On October 1, 1960, Nigeria gained independence from the British who had dominated the country for several decades establishing its grip through the then Royal Niger Company.
It was an event that marked a turning point for a nation that had in decades struggled to itself of the apron strings of colonial rule. Soon in 1963, it became a Republic with a new constitution in place.
Despite the long, arduous ride to freedom, It has remained for the country a bumpy ride to maintain its sovereignty and shake off effects of neo-colonialism.
Initially a parliamentary democracy under Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and governor-generals Nnamdi Azikiwe and Sir James Wilson Robertson. However, the country became a Federal Republic when a new constitution was adopted on October 1, 1963, with Azikiwe becoming Nigeria’s first President.
Following a coup in 1966, Nigeria was ruled by a military junta until democracy was restored in 1979, again on October 1, a date of recurrent significance to the country and its people, a day on which it has twice been released from authoritarian control. From then there had been no respite in terms of political stability until 1999 when we now have a historic 25 years of unbroken democracy till date. Even at that our democratic sequence has not been without discordant and disconcerting issues which at times threatened corporate Nigeria.
While we celebrate yet another Independence Day, it would not be inappropriate to reflect on the grim concerns of genuine stakeholders who would want Nigeria to remain one sovereign, workable and unbroken entity.
We are bothered that ethnic and religious bigotry have continued to seep into our country unabated as ethnic entities often see themselves as shortchanged, especially if the leaders do not come from their stock. Therefore, our ethnic diversity has come to be a major factor towards achieving national cohesion despite our over sixty decades as a nation.
Before we get drenched in the many distractions that have held us down as a nation, it would be worthwhile to give gratifying kudos to our heroes who despite their fallibility as humans had made great impact in our achieving independence that we still cherish till date.
Mentioning them would be too long a list but in passing just some of them would make it here. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Anthony Enahoro, Obafemi Awolowo, Tafawa Balewa, S.L. Akintola, Remi Fan-Kayode, Ahmadu Bello, Joseph Tarka, Ozumba Mbadiwe and several others make our hall of fame in achieving the bedrock that on which Nigeria stands today. We make bold to state that this list is not exhaustive as AljazirahNigeria pays glowing tribute to these and several others that are unwittingly omitted.
We urge Nigerians to make this nation an envy of the world given our enormous potentials at 64. Going ahead, religion, ethnicity and obnoxious tendencies should be discontinued in the spirit of making our country better. Several occasions also, we have allowed interference from beyond our shores to determine how well we want to direct our cause.
Our definite foreign policy that would make the nation’s interest inviolable no matter the cost should be the priority. It is disheartening that rather be decisive on what suits us as a nation, we often swayed by what appears only juicy on the surface. Our politicians and technocrats must put selfish and ethnocentric interests aside to further the common good.
Going forward, we must establish our economic reforms towards sustaining our dependence on what we can afford rather than fall prey to some seemingly juicy but unsuspecting pitfalls. This calls for circumspection by our leaders who should ensure that our national interests supercede any other consideration.
AljazirahNigeria felicitates all Nigerians on this auspicious moment and wishes that it be a time of reflection towards a better nation. Happy Independence Day Anniversary!
