Introduction
About a century ago, Lord Lugard amalgamated the Northern and Southern Protectorate to create what is today known as Nigeria. Forty seven years later, particularly on 1st October, 1960 the young nation attained its independence from its colonial master. Today, fifty-three years later, Nigeria means different things to different people at different places. Hence, after over two decades of my existence and discovering that I am a citizen of this great country, I wish to explore what Nigeria means to me.
What Nigeria Means
Nigeria to me is a unique country, the most populous black nation that has diverse cultures and traditions due to the existence of various ethnic and tribal groups. Though the grundnorm, the constitution stated that Nigeria is a secular state, I posit that Nigerians are part of, if not the most religious set of people on earth as evidenced by the numerous churches, mosques, temples and shrines and our religionization of almost every national issue.
My Nigeria is a country with rich culture, superb traditions and outstanding history: a country that has produced literary giants, economic whiz kids, political genius, decorated sportsmen and enviable scientist.
My Nigeria is a land of opportunities. There exist many fields of human endeavours that are still underdeveloped which will yield boundless profit to entrepreneurs who are willing to explore such areas. As a country, Nigeria is not yet where it is supposed to be, but also no more where it used to be.
Unlike many, I don’t regard Nigeria as a father that dictates what must be done. Rather, I so much agree with Prof. Chinua Achebe when he said “But it has occurred to me that Nigeria is neither my mother nor my father. Nigeria is a child; gifted, enormously talented, prodigiously endowed and incredibly wayward.”
Currently, my Nigeria is a wayward child, a prodigal son and this is evidenced by the unexplainable tolerance of several acts and situations which are before now, unknown or inexistent.
Everybody in Nigeria is either infected or affected by the virus of corruption, maladministration, favouritism, ethnicity, religious acrimony and economic totalitarianism in form of funds embezzlement and misappropriation by the few who holds political positions and even the private bourgeoisies that dominate our industrial sector.
Thus, am always inspired to help tilt the country towards a functional direction, by doing whatever I can and performing my constitutional responsibility as a good citizen of a great nation.
To me Nigerian is a budding hope; it is an evolving dream of a promising nation that is yet to fully actualize its potentials. Nnamdi Azikwe, Obafemi Awolowo, Ahmadu Bello and a host of others struggled so that Nigeria can attain its independence and be free from imperialist. But today, Nigerians are being recolonized by fellow Nigerians.
The greatest room in the world is that of improvement and no country needs it as much as my dear Nigeria. Our educational system need to be sanitized, a situation where the leaders of tomorrow spend longer time out of school rather than in it due to strike actions and closure is not beneficial to our collective progress as a nation and even the actualization of the much talked about vision 20:20:20. A higher degree of our citizens are either unemployable or unemployed.
Our justice machinery needs lubrication, the courts are no longer the last hope of the common man, but that of the embattled politicians who believe that justice is for sale to the highest bidder. Nigerians deserve speedy justice delivery, as justice delayed is nothing but justice denied.
Corruption takes place, even in places regarded as temples of holiness, our athletes start training for competitions when their colleagues in other nations are in the last lap of theirs, no wonder their poor outing in sports tournament.
Nigerians are very hopeful, they don’t give up easily and they get easily adapted to any system or situation of things. Despite the civil wars, and rumours of Nigeria becoming a failed state by 2015, we are waxing stronger. We must stand against all the militaristic efforts to disrupt our collective unity.
Nigeria to me is a country tottering at the brink of collapse, a country that is in urgent need of a life-saver, a place where we cannot continue to deceive ourselves with the all-is-well political propaganda and alleluias. Nigeria is at a time when we need to sound the appropriate alarm so as to restore things back to control.
The Nigeria of today is not fulfilling the dreams of the forefathers. I wonder if the Nigeria of tomorrow will fulfill my dreams. We are sitting on a time bomb, which can either be defused by right thinking citizens with balanced orientation and mentality or detonated by unpatriotic citizens.
Conclusion
Patriotism is not always about everybody singing the same song and dancing to the same tune every time. Often, dissent is a form of patriotism.
My Nigeria is going through the furnace; it is clay in the hand of the potter, it is gold in the hand of the goldsmith. When we emerge from these trying times, our star will definitely shine. I believe we can still get it right in Nigeria, provided that we are ready to do the needful without caring whose ox is gored in the process, without fear or favour of the so called powers in high places. Until the followers are ready to accept blame and responsibility, there can be no change in leadership.
Nigeria means so much to me. I must tell it the truth, because I have no other place to call my fatherland or my motherland. Indeed in my next reincarnation, if I have a choice, I will choose to be a Nigerian, again.
****This essay won me a prize in the 2013 National Orientation Agency Essay Contest.
What does Nigeria mean to you? I will be glad to know in the comment section below.
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