Beyond The Independence Celebration
On Sunday, October 1, Nigeria celebrated 57 years of independence. It was a celebration that reminded us of our long walk to freedom – how our founding fathers fought to salvage us from the crippling grip of the white supremacists. It reminded us of that day when we broke the shackles of colonialism, that day when we heaved a great sigh of relief. That day when we told ourselves, yes we can. It reminded us of that day when we truly attained the status of nationhood and chose to serve our fatherland with love, strength and faith.
But beyond the independence celebration, we must begin to think of ways to address the multifarious problems that have continued to plague our nation. We must strive to prove we are the true giant of Africa. We must not continue to crawl.
In the North-east, the menace of insurgency has continued unabated, crippling educational activities. Over 2,295 teachers have been killed and 19,000 have been displaced with almost 1,400 schools destroyed and the majority unable to open because of extensive damage, as reported by UNICEF.
Most saddening is the recent increase in the use of children as ‘human bombs’, which has gradually created a climate of mistrust among communities in the Northeast. According to the report by UNICEF, 83 children have been used by Boko Haram to carry out bomb attacks in north-eastern Nigeria, a development that is four times higher than it was for the entire 2016.
Although we commend our security operatives for their efforts so far in containing the scourge of insurgency, a lot more need to be done if the menace must be exterminated.
The constant rise in the rate of unemployment in Nigeria is another issue that must be addressed by the government. Our youths must not continue to roam the streets for lack of jobs. According to a recent report by the National Bureau of Statistics, there was a total of 28.58 million persons in the labour force, either unemployed or underemployed, in the fourth quarter of 2016 compared to 27.12 million in the third quarter, 26.06 million in the second quarter and 24.5 million in the first quarter of the year under review.
Consequent upon the continued rise in the number of unemployed youths is the ever increasing rate of social vices. Like the saying goes, an idle mind is the devils workshop.
It is important to note at this point that our joy at independence was immeasurable, given the pomp and circumstance that surrounded the celebration. Of course, it feels great when you can take decisions without interference. The number of people in attendance at the Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos, venue of the celebration, showed how long we had waited for that day.
In his speech at independence, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, who was then the Prime Minister, said: “This is a wonderful day and it is all the more wonderful because we have awaited our independence with increasing impatience, compelled to watch one country after another overtaking us on the road… But now, we have acquired our rightful status and I feel sure that history will show that the building of our nation proceeded at the wisest pace: it has been thorough and Nigeria now stands well-built upon foundations.”
This speech shows how much our independence was cherished. It shows the dreams our forebears had when they were fighting to be free. Indeed, they foresaw a future brighter than a star-studded night. A future when we all shall live as one despite our ethnic and religious divides.
Now is the time to rise up and address the issues which have constituted a huge source of nightmare to us as a nation. Now is the time. Now is the time to ensure that the dreams of our fathers are achieved. Those in government must do well to represent our interest. We the citizens also owe them a duty to wish them well.
The demands for selfactualisation in the South-east occasioned by structural imbalances in the country - fewer numbers of states and local governments, lesser revenue accruals, political representation, federal employments and political appointments – must be looked into.
The activities of herdsmen in the North-central, which have left countless number of people dead and others maimed, must be addressed and terrorism stamped out.
We must not fail to recall the giant strides of our heroes past – how they fought to give us a sense of belonging. There is still hope for a better Nigeria. A Nigeria of dreams.