by 
Before the coming into existence of a country called “Nigeria”, obtainable were the northern protectorate, southern protectorate and the colony. These were merged together during the amalgamation on the 1st January, 1914, under the watch of Lord Frederick Lugard to form a single colony called Nigeria.
Nigeria is a country that was under colonization before and after amalgamation, it attained independence on the October 1st, 1960. Pursuant to that date, Nigeria will be 60 in a matter of days. People often celebrate their 50th or 60th birthday. This usually happens for successfully navigating the vicissitudes of life, especially in a global environment full of threats from different directions.
Nigeria is a country that is continually internally and externally induced by stresses of politics, economic, social and other kinds. But, ceteris paribus — including the fact that it doesn’t take its continued existence for granted- Nigeria can live much longer and attain greatness by drawing multiple and diverse strengths from its plurality.
As cited above, people celebrate their birthdays after successfully surviving and overcoming calamities and obstacles that are bound to occasion in a life-spam of a living person, Nigeria, too, suffered and survived man-inflicted stresses and pressures in the last 59 years. This country experienced coup d’état, a civil war, intermittent communal, religious and tribal clashes amongst others. Our country continues to endure generally parasitic elite composed of a crooked business class, an unconscionable, self seeking political class, egoistic political leaders and arrogant & selfish traditional rulers.
It is definitely an achievement that this country remains intact. But mere survival is never good enough.
Research reveals that diamond acquires its exceptional properties by subjection to extreme conditions; temperature of more than 1,200 degrees C (equivalent to 2,200 F) and pressure of about 330,000kg (totaling 725,000 lb) per square. These happen at more than 90 miles under the ground and over a period of a billion years. If time, temperature and pressure make diamond, the character and achievement of Nigeria should by now have so much to be proud of.
Regrettably, this country of so much is merely a diamond in the making. So, even though there is cause to rejoice that we remained one at all, if we consider where this country should be by its 60th anniversary in a few days to come, there are not enough reason to mark this event the way a diamond anniversary is usually celebrated. Nevertheless, I dare not give up on or lose hope on my country. I won’t even try, I have no other.
As Dostoyevsky warns, to live without hope is to cease to live. I don’t want to die, yet. I, therefore dream and hope for Nigeria that is great, ready, willing and able to fulfill its destiny amongst the black race.
The great Nigeria I dream of will not happen to us miraculously, we will have to work on it. To do that, we will first have some reflection. Maya Angelou says “if you don’t know where you have come from, you don’t know where you are going”. How did we come this far? Where did we get it wrong? In the words of Nigerians, “where did the rain begin to beat us?”
It is on this premise that I outlined some of the major obstacles that help significantly in orchestrating the Nigeria’s setback and the country’s chameleon walk, to wit:
- Nigerians
- Corruption
- Leadership
- Polity
These will be discussed in turn:
- Nigerians: people, the human asset indubitably impel development and progress. Chief Obafemi Awolowo posited long ago that man is the prime mover in every economy and the positive and dynamic factor of development. Also, the erstwhile United Nations’ secretary general, U- Than, said “it is not the resources that make the decisions, it’s the (human) decisions that make the resources”. Briefly enough, Nigeria lacks the human quality it needs.
Come to think of it, even in the best system of government it is the operators (people) that make it work and not the constitution or act of the parliament. The implication of this is that irrespective of the constitutional review and the electoral reforms carried out by the national assembly, if Nigerian’s stick to their own ways of doing things the system will not work effectively. There is therefore an unflinching need of change in human quality to arrive at the Nigeria of my future.
- Corruption: it goes without saying that corruption contributes immensely to Nigeria’s setback. Corruption is, without any doubt, everywhere in the country but, as Mr. Dan Agbese rightly wrote, “the worst part of corruption is system corruption”. By now it is believed by virtually every right-thinking Nigerian that corruption bedevils the nation. The more unfortunate reality is that all the governments clamoring fight against corruption failed woefully at the very beginning. You can’t expect a corrupt person to fight corruption. This is akin to subjecting the system to the worst situation than it is. Unless this is addressed, the road to Nigeria of my future is bumpy.
- Leadership: this, as the rest of the factors, flows directly from the first factor discussed above. Leadership of an independent country like Nigeria cannot be carried out by the people of other countries all things being equal, it has never happened. Since the people of the country are not up to the quality the country requires from them, failure in leadership is expected. Achebe in his work (composed of Nigerians 1983) said “the trouble of Nigeria is the failure in its leadership”. Leadership in Nigeria could be easily addressed if people’s ways of doing things changes, for character deficiency is the heart of the problems with the country.
- Polity: politics, they say, is the super structure upon which economy rests. Nigeria’s polity is in a dire need of reform, the county’s electoral process through which people mount the helm of leadership is only good on papers. It is, for example, all over the news that the US government imposed an entry ban on some of the Nigerian politicians that are alleged to have perpetrated Kogi state election misnomer.
It is my dream that one day votes of Nigerians will count and we shall bid farewell to electoral fraud. In the Nigeria of my future, our democracy will be built on one man, one vote- the only condition for the sustenance of constitutional democracy. I believe that if the people’s votes count, the leadership will be accountable to Nigerians.
Once you fix polity, you remedy so many socio-economic problems plaguing the society. Though this sounds like a tall dream, it is possible with the electoral reforms, empowerment and positive attitudes by Nigerians.
Nigeria of my future is a country where Nigerian citizens enjoy critical infrastructure such as good roads, water, uninterrupted power supply, railway network to mention but a few. Power will power the economy and help the country to attain the millennium development goals. With power, industries — large and small scale businesses — would yield optimum results.
A vibrant railway network will make our roads last longer because most of the cargoes carried on roads will have to be transported by rail. This has far-reaching short and long term impact by reducing the cost of transportation and subsequently of food and other goods transported which will ultimately lower inflation.
Nigeria of my future is possible, the earlier changes are effected in these areas the better.
God bless Nigeria!
Usman Adamu can be reached via usmanadamu3310@gmail.com
