As We Turn 56

Courtesy:thebreakingtimes.com

For reasons I cannot explain, on the eve of my birthdays I'm always sober, no excitement or any of those emotions I believe people experience when their birthdays are approaching. Mine's this sober reflection into the past years, checking how far I have come, the way forward, mistakes made, lessons learnt, etc.
In all this though, I always find a reason to be thankful to my God for how far I have come, even if it is not always where I dreamt of being at that particular year.

So, on this eve of Nigeria's 56th Independence Anniversary I can't help but ponder also on how far we've come as a country, though we seem to be going forward and backward. My mother is 56 years old, born a few months before we achieved our independence in 1960, and I know how far she has come as an individual. Nigeria still seems like a toddler when compared to 56 years old human beings. 

Courtesy: www.zazzle.com

56 years later we cannot boast of stable power supply; I still do not know the magic they do during rainy season as power supply improves then, while during dry season we go back to perpetual darkness all over the country. Can't we get it right? The citizens that import and sell generators will  likely pray we don't and even sabotage every effort to stabilise power supply as it'd mean no business for them. Sad!

I still ask what we have done to offend God so much that he has cursed us with bad leadership. What have we done to deserve the kind of leaders and citizens we have? The issue is not only with our leaders, if we have to be honest with ourselves. Someone told me of how an owner of a viewing centre would bribe officials at a particular power holding office so they'd disconnect their electricity supply once it was time to watch any major football league match so people would come to his viewing centre, drink, eat and watch the matches. Tomorrow this person would become a leader and you think he'd stop oppressing people or tending to his selfish desires only?

Our leaders travel abroad, see and appreciate the wonderful things there, yet they do not deem it fit to duplicate such here. We pray for God to help us in this country, whereas God has given us every thing needed to make this country great. Countries that do not have half of the natural resources we have here have done much more than we have in order to improve their countries and make life better for their citizens. 

Often times I liken Nigeria to a child whose parents have amassed a lot of wealth (like our dirty leaders and politicians here), the child will definitely feel reluctant to study or work hard, afterall there's already huge wealth to fall back on and enjoy. That is what we're facing here; since we discovered oil in Nigeria, we have abandoned every other thing that will yield money or that used to yield money for us before the discovery of oil, and focused only on the oil. Killing and maiming just to control it. That is why the avengers or militant groups from the Niger-Delta region can hold the country to ransom because they know we totally depend on it.

Now that the price of oil has crashed, various states have started  exploring other mineral resources that are in their states, looking for new ways to raise revenue. However, trust me that when the oil price bounces back, we'd forget all these explorations and agriculture and go back to drilling and spending like there's no tomorrow. We just keep going round in circles and refuse to learn any lessons from the mistakes of the past.

56 years is no joke. A 56 years old woman have passed her prime and have most likely become menopausal;  a 56 years old man have gone beyond all forms of mid-life crisis and have settled well into ageing gracefully and healthily. Why must Nigeria at 56 still be tottering about like a toddler? We seem to be taking one step forward and 5 steps backward? Some people believe we've made remarkable progress, but I beg to differ. The citizens have never had it so rough. Families can barely feed. Whether it's as a result of past mismanagement or present tough policies, the fact is that people are suffering. 

As the optimist that I am, I sincerely believe there's light at the end of this very long, dark tunnel. I just hope we'll still be alive to witness it. As a citizen, do your part, support and obey the government. I believe that all religions advice their followers to obey the rules of the land, and we're overly religious in this country, so there you have it. Obey traffic rules, pay your tax, show love, vote wisely (do not be bought over with money). As a leader, cursed are you if you abuse the trust the citizens put in you.

Happy Independence Anniversary Nigeria. 

Have a nice weekend and holiday. 

Hugs...