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Effective Management of Diversity, Key to Nigeria’s Progress, Not Lugard Blame – Ekong Sampson

By Samuel Udoma

Senator-elect for Akwa Ibom South, Dr Ekong Sampson has identified keys to Nigeria’s greatness in the effective management of its rich diversity and strengthening of institutions, rather than the usual blame on Lord Lugard, who died in 1945. Dr Sampson, one of the leading intellectual powerhouses of the incoming 10th National Assembly, also said it was imperative that the country employed policies to drive politics and not the other way round.

Dr. Sampson stated this when he spoke as one of lead discussants at the special ‘Open House’ organized by Uyo Book Club in conjunction with Watbridge Hotels, Uyo to mark transition of government in Akwa Ibom State and Nigeria. The event took place on Saturday 27th May, 2023 at the exquisite Lugard Terrace, Watbridge Hotels&Suites, Uyo.

Among the other speakers at the mini symposium included Prof. Etim Frank, an Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Uyo, Dr. Emmanuel Akpanobong, Chairman, Ibibio Elders Forum and renowned medical practitioner. Others were Dr. Martin Akpan, poet-orator and Chairman, Akwa Ibom Board of Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Imaobong Akpan Akpan, a political affairs commentator and Dr Udeme Nana, founder of Uyo Book, who doubled as host of the well attended session.

Sampson, a legal luminary and former two term State Lawmaker, in his submission, explained that effective management of the country’s ‘rich mix will end the current cycle of self-pity’, stressing that a country with abundant resources like Nigeria should maximize its rich potentials for the development and progress of the nation.

Dissecting on the theme: ‘Lord Frederick Lugard – Hero or Villain: A Paradigm on Nigeria’s Post Inauguration Democracy’, Barr. Sampson, who is also patron of the book club, noted that the country has been battling with a federalist experiment that concentrates so much power at the centre, calling for proper devolution of power:

‘Part of my agenda in the coming Senate will be advocacy for the devolution of power. We must make the centre less attractive and discourage opportunity theft which is bedevilling our country’, he said.

The former Akwa Ibom State Environment and Petroleum Resources Commissioner bemoaned that more than a century after the amalgamation of the country, the nation was still battling with ethnic and religious crisis and a more disturbing scenario called opportunity theft:

‘Nigeria is one country where you have a great number of people being loyal to tribe, religion and money than to the country. We need to revive our patriotic spirit and learn from our past mistakes’.

Dr Ekong Sampson equally offered his candid perspectives on Lord Lugard, the man who midwife the coming together of the Northern and Southern Protectorates of Nigeria in 1914 and who has remained an enigmatic figure in national diversity discourse. He described the former Governor-general as a man who came and left his imprints by bringing Nigeria together and left us with the challenge to manage ourselves well which we failed:

‘The central message left by Lord Luggard is that we must manage our diversity. He brought the country together and challenged us to manage our pluralities, we must thank Lord Luggard rather than vilify him. Nigeria must exploit trajectories where people must have justice, not just access to law, in order to enhance our democracy’, he opined, saying, ‘let us allow Lord Lugard to rest in peace’.

The Senator-elect, who is also a former Council Chairman of Mkpat Enin, maintained that there was no alternative to democracy, noting that we must use the Lugard’s experiment to concretize our democracy. He said that Nigerian democracy will be more productive when we embrace political inclusion, not winner takes all:

‘To achieve the bigger picture, we must strengthen our institutions. It is worrisome to see how weak our key institutions are; the stronger our institutions, the safer our democracy will be. We must ensure the prevalence of a larger interest against selfish, narrow and pedestrian interest.

‘We must exploit trajectories where we can grow our economy, make our people happy, ramp up our production, ensure patriotism and discipline to achieve a stronger polity’, he submitted.

Sampson, holder of a Ph.D in Law, equally offered insights into issues bothering on the country’s electoral act as highlighted by one of the earlier speakers, Prof. Frank:

‘The guest lecturer had earlier pointed out loopholes in the current electoral act, I want to assure you that we will work in unison in the coming National Assembly to correct them. We must restore the integrity of our electoral system and move the nation forward’. He further called on the re-introduction of History into Nigeria’s educational curriculum, noting that ‘a nation that abhors history is in serious trouble’.