Nigeria @ 55: I Choose To Remain Hopeful! By Ogundana Michael Rotimi

On Thursday, 1^st October, 2015, Nigeria turns 55. That is quite a milestone, in terms of age. But in terms of achievements, she falls far below her peers with Malaysia (1963) and Singapore (1965) miles ahead of her.

Just imagine Nigeria as a 55 year old human being, with only 10 years left before retirement, the situation will be dire if not bleak. What does she have to show for the many years of running round in circles?  It means the only investments she can boast of; are the many times she spent at the bar on alcoholic beverages, getting drunk and eating away her beauty. Ending up in a bad shape, like a malnourished child in an abandoned displaced refugee camp.

Nigeria gained her independence from the United Kingdom in the year 1960. 1960, is referred to as the Year of Africa, because of a series of events that took place during the year, especially the independence of seventeen African nations that highlighted the growing Pan-African sentiments in the continent. The year brought about the culmination of African independence movements and the subsequent emergence of Africa as a major force in the United Nations. These rapid political developments led to speculation and hope about the future of Africa as a whole.

Nigeria, before independence, was divided into a federation of three regions – North, East, and West, by the Lyttelton Constitution in 1954. Nigeria, with its population of 34 million then, was already considered the giant of the African continent. But as soon as independence was declared on October 1, 1960, it became confronted with its deep ethnic and religious divisions, which quickly became the cause of its severe political instability. 55 years afterwards, Nigeria is still scrambling and struggling to achieve the basics; motorable roads, quality education, portable water, good health care and the likes.

Nigeria at 55, is suffocating under enormous economic difficulties; rising unemployment, depilated infrastructures, poor social amenities, corruption, just to mention a few. Ahead of the anniversary, the country is struggling to find a solution to the Boko Haram insurgency, which has left thousands dead and millions of people homeless in the North eastern part of the county.

At 55, Nigeria suffers from pervasive corruption. People tasked with the responsibility of using their positions to improve lives have found dubious ways of fleecing the state of billions of Naira. In some cases, people willfully misuse monies given to them to improve the living conditions of those at the bottom of the economic ladder. 

After 55 years of independence, we still have difficulty with our financial discipline. The Naira on daily basis struggles to catch up with the dollar.

In the past 55 years, we have painfully witnessed leakages and corruption in our systems that have made individuals richer than the State. We have empowered people and individuals that have become stronger than our institutions, breaking them down, bit by bit to get away with their many atrocities.

We have become polarized along partisanship, preaching of ethno-tribal political campaign and what have you. We have become separated and divided along so many different lines. The most critical concern is for us to stay united in diversity, recalling that our forefathers fought for a united Nigeria We have produced mis-leaders and dis-honourable men in our 55 years of independence and seem to have fallen off the track, the cynics say and I agree.

My thinking is that whether it is the collapsing health services or deteriorating living conditions, that we have faced for so long,  these are symptoms of a deeper malaise that have to do with the lack of good governance and management, as well as the presence of corruption.

Undoubtedly, Nigeria has made some modest gains. For about 2 decades, it has established a record of political stability and socio-economic progress. But it is regrettable that these gains if not managed well, will be eroded. We seem to view national issues with political lenses. Hence, not enable to provide objective contributions for development, which has resulted in blame game.

Certainly, we have not reached our final destination as regards our march towards growth and development but we have made significant gains and cannot afford to destroy what we have toiled to build.

Looking into the future, we must continue to focus our attention on having a cleaner government by voting for a less corruptible leader. Nigeria is where we are because of incompetent and corrupt leadership that has governed us for far too long. We, as electorates, must endeavor to elect incorruptible leaders to govern the affairs of the country going forward.

While some may disagree that there were no reasons to celebrate, it cannot for one minute be lost on us that we as a nation have come a long way and have had a lot of experience, both good and ugly. The pace of growth and development may actually lack some sense of determination and urgency, the results so far may be mixed, but the HOPE that engulfs our nations as the pride of the entire continent after some 55 years of numerous challenges is what I choose to celebrate.

After all is said and done, the only way to shut those naysayers, will be our resolve to remain hopeful and believe in the course we are charting. Hence, in spite of all, I celebrate our achievements in the past 55 years, because I believe they are the foundational blocks of our development.

Therefore, above all challenges, I choose to remain hopeful. Nigeria will join the league of great nations someday, a day not too far from now.

God Bless Nigeria.

Ogundana Michael Rotimi, is a Nigerian Biochemist, Socio-economic, & Political Commentator, and Public Speaker. He tweets @MickeySunny.