The Mistake of 1914: Nigeria at 59
Nigeria is a country of great diversity and contradiction. A country with over 150 million people spread across 250 different ethnic groups, half of them Christian, half of them Muslim. It was sometimes referred to as “Giant of Africa”. It has world class wealth, yet is full of poor people. Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country; a quarter of all Africans are Nigerian. Nigeria is located in West Africa, north of the equator and south of the Sahara desert, its southern coastline dips into the Atlantic Ocean.
Nigeria gained independence from Britain in 1960, hopes were high. With mineral wealth and the most educated workforce in Africa, Nigeria would become Africa’s first superpower and a stabilizing democratic influence in the region. However, those lofty hopes were soon dashed and the country lumbered from crisis to crisis, with the democratic government being overthrown in a bloodbath military coup of January 1966. From 1966 to 1999, the army held onto power almost uninterrupted except for a short-lived return to democracy between 1979 and 1983. Nigeria became democratic in 1999, the period from 1999 till the present is the longest period that Nigeria has ever gone without suffering a military coup.
We have had a total 13 leaders, backing the second appearances of Obasanjo and Buhari in 59 years of Independence. Nigeria is a product of convenience. It’s inhabitants were brought together by accident. They have never been Unified and they may never be. The foundation is faulty, the house is doomed to crumble sooner or later. Attempts to renovate have been mere mouth services. In fact, to survive, we may have to rebuild the house which is not realistic at this point.
Nigeria overtime has become a den of corruption, den of all evils — petrification, killings, kidnapping and banditry never cease to leave this land for decades. If perchance prayers is the only thing needed in developing a country, Nigeria would be in Greatness – or would be on the road to Greatness. The problems of Nigerians are more than what prayers can settle yet we stick to prayer.
De Tocqueville, said that “In every democracy the people get the government they deserve.” Nigerians still find themselves in the palms of desperate politicians who play politics at the detriment of their people’s lives and properties. Nigeria politicians are the sets of humans that will offer you cash-gifts and seek for your functioning brain in return. Nigeria atmosphere cherish whoever that will stay committed to mediocrity than critical thinking. Being inquisitive is a chargeable offense in Nigeria, you must in all means stay away from tasking your brain in asking sound questions that will help in making the government responsible.
Nigeria at 59, I would like the government of this our great nation to beam their lights on these five issues in improving the liveable-ness of Nigeria.
Socio-threat
When we throw away merit in preference for blood, cultural and or place of origin considerations, in appointment, promotion, allocation of resources, we are thereby guilty of nepotism. Nepotism and Genocide are born of the same parents, a heart that unreasonably discriminates, separates and dominates. Both are aspects of the phenomena of exclusion, while one excludes from opportunities, which may lead to anger, frustration and death, the other lead to a quick termination of life through hatred that is called, ethnic cleansing. One is a slow poison; the other is extermination of life with dispatch. A concept of deliberate exclusion; of a group on the point of “they” are different from us, it could also manifest in the belief that “they are to do the work, while we enjoy the fruit of their labour.”
Nothing upholds the philosophy of nepotism in our relationship in Nigeria than the ways we perceive each other. Juniors are placed over seniors not out of any outstanding merit but rather on
Nothing upholds the philosophy of nepotism in our relationship in Nigeria than the ways we perceive each other. Juniors are placed over seniors not out of any outstanding merit but rather on account of where one comes from. What we need in Nigeria is a set of people that have visions of where our nation should be in the immediate future. We are rule by people with perverse ideals about the real needs of our people. Our leaders think of immediate benefits, they are unmindful of investing into the future Stability, Unity and Happiness of our people.
Nepotism is a weapon of disunity and disintegration. It is a weapon in hands of wicked; it has no place in a society racing to catch-up with the fast developing world.
Nigeria Development
When a baby is fed on appropriate diet, without more, he shall grow. As it happens to human beings, so it is with animals and plants. Growth is like a course, infancy, young adult, adulthood and old age. If one continue to feed even on borrowed food or by begging, he will nevertheless run the course.
