On
1st October 2010, Nigeria celebrates its Golden Jubilee as an independent
nation following the concession of the administration of the nation to
Nigerians by the British colonial government in 1960. At fifty, there is the
need to take stock and see if there is anything to party about.
The
immediate challenges before an independent Nigeria in 1960 was how to sustain
the economic growth, foster unity and sustain our leadership role in Africa.
These issues thus serve as benchmarks for appraising the progress or otherwise
of the Nigerian nation.
On
the morning of our fiftieth anniversary, I listened to a BBC journalists asking
Gen. Yakubu Gowon, former military leader, to list what he feels are the
successes of the nation after fifty years of independence. The general was more
emphatic on the unity of the nation. According to him, the ability of the
leaders to ensure the continued unity of a country with a complex ethnic and
religious diversity should be seen as the greatest success recorded and for which
Nigerians should have something to cheer about. He talked about the civil war
his administration fought to keep the nation as one between 1967 and 1970 as
one demonstration of the ability of the government live up to expectation. Yes,
it is true. The war succeeded in keeping the nation as one. The point of
concern however, is that while the people were united, they did so with
grudges. It is not that the Ibos or Biafrans never wanted to be part of
Nigeria. They wanted it under circumstances that ensured their happiness. The
leaders never gave Nigerians generally, this desire up till this point when we
are celebrating fifty years of nationhood. Continue reading
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