OPINION: AT 64, IS THERE ANYTHING TO JUSTIFY THE HOPES OF INDEPENDENCE?
By Daniel Mtindiga
Every October 1st calls for celebration because it commemorates the day which Nigeria got independence and the struggles of our forebears but this particular one is a call for sober reflection and serious prayers. How can Nigerians celebrate when their joy is cut short by the rising challenges that has left everyone hurt? If it is not insecurity, it is fuel hike, poverty, hunger, poor education, poor healthcare service, bad governance/leadership, corruption, injustice, poor health and disastrous medical care system, flood disasters, deplorable roads, unemployment and hostile business environment among many other challenges.
On the 1st October, 1960, Nigeria won her Independence after the many years of hard struggles of our forebears. The atmosphere of the day was filled with jubilation and the high hopes for a great future. The expectations were incredibly high. However, over the years Nigeria has had a checkered history and a hugely failed experiment with growth and development, leaving majority of the citizens and the rest of the world to question whether, the hopes of our independence as a nation have been met.
According to Fidelis I. Yough, “In the air on that October day was a glorious beacon of hope. Children expressed it in songs and demonstrated it at various parade grounds across the nation as they matched on their first Independence Day celebration. Adult Nigerians who had lowered the Union Jack on the night of 30th September could not restrain themselves from rising too early that morning to hoist Nigeria’s Green-White-Green flag as mark of a national independence won without shooting gun.”
Like Fidelis I. Yough posited, the wake of Nigeria’s independence ushered in new hopes and aspirations for a better and more prosperous nation. Citizens hoped for a better political/democratic system, better leadership, better education, improved health service delivery, improved agriculture and rapid sustainable development.
However, the joy of independence has become short-lived as corruption, injustice, bad governance, poor education, poor health care services, decay infrastructure, unstable economy, hunger, poverty, diseases, insecurity arising from kidnapping, armed robbery, suicide bombing, ethnic and religious crises now ravage the country. It is indeed, hope of uncluttered freedom savored with the relish of a people who have known nothing but oppression.
To Fidelis I. Yough, “In the word (Independence), there was festivity generated more by the hope of a better Nigeria than the more excitement of the national day celebration. Nigerians would henceforth, utilize their country according to the needs and wishes of the citizens. The expectation was that of better education, improved agriculture, improved health services, rapid industrialization and economic abundance generated by natural and human resources. One year passed, then another and yet,there was nothing to justify the hopes. The aspirations were becoming a mirage and politicians played politics for what they could get out of it rather than the desire to serve and develop the country.
“The replacement of one government by another through elections underscores the fact that the country still has a lesson or two to learn about the peaceful, orderly and constitutional change of government for it tend to flash the red light of instability abroad. In such settings, the incoming government often attempt to excoriate the ghost of the dead government and to justify, through nitpicking faultfinding, that the days gone by were the bad old days and that a new order of salvation had arrived. The situation is perhaps, a few shades worse if the restoration of a better government/leadership fails.
As these matters go, the first is often a knee-jerk reaction, a return from “land of shock and stock-taking exercise of the broken eggs, and the cleaning of the land of its odorous spill. The search for the culprits is often a soul-wrenching exercise in which the nation is at once torn between the need to deter potential sinners by punishing sinners and the need to maintain a modicum of even handiness that can generate confidence and stability.
It is a delicate balance of options for which the process of incinerating the bad deeds, we do not lose sight of the cardinal purpose of government, namely, to cater for the greatest good of the greatest number of the people.”
Nigerian citizens keep hoping for a new order of salvation and liberation from the shackles and chains of this one disease: corruption, but to no avail.
One year/administration passes, another comes and yet another, our suffering situation remains unchanged. Many have resorted to ask questions like, are the dreams of our heroes past still alive?
What is really wrong with the consciences of Nigerian leaders? Does the common man have hope for a better life? When will our situation be better? What is the fate of the younger generations? Can Nigeria really work again? Apparently, trying to answer these questions is as uneasy as trying to survive in this present Nigeria.
@64, we are still where we are because, we have refused to take responsibility for our actions and inactions. We have also, practically refused to adopt better strategies that will enhance our system for selfish and demonic ambitions and gains. If Nigeria were a man, he would have been fully grown at this age.
Therefore, as we celebrate our strength and the struggles of our fallen heroes today, lets us reflect on the sufferings and challenges confronting our nation. Let us also, remember to provide good government. Above all, let us remember that we all have roles to play to fix the country right and live up to the roles in the spirit of true unity, love, justice and peace.
Together, let us rise with undefeatable resolves in our hearts and minds to say that, this is not the real Nigeria and work for the Nigeria of our dreams and the dreams of our forefathers. The labour of our heroes past shall not be in vain.
Happy 64th Independence anniversary, fellow citizens.
This OPINION is written by Daniel Mtindiga.