Development has much to do with exertion of impact or influence on the environment. It has much to do with an increase brought about by creativity, ingenuity and drive to bring into existence what ordinarily, naturally and normally would not have been. Developments should be defined and assessed in terms of its target to meet the real needs of the people of Nigeria.
The real needs of a people are those things that ensure not only continuity of life but also allow for prosperity of a people. As far as the rural backwardness of Nigeria is concerned, from the inception of the nation, food through encouragement of agriculture, shelter through efficient policy on housing delivery, security, education, integrated rural developments, clothing, improvement of health facilities and establishment of industries that will engage the idle hands and minds of our Youths are the REAL NEEDS of Nigerians.
Health Sector
Nigeria’s health sector is in a big disparage and dishearten conditions, the situations of our hospitals, health practitioners and health equipments are enough to be shedding tears for this nation.
How many Nigeria hospitals are working in the same force with their counterparts in the world? While others are in the 21st century, tackling health issues with latest facilities, Nigeria is just launching her pencil factory. Many lives of Nigerians are claim daily in our hospitals from the cases of failed surgeries, wrong blood transfusion, wrong drugs prescription, always filled our ears and our governments never cease to seek health asylum in foreign hospitals.
Nigeria’s health sector should be treated as a strong resource of this nation, as a nation who don’t value lives of its citizens is a failed nation already.
Education Development
According to World Education News and Reviews, Nigeria’s education system encompasses three different sectors; basic education(nine years), post-basic/senior secondary school(three years), and tertiary education(four to six years, depending on the program of study).
According to Nigeria’s latest National Policy on Education(2004),basic education covers nine years of formal(compulsory) schooling consisting of six years of elementary and three years of junior secondary education. Post-basic education includes three years of senior secondary education.
Like the country’s education system as a whole, Nigeria’s basic education sector is overburdened by strong population growth. A full 44 percent of the country’s population was below the age of 15 in 2015, and the system fails to integrate large parts of this burgeoning youth population. According to the United Nations, 8.73 million elementary school-aged children in 2010 did not participate in education at all, making Nigeria the country with the highest number of out-of-school children in the world.
The lack of adequate education for its children weakens the Nigeria system at its foundation. To address the problem, government should declare state of emergency on the education sector, proper education policies should be in place and government should invest more in education rather than their investments in tours and ludicrous money they spend in seeking admission for their children in the assumed saner clime.
Agricultural Development
With a population of 150 million people and a landed area of 923,768 Square kilometers, 70% of which has one thing or the other to do with agriculture, agriculture should be the main economy stay of Nigeria. In pre-colonial and colonial societies of Nigeria before the existence of Crude oil, foods eaten by Nigerians were locally produced by Nigerians.
We do not have an unjust God, for if he is not just, then he is not God. The standard operation of God in creation is that he would not create a thing or being for which He had not made sufficient provision for its sustenance. If He created man to live in the sea, desert, savannah or the mangrove, He must have made adequate provisions not only for his survival but also for a good living standard. It is hereby noted that a Nation of 923,768 Square kilometers, 150 million people, alluvial hydromorphic (wet) and ferruginous tropical soil that are agriculturally productive, could not have been created by God to be spoon by the oil rich only. What could sustain the people of Nigeria is withing the soils and environment of each states, government should take responsibility and helps the farmers in making necessary modern farm tools available at cheapest rates and roads leading to villages should be motorable for easy access to buyers and investors.
Conclusion
Nigeria at 59, Nigerians are still searching for flags greener than their country’s flag. The more you stay in this country, the more the flag withered. Nigerians hopes are in siege, in this country you cannot voice your criticism without being Sowore-ised. The folks leading us here are sailing our Boat to destruction, they are letting us see our 1914 amalgamation as a mistake as posited by one of our founding father, the Sarduana of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello. Nigerians should on this day, come together, mend fences, overlook social vices and unite in taking this country to the greatest heights.
God bless Nigeria.
Happy Independence Day
Nigeria at 59
Tajudeen Abdulwahab
Abdwahabtajudeen@gmail.com
