of a person. “Sculpture has long been noted for its importance as a veritable means of recording people and events in a two-or three dimensional form” (Oladungbagbe, 2016).

Statue of Sir Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa

“The Labour of our heroes past, shall never be in vain” is a verse in the first stanza of Nigeria’s national anthem which is not only a prayer for Nigeria’s esteemed past leaders but a recognition of exemplary characters, sacrifices and heroic landmarks made in the history of Nigeria ranging from the agitation and attainment of self-government, quest for free education, agitation for human rights during military era and many more. Sculptures are erected to venerate the nationalists, religious figures, political icons, activists who in their own rights attained the peak of their careers and achievements. Through public sculpture, iconic statue of Nigeria’s only prime minister in the history of post-colonial Nigeria is identified, making reference to his exemplary personality and the events in his administration prior to his assassination. This is to ascertain if good or excellent personality of a leader in terms of moral behaviour, brilliancy, intelligence, professionalism, political will have much positive impact on the governance of such leader in power having understood that Nigeria is a complex nation to govern. Hatani & RI (2013:1491) describe “personality” as a complex of all the attributes that characterize a unique individual. While Rosyada & Hidayatullah (2017: 151) simplify governance as the process of decision making and the process by which decisions are implemented or not implemented to improve productivity of a nation. The public sculpture of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa is situated in Owerri in Imo State. The location of the statue is at the Hero Square in Owerri popularly called “city of statues” where several public sculptures of past and present political leaders in Nigeria and other African countries are erected by Imo state government under the administration of Rochas Okorocha. While the public sculpture serves as memorial function, it could be adopted as instructional material to teach and reflect on leadership. Instructional material is a teaching aid used to teach any subject. The essence of instructional material is to assist in effective teaching and learning process (Bukoye, 2018). Teaching and learning process become easy with instructional material. Hence, historic and educational reference could be made to the public sculpture of Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa as a tool for the appraisal of Balewa’s personality and his administration to ascertain good governance in Nigeria.

Figure 1. Public statue of Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa.

Source: commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tafawa_Balewa.jpg. (2021)

Exemplary Personality of Sir Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa

No doubt, today, leaders with exceptional traits are rare such that the present generation; the youths who were once in their early ages with orientation that “children are the leaders of tomorrow” have nothing to emulate from present leaders. Certainly, a leader to emulate cannot be the type that flaunts his material possessions on social media; the one who acquires latest automobiles, and estates overseas and in Nigeria. While such frivolities of politicians are exhibited on social media, the young generation remain morally unguided by antisocial behaviours. It is imperative to reflect on the late prime minister to emulate his character while the objective of this paper is maintained. Family records state that Tafawa Balewa had a very humble background and a humble personality with a noble profession as a Teacher. Daily Trust Saturday (2019) made indirect reference to Abubakar Tafawa Balewa. Following the death of the last surviving widow of the late Prime Minister, an interview with Abubakar Tafawa Balewa by Daily Trust Saturday reveals that:

“the late widow kept and observed the virtues, legacy and leadership role of the late prime minister according to family members, friends and people who know her well”. One of her children Hajiya Yalwa testifies that “she (the late widow) upheld all the leadership roles of our late father (Abubakar Tafawa Balewa) by standing firm to instil discipline, love, fellowship, patience and above all demonstrating fairness among the extended family, neighbours and other people to achieve peace and peaceful coexistence.” Haruna, one of the widow’s son adds that the deceased (Tafawa Balewa’s widow) “did not deviate from the foundation laid by our late father (Abubakar Tafawa Balewa) of discipline, trust, honesty, observing fellowship and strong relationship with our siblings and extended family members”.

Punch newspapers (2018) interview with another son of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Yakubu Abubakar Tafawa Balewa reveals a spectacular experience that Yakubu had with his father.

‘What I remember is that there was a time in 1965 that I was called by the late prime minister (Balewa) not knowing that he was with one of his close friends. They were discussing in the parlour. It was then that I heard what the man he was with was telling him. He was telling him to kill someone because if he didn’t kill the person, the person would end his life. The prime minister laughed and said “My life is in the hands of God, whatever it is, when my time comes, Chief or without Chief, I am going to die. Because of that, I feel, he was a man of his words. He was a man that stood for what Nigeria needs now.”

