Driving to church on the 1st of October last year, Nigeria’s independence, Nigerians in their unusual fashion were not adorned in Green and White clothing, trotting the roads paying respect to the 1960 event that freed the nation from colonial rule. You could only spot sparsely distributed green and white outfits.
A lot was different about Nigeria’s 57th independence day celebration in Jos. I’ve spent my whole life in Jos, and every independence day in this city was always lit and crazy. You could never miss the guy painted green and white, standing in the sun at the Hill Station roundabout or the boy in a green and white hat riding on his bicycle down Joseph Gomwalk way with a flag dancing gracefully in the wind or the lady who made her special independence day hair, with green and white hair attachments, guys with coloured beards and painted faces, or even the old man taking a walk in a green and white muffler or the always anticipated school March-past at the stadium.
Almost every one in traffic unlooked the boy who was selling the Nigerian flag.
All these were missing this year and my younger sister said, “Today doesn’t even look like it’s independence day” and I replied, “Seems Jos people no longer cares about Nigeria or it’s independence“. And then, my cousin added, “Who independence epp? We’re still under colonial rule, just that it’s not the white man this time, it’s us doing us” and I can’t help but acknowledge this truth.
Nigeria is 57 years old, at least she is older than 54.07 years, the life expectancy for an average Nigerian. Even at her “old age”, she still exhibits attributes of a crawling baby. Carrying the heavy load of tribalism, nepotism, witch-hunting, and corruption, the father of all these while being ruled by convicted thieves, established money launderers and even the old, and fragile. Rulers of yesterday, struggling with the “leaders of a new generation” one mostly populated by the Nigerian youth, one with a focus of reclaiming our title ‘Giant of Africa’.
She seems not to be able to move on after her divorce from her abusive husband, 57 years ago. She can’t seem to get peace of mind as her offsprings have decided to bring hell on themselves, slaughtering themselves as far as Borno, plotting the disintegration of her household as our Biafran siblings plan. She’s unrested as her privileged sons trample the rights of others, as they squander the sweats of the tax payer. Defiling the precepts elders held dear through their joust. Fela rightly said in “Kolomentality”;
I say you fit never release yourself
Kolomentality,
He be say you be colonial man,
You don be slave man before,
Them don release you now,
But you never release yourself.
Nigeria has evolved over the years, From Democracy to Military rule and back to Democracy, we’ve survived. We’ve survived, and are still surviving the Military’s ‘whip’ & Democracy, ‘democrazy’. Nigeria’s problems are enormous, so much to handle. At our old age, we still import tooth picks while bamboo plants blooming in Benue State waste. She still import clothing materials, while already decayed Textile factories begging and pleading for revitalisation. She still moves on death traps for roads, spending days in darkness with no electricity.
Isn’t it obvious our ‘black diamond‘ can no longer cater for our daily increasing needs?
Not to talk of the teeming population of graduates churned out every year. We keep recycling old, aging and clueless leaders. Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, a “recyclee” said “until Nigeria gets the right leadership, it’s problems would continue“. This statement is so true and relevant in today’s Nigeria. We always see the handwriting on the wall, and then it vanishes. We vote in a leader, he messes up, we lament, and the cycle repeats at the next elections. And then, we trouble God, praying for a “better” Nigeria when we steady make it worse the moment we resume our tribalism on a Monday morning in our offices. In as much as we keep getting incompitent governments, we are also party to these problems. We still suffer from acute Kolomentality.
The 2019 elections are around the corner and we still have pot-bellied, nonsense-spitting hogs of former and present governors, vice presidents and humans with one sole purpose, to further derange Nigeria and render her the “Pygmy of Africa“. Naija, how far? Abeg, can we have sensible, youthful and purpose driven people with dreams of making Nigeria great again at the soul of the next elections? Can we boldy stop accepting people who just spit on microphones, display empty heads and distributing hate in speeches? Can we leave tribalism in un-amalgamated, precolonial Nigeria?
The realization of New Africa can only be possible by the African cultivating spiritual balance, which leads to the practicalization of social regeneration, to realizing economic determination, becoming mentally emancipated , and ushering in a political resurgence. – Nnamdi Azikiwe
Nigeria, and Africa at large is in need of mental emancipation, political cleansing and the riddance of archaic, culturally invested ills. It’s time we actually “shine our eyes” and blind the evil from our treasury. Getting your Permanent Voters Card is the first step in trying to get over Nigeria’s bitter divorce.
