For most Nigerians, 1st October every year is a day to celebrate our independence from colonial rule. But fifty-nine years down the line, nothing has really changed. Some Nigerians say we are worse off now than we used to be under colonial rule. Where that is not true, they can not be blamed because the state and its polity have refused to improve. The white man may not be directly calling the shots, but we are surely still living under the heels of a privileged few.
Why do we celebrate?
One does not need to look deep to see that a lot has gone wrong in the fifty-nine years we have spent as an independent country. The irony, however, is that Nigerians have refused to accept the glaring truth. We suffer and we smile. Isn’t that why the legend, Fela Kuti, called us “suffering and smiling”? We believe that religion can take the place of integrity and honesty, so we pray more than we work. And as if that is not enough, the crop of leaders we have today take up positions of power for themselves and not for the people. Even most of them are bigger than the law.
With the passing years, our government has not been able to create sustainable employment opportunities, provide basic adequate infrastructure or encourage good trade system in the country. It has over time built a very inefficient tax system and shown total neglect of profitable sources of revenue other than petroleum. Yet, every year we celebrate. And this begs the question of what is there to celebrate? When compared to the progress that other countries are making, why is Nigeria still bearing the tag “developing”.
Our Reality
Some days ago, China celebrated her 70th birthday anniversary with a greater hope to surpass the United States of America in all its superior standing. The country has demonstrated over the years that nation-building is a product of uncompromising patriotism, conscious studies, and researches. Other Asian and Australian countries have demonstrated the same drive, but Nigeria, the giant of Africa, has chosen to stay blind.
Our state as a country at fifty-nine does not encourage hope. Corruption has eaten deep and is now at the root of many of Nigeria’s problems in totality. This plague takes many forms and infiltrates all political institutions and economic sectors. It is so sad to see that the government which was set up to build the country and fight any form of corruption now steals from her own people.
Read also: Nigeria: Real Celebration, Fake Independence!
In the past year, we have recorded deaths by suicide, terrorist attacks are on the rise and the state of buying and selling in the country is poor. With all the resources the nation boasts of, it is still difficult for it to cater for its teeming population. Where unemployment is the other of the day, what is even worse is that a great number of young persons are not employable.
Also, in many places, people feel they can no longer walk around their own neighborhoods unharmed. More girls and women are prey to the idle young minds on the streets.
With all the uncertainty surrounding social security, it is becoming increasingly difficult for young people to focus and work. We live in a society that does not reward hard work, diligence or consistency. So now we have more young people who are focused on the wrong things.
Some say this is largely due to the influence and pressure on social media. Everywhere you look, there are people who preach that quick money is the way forward. They display wealth that cannot be accounted for. Young people in different spheres see all of this and try to keep up.
The former vice president and presidential candidate in the last general elections, Atiku Abubakar, has declared that “all is not well” with the country. In a statement to mark the independence anniversary, he noted that beyond prayers and pleas for understanding, it is time for Nigerians to take democratic action to reposition their country.
I couldn’t agree more. Bombings, kidnappings, and other violent activities of Boko Haram prevent many Nigerians from feeling safe. The Global Peace Index, 2016, ranked Nigeria as the fourth country in the world with the highest number of “international conflict deaths”.
Conclusively, Nigeria is truly sick. And if there is a hospital where sick countries go, Nigeria should definitely go there. Our power-sharing and decentralized democracy that engenders harmony and inclusive governance is very faulty. There is a need for our country to move away from money politics and begin to “religiously” tackle the real problems.
So when we celebrate, let’s be conscious that we are doing something wrong. We cannot be celebrating the wrong things and the wrong people.
