57 cheers to Nigeria!
Idrink a toast to Nigeria. For 57 years, this house that Luggard built has weathered the flagellation of many storms. Naysayers have, over the years, predicted the breakup of the country. They said by 2015 Nigeria would have disintegrated. Providentially, that prediction has not materialised even as we have had many testy moments including a fratricidal war. Those who are lying in wait for the crab have a long wait ahead because the crab doesn’t go to bed early.
In spite of our collective acquiescence with underachievement, we can still look around and celebrate the few positive strides we have made as a people. The greatest threat to our nationhood remains the twin factors of ethnicity and religion. Never in the history of Nigeria has the country been so divided. So much sabre-rattling and divisive preachments!
President Buhari, in his Independence Day broadcast, acknowledged that there are many challenges confronting the nation but he cautioned that the elders owe it a duty to educate the younger generation so that the same mistakes of the past would not be repeated.
“Recent calls on re-structuring, quite proper in a legitimate debate, has let in highly irresponsible groups to call for dismemberment of the country. We cannot and we will not allow such advocacy. As a young army officer, I took part from the beginning to the end in our tragic civil war costing about 2million lives, resulting in fearful destruction and untold suffering.
“Those who are agitating for a re-run were not born by 1967 and have no idea of the horrendous consequences of the civil conflict which we went through. I am very disappointed that responsible leaders of these communities do not warn their hot-headed youths what the country went through. Those who were there should tell those who were not there, the consequences of such folly.”
Very well put, Mr. President. Shall we now expect a more inclusive government in which every section of the country will feel that they have stakes in it? I can’t get tired of suggesting that the president expand his kitchen cabinet and truly reflect federal character in key appointments.
Going forward, I see the government finally coming to terms with the calls for restructuring. It is an idea whose time has come. We can design the re-calibration in such a way that no section of the country suffers, but we can’t go on with this acrimonious unitary contraption. Recall that MajorGeneral Aguiyi-Ironsi was eliminated because he decreed a unitary government at a time when the political and military personages of the North had been assassinated. If unitary government was wrong under Ironsi, what makes it right today?
I am fully convinced that Nigeria remains the place to be. We are a vibrant people; the most confident Africans on the surface of the earth. We are making progress somehow in spite of our proclivity for self-destruct. Evidence? Check out our economic trajectory this year (courtesy Bucky Hassan): Jan 2017 Reserves: $26 Billion ECA: $2.45 Billion SWF: $1.25 Billion Inflation: 18.72% N498 - $1 Oil: $55.01 Feb 2017 Reserves: $28.1 Billion ECA: $2.47 Billion SWF: $1.5 Billion Inflation: 17.78% N520 - $1 Oil: $46.39 Mar 2017 Reserves: $30.5 Billion ECA: $2.5 Billion SWF: $1.5 Billion Inflation: 17.26% N470 - $1 Oil: $52.13 April 2017 Reserves: $30.8 Billion ECA: $2.45 Billion SWF: $1.5 Billion Inflation: 17.24% N414 - $1 Oil: $52.94 May 2017 Reserves: $30.36 Billion ECA: $2.3 Billion SWF: $1.5 Billion Inflation: 16.25% N392 - $1 Oil: $50.57 Jun 2017 Reserves: $30.25 Billion ECA: $2.3 Billion SWF: $1.5 Billion Inflation: 16.1% N379 - $1 Oil: $47.66 Jul 2017 Reserves: $30.74 Billion ECA: $2.3 Billion SWF: $1.5 Billion Inflation: 16.05% N368 - $1 Oil: $49.01 Aug 2017 Reserves: $31.8 Billion ECA: $2.3 Billion SWF: $2 Billion Inflation: 16.01% N371 - $1 Oil: $51.64 Sept 2017 Reserves: $32.2 Billion ECA: $2.309 Billion SWF: $2 Billion Inflation: 16.01% N365 - $1 Oil: $59.92 As our country marks its 57th birthday, we ought to resolve to communicate with each other better and bury those ancient stereotypes we inherited from our forebears. We have no business repeating their mistakes.
To my fellow countrymen and women who nurse the hope for a better tomorrow, I commend the wise words of Pope Francis, the leader of the 1.2 billion Catholics in the world:
“You can have flaws, be anxious, and even be angry, but do not forget that your life is the greatest enterprise in the world. Only you can stop it from going bust… Remember that to be happy is not to have a sky without a storm, a road without accidents, work without fatigue, relationships without disappointments.To be happy is to find strength in forgiveness, hope in battles, security in the stage of fear, love in discord…
“Being happy is not a fatality of destiny, but an achievement for those who can travel within themselves. To be happy is to stop feeling like a victim and become your destiny’s author. It is to cross deserts, yet to be able to find an oasis in the depths of our soul…
“To be happy is to let live the creature that lives in each of us, free, joyful and simple. It is to have maturity to be able to say: ‘I made mistakes’… Never give up on happiness, for life is an incredible show.”
Happy birthday, Nigeria!