“So, it is good for us to understand that, as a nation faced with numerous challenges, we must do everything to ensure that the crown of freedom fought by our founding fathers should not be a shadow of history”
The universal truth is that, every nation has its own peculiar challenge or challenges. It is also true that, each country produces the kind of leaders they want, whether leaders with foresight, wisdom, courage and forbearance, or leaders with illusion and short sightlessness to the reality of good governance. But from what we have seen so far in terms of good leadership and democratic principles since the return of democracy in 1999, shows that the country is still crawling and no one can predict the time bomb. Not only that, successive governments both present and past has never learned any lesson from history, making Nigeria adrift as hope and aspiration of most citizens seem terribly dashed.
The lost of a nation is duly caused by bad leadership, and Nigeria has not been lucky to get leaders of conscience but recycled old cargoes with primitive policies of no positive effect on the lives of its citizens, but poverty and hunger. From year in, year out, things get from sorry state to grievous state of lamentations by the ordinary citizens.
The poverty ratio of the country that was 37.5% in 2023 is now 38.8%, unemployment ratio in 2023 that was 3.07%, is now, 5.3% even as crime continues to grow geometrically while the bourgeoisies live in affluence of our national wealth.
Yes, no nation can survive in this kind of situation, in fact, it is hypocritical to ascribe Nigeria as a nation today because the qualities of a true nation in terms of social progress, quality education, housing opportunities, foresight leadership, employment opportunities, security, stable electricity supply, better livelihood , among other basic things of life is completely missing. Regrettably, at 64, Nigeria is still slinking with development, and still looking for direction and messiah. The 2023 presidential election that provided opportunity for a new Nigeria was dashed by INEC, as believed by most Nigerians, even when citizens have the power to change the narrative but we all ascribed to, “ let us leave everything to God”
The country is now being described by most political and social analysts as backward, In fact, Sir Hugh Foot’s book, titled: ‘A Start in Freedom’, published in 1964 captured the helplessness of Nigeria. Sir Hugh was posted to Nigeria in 1947 as a Chief Colonial Secretary and had studied the country’s challenges very well, which he summarized to be extreme poverty and lack of development. After 77 years of his outburst, Nigeria as a country seems to remain in the same quagmire of Hugh’s narrative:
“ When I arrived Nigeria, I discovered that the country was a great artificial section of Africa desperately poor, apparently hopelessly divided, gravely handicapped by disease. There was no central parliament and no Nigerian participation in making central policy”
The point here is that, after 64 years, poverty, hunger, hopelessness, tribal, economical, religious division has remained with us-a bad omen that has crippled a once enviable country of pride. This is because of bad leaders who have forcefully taken power at all cost without clear vision of purpose.
So, it is good for us to understand that, as a nation faced with numerous challenges, we must do everything to ensure that the crown of freedom fought by our founding fathers should not be a shadow of history. The mistakes made by the country’s early politicians that made military coup succeeded and takeover, is still very much with us, but as it is often said, military regime is an aberration. Therefore citizens must begin to play and demand for leadership.
This year’s independence reminds me of my narrative in 2017 in afrikanwatch memoir after watching the movie, ‘October 1’, written by Tunde Babalola, produced by Kunle Afolayan in 2014, where I wrote:
“Shortly after the so called freedom, many discussed in their beer parlours and drinking spots; this young nation would soon be at war with itself, some marveled at this, and asked: War with whom? And the answer came within them. War with itself because as at the time the country got her independence, the leaders themselves were not adequately prepared for one Nigeria and the British knew this.
I can now see why some historians once said that Lord Lugard woke up one funny morning on the 1st of January, 1914 , had cups of coffee-tea, and in the heat of it, he announced amalgamation. With that, he threw us all together and said, behold, Nigeria!”
This is our story as a nation. As we celebrate 64 years of freedom, we must keep hope alive, that Nigeria is our country, and we have no other country, and we have not lost our sovereignty even in the mist of this dark cloud. Happy Independence.
Mark Orgu, is a social and public affairs analyst, and the editor, Afrikanwatch Network. He is also an author.
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