The respected legal icon, the former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Sir Adetokunbo Ademola described Tafawa Balewa in the foreword of the book “A Right Honourable Gentleman, the life and times of Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa”.Clark (1981).

“Sir Abubakar was a peace-loving man, and he accepted the prime ministership of Nigeria with a view of establishing peace, unity and love among the several tribes and peoples of Nigeria. He spoke convincingly, meaningfully and truthfully. I remember one of his sayings to me from time to time ‘CJ (meaning Chief Justice; referring to Adetokunbo Ademola) if I do anything wrong and I am brought before you, deal with me, and if necessary send me to jail…’ These words he (Tafawa Balewa) repeated and emphasized when the Supreme Court gave judgement against his government in the case of Doherty V., Sir A. Tafawa Balewa and others. When I saw him after the judgement had been pronounced, this is what he said: ‘I am glad you have put us in our place, this is what we deserved. If I do anything wrong, do not hesitate to deal with me.’”

Sir Adetokunbo Ademola observed Tafawa Balewa’s display of honesty, transparency and cooperation after the general election of 1964.

“Again to refer one of his sayings to me…‘If these people do not want me anymore, all they need do is to give me about two hours’ notice, and this is enough for me to pack my few belongings here and leave.’ Unfortunately, he was not given that chance; he meant everything he said.”

Tafawa Balewa’s disposition of humility and simplicity, peace and love are excellent virtues as a Prime Minister which are uncommon in most present leaders who exhibit arrogance and pride, dictate like monarchs and dictators without respect for electorates and constitution that brought them to power. The lack of humility in conceding defeat in election in the desperation of winning elections by all means is the hallmark of such leaders. Exemplary leadership demands high expectations from the people. A political candidate possessing honesty, transparency, patriotism, unity, peace, love, humility, discipline, accountability and any other disposition befitting a quality leader is demanded to deliver good governance to the people. Such leader with listed attributes is expected to execute enormous responsibilities to tackle corruption, poverty, youth unemployment, sectionalism, insecurity, political crisis, ethnic clash, civil unrest, and poor health which are the major challenges of socio-political and economic development in Nigeria.

Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa.

Source: premiumtimesng (2021)

Exemplary Leader in a Bias Multi Ethnic Structure

The colonial political engineering made Nigeria a complex nation to govern. Good leadership is undermined by ethnic sentiment because Nigeria was built on a faulty foundation in which multi ethnic groups of multiple socio-political and cultural ideologies were merged. Each ethnic group managed its own affairs before the British Government forcefully fused diverse nationalities into a state for the purpose of personal interest without consultation with relevant indigenous political elites. Major General Momoh (2000:11) expounds that:

Prior to its colonization by the British, the Nigerian area consisted of several parties and groups with distinct history, culture and social organization. The people of the new Nigeria created by British colonialism include both major ethnic and linguistic groups and several small groups which in spite of their limited sizes and their own distinct history, culture and socio-political organization. In the west were distinct groups such as Yoruba, Edo, Itsekiri and Urhobo. In the East were the Igbo, Ijaw, Ibibio and Efik. In the North were the Hausa, Fulani, Kanuri, Tiv, Jukun, Igala, Nupe and Idoma. In all, over 350 ethnic groups are known to exist within the present boundaries of Nigeria. Some of these groups never had contact with one another before the advent of Colonialism.

Muhammad (2014) elucidates that:

...it should be noted that throughout the duration of the colonial era, no effort was made to pursue policies consciously aimed at encouraging national unity and integration. More often than not colonial policies were deliberately aimed at preventing the growth of national unity. The British from the onset were involved in identity manipulation; they regarded Nigerians as Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba among others rather than as a cohesive unit of people with a common destiny. They used the method of divide and rule and thus set the stage for ethnic rivalries which engulfed Nigeria in the later years of colonialism and after.

