Nigeria At 60:

Agoso Bamaiyi

 

When Nigeria started out as an Independent country in 1960, it held out great promise to Africa, the Black Race and the rest of the World. The World saw the giant in us and expected us to quickly rise to potential and soon fully manifest.

We had huge and varied natural resources – solid, liquid, gaseous, on land, in sea and in rivers, and underground. We also had a highly educated, inventive, innovative, enterprising and progressive human capital resource that was one of the best in the World, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the finest in all fields and professions.

Our economy was buoyant, supported by industry and manufacturing, agriculture, livestock and fishery, etc. We were leading the rest of Africa in all fields of human endeavour.

Our social services – education and health especially – were on an upswing and among the best in Africa. We invested in schools and universities, medical centres and hospitals. We trained teachers and doctors and engineers and other professionals. The quality and standard was world-class.

We invested in power (Indonesia came and understudied NEPA and went back and replicated it. Today there power sector is light years ahead of ours!), steel, roads, airports and air transportation, etc. We built a world-class military force and Police force. We kept peace around the World and provided leadership for the whole of Africa in sports, aviation, manufacturing, education, science, technology, etc.

As a matter of fact we were doing so well, and held so much promise, that the United Nations Organization, UNO, listed Nigeria, along with Brazil and India, as the top-three developing countries in the World, with the potential to become fully developed and industrialized in 3 decades (one generation).

Both Brazil and India have lived up to that prediction. They have become rich, industrial giants, doing very well in all fields of human endeavour.

 

But not so with Nigeria. 60 years after independence, ours is s story of missed opportunities and unrealized dreams. We are a crawling giant, down on our knees by our own making.

Through commission and omission, fuelled by primordial sentiments, centred on tribalism, regionalism, religious zealotry, and other related ills,  we failed to truly unite and work together for a prosperous and humane country.

Then we gave greed free reign. We engaged in such abhorrent and abominable corruption as was never practiced elsewhere. We stood in a class of our own as far as corruption and disorderliness was concerned. We were so bad that, for a long time, we ranked as the most corrupt country in the World!

The result is general insecurity, banditry, kidnapping, armed robbery, terrorism, Boko Haram insurgency, Herder/farmer bloodbath,  Niger Delta militancy, MASSOB and IPOB separatist movement, grinding poverty, low healthy life expectancy, low standard of living, etc., etc.

Corruption and disorderliness stole our future and destroyed our promise. We arrived at the future, at today, and discovered that we ate our today yesterday. We are our worst enemy. We are our nemesis.

But all hope is not lost.

I see a new generation rising to attain true greatness.

A new generation of politicians and professionals and technocrats and traditional leaders and religious leaders.

A new generation that will abhor and eschew corruption and disorderliness.

A new generation that will rise above primordial sentiments and base considerations.

A new generation that will rise above tribalism and regionalism and religious bigotry, and all the wuru wuru and nyama nyama that has rendered us mediocre and even sub-ordinary.

A new generation that will embody human capital development, education, talent development, arts and crafts.

A new generation that cherish the dignity of labour and believe in hard work and legitimate enterprise.

A new generation that will promote originality, creativity, entrepreneurship and industry.

Right at this moment, they are rising all across the country; in all regions, in all states, in all tribes and in all religions.

This generation will promote merit and our common humanity.

This generation will promote scholarship and professionalism.

This generation will promote creativity and originality.

This generation will promote invention and innovation.

This generation will promote science and technology.

This generation will promote the rule of law and constitutionality.

 

This generation will promote due process and policy continuity.

This generation will promote Human Rights and Gender Equity.

This generation will promote universally-accepted standards and practices.

This generation will promote patriotism and true nationalism.

In short, this generation will promote the very virtues and practices that has made other nations great.

They will restore hope.

They will restore the glory of Nigeria.

They will bring us to the Promised Land.

They will work together purposefully and make Nigeria the best and safest place to live in Africa and one of the top ten best and safest places to live in the World.

You are that generation.

You are the people Nigeria is waiting for.

The question I would like to leave you with is: are you ready! Can you meet the challenge? Are you willing to make the sacrifice and pay the price of greatness?

You can do it.

It is all within you.

I remain Agoso Bamaiyi, your friend for a greater Nigeria and the best things of life.