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Nigeria @ 61

THE Hope felicitates with Nigeria and Nigerians on the occasion of the celebration of 61 years of gaining political independence from Britain. At this time we find it instructive applauding the heroes of our independence, our foremost Nationalists who fought intellectually, with principles void of the shedding of blood to attain the God given freedom and hence the emancipation of our people from the chains of colonialism. The redemption mandate went beyond the shores of Lagos to other African countries and ensured that colonialism in whatever form, being alien, was eradicated from the birthplace of the Blackman.
ALTHOUGH, the independence crusaders succeeded, but The Hope is appalled that after six decades, the chains have returned to the waists, wrists and necks of their offsprings. We note that Nigerians, born free, have found themselves chained in the same shackles over the years. Sixty-one years after shouting ‘uhuru’, the problems bedeviling the nation have not only changed form they have aggravated.
NEPOTISM, tribalism, economic downturns, ethnic clashes, violent politics, corruption and official brutality have been recurring headlines on newsprints. Given the vision and hope of the founding fathers of an independent Nigeria, we had hoped that Nigeria, would not just be the Giant of Africa, but also a towering giant in the comity of nations but we had ended as a sleeping giant.
THE Hope is unapologetic in her opinion that Nigeria in its present state reflects the failure of the political class. While the political class of the Asian Tigers, Rwanda, United Arab Emirates, and others, who donned the cloak of colonialism, had been able to unite her diverse peoples, and build upon the foundations of history to become developed nations of the world, our political class has elevated corruption, magnified our diversities, pauperized the citizens and forced many to slavery in other nations of the world.
THE greatest challenge to this nation, we observe, is the opportunities given to centrifugal forces, through petty politics, to tear the nation apart. The feelings of marginalisation by different subgroups have come to the fore, and the quest for change has become stronger than ever before.
THESE agitations, in whatever forms, could have been quelled if the political class had made allowance for necessary changes in the nation’s constitution. For more than a decade, the clamour for the practice of true federalism had fallen on deaf ears, and fiscal federalism has become an anathema, thereby giving rooms for marginalization and cries for secession. A nation involved in a war of unification cannot at the same time pursue the programmes of economic development.
THE Hope strongly opines that now is the time for the nation and her leaders, in repentant retrospect, to discuss their grievances, and produce a practicable and accepted document that would ensure the equality of all men, and tribes and also guarantee the inalienable rights of all federating units to remain coordinate and independent, in words and in truth.
FOR the followers, this 61st anniversary, and the present state of the nation, place, a burden for change on their shoulders. When the struggle for independence was rife in the country, it was the youth who championed the cause, and contributed to its attainment. To the disillusioned youths, it is time to accept the challenge that the destiny of the new emancipation of the country lies on their shoulders. Therefore, rather than involve in frivolities, and being contented with the struggle for the meat that falls from the ‘Master’s table’, it is time to engage in deliberate studies, focused political participation and purposeful self-development to rescue the nation from imminent collapse.
THE Hope believes that with a united development plan, good leadership, and true federalism, there is still hope for a strong Nigerian nation. When leaders of this great nation begin to see Nigerians as assets rather than liabilities; partners and not competitors; humans and not tools; there would be a rebirth of the true Nigerian spirit, as it was at independence. With the recognition of the sanctity of human lives, the creation of a business friendly environment and the adoption of genuine national development plans, the flag of this nation shall soar beyond the stars.

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