Knotted by the constitution, the concept of one Nigeria infused in a multi ethnic system is bound to create enmity against her people. In power tussle, every group pursue its personal interest to the detriment of national unity and peaceful co-existence. The consequence is election rigging and violence; destruction of lives and property. The socio-political architecture of an entity called Nigeria is a detriment to the performance of a quintessential leader that will exist.

Exemplary Leader in a Corrupt System

The corruption in Nigeria’s present economic sector which led to poverty could be traced to the colonizers. Muhammed further explains that:

Nigerians became infuriated by the fact that most profits made by the foreign companies operating in the country were taken out of the country, instead of being ploughed back there. The results were that the country derived very little from their activities. During the colonial epoch, a process of economic exploitation was carried out without recourse to the interest of Nigerians. The colonial economy was deliberately designed and planned in one way traffic orientation. Raw materials were exported from the conquered Nigeria while importing finished manufactured goods. The policies encouraged the inflow of manufactured goods often made out of the very same primary goods which were exported. The interest of the colonialist dominated the export trade and formulation of economic policies. Until the 1950, very little money was invested in industrial development in the country. Companies like the United African Company (UAC), CFAO, and Leventis dominated every aspect of the economy. These companies promoted a process of disinvestment. Nigeria’s wealth rather than being invested to produce more wealth in Nigeria was carted away. This arrangement made the colonisers improve their skills and expertise while denying the colonised the opportunity to transform from one level of technology and skill development to another.

Several years after independence, Nigeria remains an importing economy which has led to youth unemployment and poverty. The complexity of Nigeria’s predicaments make socio-political and economic development difficult to achieve. The economic culture of exporting crude oil for exchange of refined oil to the benefit of oil marketers is a compounding issue for Nigeria’s economy. The same applies to other imported products such as automobiles and electronics. Merchants benefitting from importation do not aspire for industrialization.

Based on this premise, a good leader to preside will rarely achieve good governance in Nigeria without industrialization to curb poverty stricken economy. Technological advancement is a leverage for a developing country in which without it, a developing country remains an importing country.

Exemplary Leader in a Mafian Political System          

Despite all the quality attributes of Tafawa Balewa, as a reputable leader, Nigeria experienced political crisis during his administration as a prime minister which led to destruction of lives and property. In such crisis, there would be great concern on how serious the situation would affect political and economic development if a bad leader was in power. In the case of Tafawa Balewa, Nigeria experienced tumour shortly after independence. In Nigeria’s misconception, the notion is that a single “reliable” leader guarantees good governance. Nigerians’ general notion is that a presidential candidate with a bit considerable record matters more than the political party he represents during electioneering. Meanwhile, electorates fail to consider the calibres in the political party. In the same political party, corrupt members of the party will be appointed into the president-elect cabinet. Corrupt and ethnic sentiment political elites are accommodated in the party which affect performance of a leader in power while the president takes responsibility for success and failure of his government. An instance is former president Goodluck Jonathan who lamented that boko Haram (terrorists) were in his government. Tafawa Balewa’s mindset of good governance in terms of nurturing national unity and collaborating with Northern political elites to sustain him in power make good governance absolutely difficult for him to achieve. Fahad (2011, p. 9-10) remarks that:

Balewa himself generally regarded as a sincere democrat. His relatively humble origins meant that his own rise to power had to be via the ballot box. He was not, as such unlike his friend Ahmadu Bello, a member of the traditional Northern elite. On the other hand, he depended on the support of the elite to remain in power and knew that he had to Champion Northern interests. He appeared, however, to have genuinely wanted to nurture national unity, beyond which he was also concerned with Pan-African Unity.

