NIGERIA @ 50

In times as these, there's need for a silent awakening, a gentle stir from within, for now be the hour of visions and dreams


Its more than interesting to watch the level of activities that eventually will culminate on the 1st of October the year 2010. It marks the 50th anniversary of a great country once called the "Niger Area" consisting of 4 great empires, ruled and colonized by the British. Named Nigeria at independence, it marked the begining of a new era, the begining of new ideas, the begining of a government of the people by the people, unfortunately not for the people. Over the years as the words of Prof Wole Soyinka put it "the worst of us have been ruling the best of us..." One look at the abundant resources this nation has been blessed with easily brings tears to the eyes of anyone labelled "the common man" he is common because his voice is not heard neither respected in the decision making process of which he bites the hard end of it.
A president once said about one of his cabinet members to his aide "i dont like that man's face" and the aide replied "but sir, u cannot hold him responsible for the way he looks" to this reply the president said "any man above 40 is responsible for the way he looks" that is to say a fool at 40 is a fool forever....is this the case of our great Nigeria?
Painful as it is the truth be said, Nigeria has failed in lots of ways, welfare for her faithful citizens who chant the national anthem for over 25years of their lifetime with nothing to show for it. The ever present darkness that broods over the country, as an epileptic power supply has remained a national pride nobody wants to deal with, even as successive governments have come-up wit supposed blueprints. The literacy level is amazingly not worse than it is, at 138th position out of 181 countries we rub shoulders with small town like countries (like Malawi) whose population is but a fraction of Nigeria's population, sad. Health wise, please dont even go there, while advanced countries with larger population and higher crime rates have expectancy levels of 70 (such as China)and above for both sexes, here in Nigeria to live up to 45years is like a blessing. Infrastructure and Agriculture and Education are worse off than when we first started. Not to mention the political hemorrhage and unaccounted theft of our oil resource, for which people have been died, been hanged, villages annihilated, activists clamoring for changes, militancy sprung up and almost lead to another colonization, this time by the introduction of a united states military base within the shores of this land, an idea that was resisted and spoken against by the entire public and Nigerians in the diaspora.
This regrettable list of unfortunate circumstance we've found ourselves in go on and on, but with the eye shade of corruption and a walking stick of greed issued political office holders on assumption of their duties its easy to see why the country is in a continuous backward moonwalk.
Now at 50 we adorn national colours, sing songs and prepare to celebrate, when we actually should be in mourning over the rape of our innocence, defilement of our sanity, robbery of our resources and future, by both living and the dead....we ask no questions we have become the proverbial zombies of the late Fela Anikulapo's music..wake up, pray for a better day and take no action