Posted by: Emeka Alex Duru (08054103327, (email protected))
An interpretation of Nigeria’s allegory of a blind man who was asked to describe an elephant reveals that each person had a different impression of the mammoth depending on which part of the body they touched. However, that is not a mistake. Countries mean a lot to their people depending on how they are encountered.
Nigeria is a great country, some say in fact the giant of Africa, but this is obviously based on its size, population, natural resources and other potential characteristics. Some see him as Lilliputian, lacking the will to make the most of a huge opportunity. Others simply say that it is a crippled giant who can no longer stand on its feet. They are all correct.
Here is a being who is blessed with everything for growth and development, yet refuses to grow. Rather, Nigeria appears to be constantly in backward gear, losing all the gains it previously recorded. Instead of standing firm, Nigeria has been tottering and relying on motherly luck and providence. So the trend of stumbling and groping is being blamed on Fanny Amun, a former handler for the U-20 men’s soccer team.
In 1999, when Nigeria hosted the Under-20 World Cup, Amun, who was the coach of the Flying Eagles at the time, did not live up to the expectations of many, but they managed to record a win and finish in the top half. Introducing the participating teams. tournament.
When asked about the chances of his sons making further strides in light of their lackluster performance, he reportedly declared that the team “will be staggering and fumbling until we reach the finals.” There is. In fact, the team progressed in erratic fashion, eventually winning the bronze medal in the tournament. Ament later denied making the comment, but it has since been used freely in the world of football and politics.
At 64 years old, Nigeria continues to totter and grope. In the October 1, 2021 article “The 61-year-old nation and its precarious path,” I was struck by the face of the late Mary Chuker Kafundu (MCK), one of the foot soldiers of this country’s march to freedom. It reminded me of the paradox of nostalgia and regret. Mr. Ajuruchukwu spoke of his excitement about Nigeria’s independence on October 1, 1960 and what the country has become since then.
MCK, an accomplished journalist, told a moving story about the dreams of Nigeria’s founding fathers, especially the vision of a giant corporation that would champion and protect the cause of its people and, indeed, black people around the world. Emboldened by a fascinating vision, our predecessors led thousands of young people and even old people who gave their raw energy and courage to the nationalist struggle, and on September 30, 1960, at midnight We gathered at the Lagos Racecourse (Tafawa Balewa Square) before time. It heralds the birth of a new nation.
By 12:00 a.m., the lights in the arena were turned off. When the switch was turned on a few seconds later, a new era began. Nigeria was independent. The green-white-green flag took over the position of the British Union Jack. Ajulchukwu was at a loss for words to describe the euphoria that washed over him and others at the event. However, when asked to evaluate his journey so far, the old warhorse bowed his head in regret and said: “What people are chasing now is not what we fought for.” He belonged to a class of Nigerians who died in the throes of beautiful dreams they had as their nation failed. .
It is common for citizens, especially young people and urban elites, to say this when they encounter fellow citizens who may have been hurt by domestic conditions or who may have been misled in business or political ventures. “Nigeria happened to him.” Simply put, the person lost. Some might say he’s an autumn person. That is the situation that most people are in now. We have been made corrupt by the system.
At one point during the volatile days of Second Republic revolutionary music stardom, Sonny Okosans was posing a rhetorical question in one of his songs. “Which one is Nigeria?” He said that years after independence, he feels the country still has to stand up. Mr. Okosans was asking how long it would take for the country to reach the Biblical Promised Land. This question goes unanswered and remains unanswered.
It is impossible to talk about the path that led Nigeria to its current dire state without mentioning the disgraceful role of its past leaders. Literary icon Chinua Achebe was right when he said in his book “Nigeria’s Problem” that “Nigeria’s problem is, plain and simple, a failure of leadership.” The successive leaders of this country have failed the people’s expectations in many ways.
The 64-year-old Nigeria is literally on all fours. The development index, which was supposed to be on an upward trend, is reversing. Compared to China, whose National Day is celebrated on October 1st, Nigeria is still nowhere near that country. China’s GDP in 2022 was $17.96 trillion, while Nigeria’s was $252 billion. Nigeria’s continental peers, South Africa and Egypt, each generate 58,000 megawatts. It can barely generate 5,000MW. At one point, Nigerian Airways had the largest fleet of aircraft in Africa. However, currently the country cannot boast of a single airplane.
Nigerian politics is also in recession. Trademark tolerances that existed between component units in the past no longer exist. Currently, all ethnic groups coexist in a state of mutual suspicion, distrust, and disharmony. In 1952, Malam Umaru Altin, a Fulani from Sifawa in the Sokoto Caliphate, was elected the first mayor of Enugu, the political capital of the Igbo state. In the Western Region, Emmanuel Ebubedike, an Igbo man, was the Honorable Member of Parliament representing Ajelonmi/Ifelodun/Badagry constituency in the Western Regional House of Assembly. The same accommodations are replicated elsewhere.
But in 2023, in the same supposedly cosmopolitan city of Lagos, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, the special media adviser to President Bola Tinubu and his fellow bigots, will not be able to guarantee that Igbo people will vote or be voted in. I definitely didn’t admit that. By seeing each other as compatriots, Nigerians are beginning to see themselves through the narrow prism of religion and region of origin.
The Edo State gubernatorial election was held on September 21 as the nation struggles to overcome the electoral heist perpetrated in the 2023 general elections overseen by Professor Mahmoud Yakubu and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The farce that was passed clearly showed that. Democracy had not taken root in this country. Add these anomalies to the travesty of local government where governors and ruling parties in each state brazenly usurp all the chairmanships and councilor positions and one can only conclude that Nigeria is a lost hope.
It is therefore not enough for President Tinubu to declare in his independence speech that his administration understands the challenges that the people are experiencing. These have become platitudes that jump out at him every time he appears in public, without any clear corresponding action. This time, we need to devise a realistic strategy that eliminates propaganda in order to tackle the problem on the ground. If he wanted to know, this house would fall apart.
He is right that Independence Day in 2024 provides an opportunity to reflect on our nation-building efforts and renew our commitment to a better nation that serves present and future generations. Perhaps that is the only way to fill the missing piece in Nigeria’s march to greatness.
•DURU is the editor of a niche newspaper in Lagos