Against Tafawa Balewa’s choice, the Northern elites whose interest Balewa had to protect manipulated votes to favour the electoral interest of the northerners (Fahad 2011:8). Although, the 1964 general elections were characterised by massive riggings by all the political parties and the political parties accused each other of rigging the elections in areas they did not win. (Murtala, 2014). The tradition of election rigging by political parties since first republic makes Ogundiya (2010:205) to doubt Nigeria’s democracy and perceives Nigeria’s government as “Mafia Government” or “plutocracy” rather than “democracy” in reality. According to Ogundiya:

It is of course not democracy because at least in its modern understanding, democracy is the government of the people by the people and for the people. What then is it? If we go by St. Augustine’s definition-government that Nigeria ever had could qualify as “Mafia Government”. The word “mafia” with the paper’s context means government infested with power drunken, self-seeking, ideology-barren, orientation less operatives, usually selected by their kind and of course scarcely ever elected by the people. Even in the guise of multi-party election, those to rule are clearly predetermined and chosen even before elections takes place.

Furthermore, Ogundiya argues that “the people’s vote seems not to count in determining who governs as elections are rigged or its outcome determined before the poll.” This scenario is true of the state of governance in Nigeria. No matter how exceptional a head of government is, he is bound to mingle with “Mafians” in his government. The political environment is not healthy for a reputable leader aspiring to head a government in Nigeria. The political caucus termed Mafians, directly or indirectly frustrate the agenda of a leader in power. Balewa had premonition of Nigeria’s predicament prior to independence. The former Prime Minister of Great Britain, Lord Home notes in his forewords of the Biography “A Right Honourable Gentlemen, the life and times of Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa” written by Trever Clark (1981):“While in London, he (Tafawa Balewa) wrote a thesis on Nigeria’s future, in which he forecast with considerable precision that an independent Nigeria would likely be founded on tribal (ethnic) differences and on corruption.”

Tafawa Balewa’s rightly prediction includes numerous challenges militating against good governance. Today, incessant Fulani herder’s attacks in the southern Nigeria is an ethnic crisis demanding for restructuring. Boko Haram terrorist group triggers fear, insecurity, economic setback, loss of lives and property in northern Nigeria. Meanwhile military chiefs take advantage of insurgency to embezzle funds meant for acquiring arms and ammunition to combat terrorism. Niger Delta militants vandalise oil facilities as part of agitation against exploitation of crude oil and environmental pollution by activities of foreign oil company, Shell Petroleum Company in their communities which is a continuation of exploitation by foreign company. The predicaments of Nigeria reveal the incapability of any personal exemplary leader to achieve good governance.

Conclusion

Public statues are sculptures of notable citizens in the society whose statues constitute aesthetic value to architectural landscape. Historically, public statues remain monuments serving educational functions to academic community. Statues of prominent personalities are avenues to reflect on national issues. Therefore, public statues are instructional materials for learning. The statue of Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa is a reflection on his personality and the events that unfolded in the first republic; a reminder of the complexity in governing Nigeria as a multi-ethnic and corrupt nation paddled by corrupt ethnocentric political Mafians called “leaders” while citizens imbibe the notion that relying on a single leadership for excellent performance in governance is based on quality of a single leader without considering crucial factors militating against good governance irrespective of the leader’s qualities. All the regions are interested in policies that will benefit them while the leaders representing each region and constituency on behalf of their people seek personal interests. Nigeria, is an importing economy from onset rather than establishing infrastructures and industries to aid production of goods from raw materials to finished products to create employment for massive youths. Unemployment has generated to poverty and insecurity. The kidnapping, terrorism, cultism, armed robbery, internet fraud, banditry are crucial factors militating against good governance in Nigeria. Hence, Nigeria, a complex nation with complex challenges to be governed by a reputable leader, is deeply traumatised by ethnic strife, insecurity and corruption that continually cause setback for any leader in power and the nation. Whatever policy that is progressive for the citizens, either restructuring or succession, the priority is that good governance is a collective responsibility of all Nigerian leaders for democracy, economy and peaceful co-existence among the diverse ethnicities to thrive. Therefore, Nigerian leaders must share common vision and ideologies with the ideal leader that will head a government. The quote of Nigeria’s prominent writer Achebe (1983) is a pertinent statement: “The Nigerian problem is the unwillingness of its leaders to rise to the challenge of personal example, which is the hallmark of true leadership.”

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