I
don’t know what was in the minds of those that agitated for Naija independence
because I wasn’t there. If my father is 58 and my mother 55, that means the
older between them was just 6 years older than Nigeria and He sure must still
be wearing only pants then, so how can I know the minds of the Tafawa Balewa,
Obafemi Awolowo and the likes when I was not even in the picture at all.
So
history, struggle and independence itself that I know are as a result of gists
and what I read in books. That the struggle for independence took 15 years, I read
it; that Nigerians waited patiently for documentation blah blah for 2 years I
read; that Representatives of the Regional
Governments, of former Central Governments, of the Missionary Societies, and of
the Banking and Commercial enterprises, and members, both past and present, of
the Public Service were present during the ceremony, I read. That it was even
Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa (ATB) that read the Independence speech sef, na read I read am for book. So what’s
now my stress of killing myself when I didn’t even know what transpired except
what I read and am not sure all I read were not doctored.
Why should I open my dirty mouth or put my sticky fingers to
work at hauling insults to people at the helms of affairs when I don’t even know
if that’s the goal for independence -
self enrichment although in Sir ATB’s speech some 52 years ago, he said and I quote
‘We, the elected representatives of the people of Nigeria, concentrated on
proving that we were fully capable of managing our own affairs both internally
and as a nation. However, we were not to be allowed the selfish luxury of focusing our interest on our own homes.’ Meaning
they didn’t plan to be corrupt initially but If our crop of present
representatives has assented to ‘chopping’ selfishly our collective resources, let
them carry on. I will try as much as possible not to derail by not insulting
them.
Briefly, there was Boston Tea Party that escalated to
American Revolutionary War in 1775 before Americans gained there independence
in July 4, 1776. There was American Civil War (1861 -65) 89 years after
American independence. The United States became the leading industrialized
power at the turn of the 20th century. Disgust with corruption, waste, and
traditional politics stimulated the Progressive movement, (1890s–1920s)
144 years after independence. There was Wall Street crash in 1929 (153 years
after independence) which marked the onset of the Great Depression. There was
even the Pearl Harbor attack that led to World War II on December 7, 1941 (165
years after independence). And the story goes on and on.
There were 3 English Civil wars (1642-46),
91648-49) and (1649-51). These wars concerned focused on who ruled while there
were wars of the three Kingdoms that concerned
itself with the manner of governing the three kingdoms of Scotland, England and
Ireland. For France, there were power tussles following the death of the last Capetian
monarch in 1337 until 1870 when a more lasting French third republic was
established (233 years).
I chose these developed countries because they
are always our basis of judgment when we want to criticize the present day
government. It’s not that we didn’t go through our own war (Nigerian 1967-1970)
but where are we today? Are we not better than these nations when Ages are
compared?
There are
turmoil north, south, west and east. Book haram here, Militants there; PDP
there, ACN here; PHCN, Nigerian Police Force, NNPC, NPA and so on. These organizations
are the ills of this great nation. And just as we have OBJ, IBB, BAT, Buhari, Atiku,
and the likes as individual ills, we also have YOU and I. So stop venting
unnecessarily.
I have not come to say Nigeria has a nation
has done well, yet I won’t want us to force Her into running when she is still
suppose to be crawling. She is a peculiar
nation that has defied all mathematical and economics calculations. An imported
theory will not work in Nigeria. We have to device a means of individually
putting our best and collectively working together, then will our nation be
greater for it.
Yea, we have not done well as a nation, yet we
are not at war. It calls for celebration. Happy 52nd Birthday my Nigeria.
God Bless Niaja
Joobreel
