By Prince Olalekan Olagunju -Nigeria as a nation came into being in 1914 as a result of the amalgamation of the Northern and Southern Protectorates by Lord Fredrick Lugard and christening by Floral Shaw (Lugard’s wife), during the colonial domination of the continent of Africa by the colonial masters/ dictators.
Finding ourselves as Nigerians in this part of the world was predetermined or designed by God himself. If one was born a black man or African, Caucasian (White), Mongolian (Yellow), American (Red), or Malayan (Brown), the baseline remains an ordinance of divinity. Therefore, finding ourselves in this part of the globe is an open reality we cannot kick against.
Before Nigeria’s independence in 1960, a lot of nationalists had meaningfully contributed their quota at various levels towards our progress as a nation. Today we can proudly see their footprints. Henry Carr, Herbert Macaulay, initiator of the first political party in Nigeria in 1922, Dr. Nnamdi Azikwe popularly called Zik of Africa, Sir Abubarka Tafawa Balewa (Golden voice of Africa), Madam Efunroye Tinubu and Chief Obafemi Awolowo fondly called Papa Awo, among others. All these heroes and many others had fought for our emancipation from colonial rule and oppression.
Nigeria at 100 now at 112; one might be tempted to ask, what can we boast of or mention as our achievements? Indeed, much progress was made pre and post independence but unfortunately, we have not been able to sustain these achievements on a continuous basis.
A good reference is the education sector where we have institutions as the University of Ibadan, Ahmadu Bello University, University of Nigeria, Nsuka; University of Lagos, University of lfe now Obafemi Awolowo University; State Universities, Private Universities, Polytechnics, Monotechnics and other tertiary institutions. Many of these institutions have turned out myriads of professionals and academics that can stand among their equals on international spectrum.
In the agricultural sector, Nigeria could boast of groundnut pyramids in the north, palm oil, rubber plantations in the south; while Nigeria was a prime position of cocoa globally with Ghana and Brazil. It was said that Malaysia, one of the world’s largest producers of palm oil today, begged for palm seedlings from Nigeria. Chief Obafemi Awolowo as Premier of Western Nigeria, built Cocoa House in Ibadan, established farm settlements, and founded the first television station in Africa.
We must thank God for sustaining us as an entity despite our turmoil or challenges in the past till date.
Without mincing words, time has come for redress and self analysis as a nation or individuals and as a people. We need to set our priorities right and make sure we make constitutional objectives and various national policies work and effectively too, for sustainable economic, social, cultural, educational, scientific and technological development. Several countries in the world had persevered through thick and thin; and have been able to deliver good governance to their people.
Pertinent questions must be asked?. Have we been able to attain our national objectives as contained in the 1999 Nigeria Constitution as amended and national policies at various levels? We must note that for real progress to be made, fear of God, good governance, prudence and accountability, must be entrenched in the nation’s systems.
America’s founding fathers, George Washington, John Adams, Abraham Lincoln, Roosevelt Delano and Jimmy Carter among others made their positive imprints in the annals of United States of America. Same for other great leaders as Chairman Mao Tse Tung of China, a dedicated and imaginative leader who brought spectacular and rapid modernization to China and former King of Jordan, King Hussein Bin Talal who transformed his nation from grass to grace in his lifetime. We cannot but mention Julius Nyerere of Tanzania and late President Nelson Mandela of South Africa. They were resolute and aggressive in attaining their visions of greatness for their countries and applied principles of truth, fairness, hardwork, true love, determination among others.
Despite the nation’s (Nigeria) bitter moments, it is never too late to have a rethink, make amends, right the wrongs and make restitution of past misdeeds. We should be equipped with determination to succeed as a nation and as a people. China, India and the United States of America are more vast in physical size and population, yet they are still one entity as individual nations. Fragmenting or partitioning Nigeria at this moment may not be the best solution to our challenges. It is very certain that we are now at a cross-roads; an where do we go from here?
Our remedy lies in unquestionable determination to heal all wounds inflicted on ourselves through greed, self centredness, insincerity, ineptitude, double standards, religious bigotry, conspiracy or evil imagination, tribalism and corruption in all forms ravaging our society like a monster. We need to confess and repent of these misdemeanor; resolve to forge ahead, believe in our abilities and capability to succeed and most importantly, harp on what unites us rather than what divides us. Let us create room for fairness, equal rights and opportunity, respect for the rule of law, justice and fair play in dealing with ourselves without recourse to tribal sentiments/prejudices and ethnicity.
At all levels of government, education should be given ample priority. Our curriculum should address global challenges in science and technology; while our youths should be transformed into equipped, exposed and well rounded persons. Nigeria is seven years older than Singapore, today the late Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew had placed Singapore among top countries as Korea, Taiwan, Japan and China.
Nigeria should work hard to become giant in science and technology. At home or abroad we can boast of brilliant men and women as physicists, computer geniuses, engineers, pilots, chemists, mathematicians, technicians, artists, creative writers etc., richly knowledgeable Nigerians are also ranked among endowed faculty members in foreign universities. It should be noted that if we are determined and with sincerity of purpose, our vision of making Nigeria safe, secure and the true giant of Africa will be achieved without reference to what divides us.
Let’s pray for the peace of Nigeria.
This article was 1st published in February 2014 in Lagos State Government Newspaper, Alausa Alert.
Olagunju writes from Crawford University in Igbesa Ogun State, Nigeria. Email: princesadeolas@gmail.com
