Last week, Nigerians rolled out the drums and celebrated the nation’s 60th independence anniversary. From Abuja to Lagos and to Enugu, Nigeria was in a celebrative mood. While some individuals used the occasion to demonstrate and protest against what they consider our missed opportunities and bad government, some groups ordered people to sit at home. These are signs that all is not well with the nation.
Without doubt, we have missed so many opportunities to reach the Promised Land. And we have lamented so much about our woes, including the ones that are self-inflicted. In spite of all these, the nation’s Diamond Jubilee anniversary was well celebrated across the country. It offered all of us an opportunity to tell each other the truth about the nation, the widening cracks on its walls and how to amend them. It is believed that our political leaders must have had enough feedback on how the people feel about them and what they have done so far.
The anniversary gave Nigerians a good opportunity for sober reflections on our journey to nationhood, our mistakes, our achievements and what we should do to make Nigeria great. Having elaborately celebrated our 60th independence anniversary, we should be more concerned now with what Nigeria will look like in the next 20 or 40 years to come. Where Nigeria will be in the next 60 years must be of utmost concern to our political leaders and indeed all the stakeholders in the Nigerian project. It is true that we have been building this nation for the past 60 years. But, it appears our efforts are not good enough.
Therefore, we must put more men to the job. We mean men with vision and imagination. Our leaders must begin to be futuristic in their thinking about Nigeria. The usual obsession with the next cycle of election is no longer tenable. The time has really come for our leaders to saddle themselves with legacies they should leave behind and what the country will be after them. The various reports and opinions on Nigeria at 60 did not show that we have done so well as a nation.
Most of the articles, essays and stories were lamentations on what Nigeria has failed to achieve despite its enormous human and material resources. This is one country that can be said that nature was prodigal in giving it virtually everything we need. We have oil, gas, and many solid minerals. Every state of the federation is blessed with one or two of these minerals. We have enough arable land for farming. We have enough water for irrigation, farming and fishing. We have enough sunshine that should have given us the needed electricity.
Our climate is probably one of the best in the world. We have enough rain and enough sunshine. Wind is equally available. We have natural fruits and vegetables. We are blessed with food crops as well as cash crops. We have no business importing foods. We can grow rice, sugarcane, beans, wheat, groundnut, yam, cocoyam, cassava and many others in commercial quantities. We rear animals and keep poultry but not enough for export. Our agriculture is yet to be fully mechanized. That is why we still import food and even poultry.
It is sad that we still import palm oil from Malaysia, a country that took its first palm seedlings from Nigeria in the 60s. Are we growing or retrogressing? Economists answer me. Why are things not working in Nigeria? Why are we the way we are? Why is the rain still beating us? Why can’t we move forward as other progressive nations? Is the problem with us or in our stars? These are germane posers for our political leaders and other stakeholders in the Nigerian project. These are issues we must not gloss over or run away from.
We have rubber, timber, cotton, cocoa, palm tree, cashew and other cash crops. We have so many other crops that space will be inadequate for me to put in print in this article. Despite having these natural resources which can if well harnessed make us great, we are fixated on oil and gas. In fact, we are more fixated on crude oil because it brings easy money and we have refused to develop other non-oil sectors. Oil is why we have failed to develop our agriculture. Oil is why our textile industries are dead. Oil is why our politics is fragmented and exclusive. Oil is why we are running a unitary federalism. We can go on and on to blame our failures on oil.
Although our 60 years cannot be said to be a catalogue of woes alone, we should have done better. Now that we have apparently squandered our 60 years, there is urgent need to make sure that we maximize the next 60 years to demonstrate that the black man can really do what other races have done in terms of doing much in science and technology. We used to blame our misfortunes on colonialism, neo-colonialism and anything that has to do with our unfortunate encounter with the white colonialists.
It is true that slavery, slave trade and colonialism affected the history of Nigerians in so many ways. It is also true that colonialism affected our development but many years after colonialism, we have not fared much better. India, Singapore, Malaysia and some other countries were also colonized and they have made giant strides in human and material development. It is no longer enough to blame the white man for all our problems.
The irony of the whole thing is that many Nigerians believe that things were far better in colonial days than now we have freedom. Our independence has not translated to better life for the majority of Nigerians. Our freedom has not meant more prosperity for Nigerians. Our freedom has not ensured more jobs for Nigerians. Instead, we are now the poverty capital of the world. We do not fare better in all indices of human development.
Our universities are not among the best in the world. The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has been on perpetual strike and there is no hope that it will soon be over. The health sector is not better. Our doctors daily migrate to Europe and America where there are better conditions of service. The brain drain in the health sector has generally affected the well-being of many Nigerians. That is why medical tourism thrives.
We must begin to do well what the white man did not do well for us. If the structure he put in place is not working or serving us well, and many Nigerians think so, this is the time we must make it right. If the present Nigerian constitution is defective, which many Nigerians believe, it is time to remake it and come up with a new one that can enable us move forward like other nations. Where Nigeria will be in the next 40 or 60 years is what our leaders must occupy themselves with and not 2023 and other election cycles. It is believed that Nigeria will not make any meaningful development if its present structure is not tinkered.