THIS year’s Nigeria’s independence commemoration was not funny at all for yours sincerely. It was indeed not in any case funny if my malevolent experience in Abuja coupled with most recent ugly happenings in this country are anything to go by. I was in Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria a few days back for a three day capacity building workshop facilitated by Pathfinder International. The programme eventually ended on the 1st October 2021,( a date set aside for the commemoration of Nigeria’s independence) which necessitated my vacating Bolton White Hotel, venue of the event that same day for Jos, Plateau State, my place of abode. At about 8:00am, the three of us checked out of our respective hotel rooms with the intention of stopping-by at Nyanya Motor Park where we could get a public transport back home.
To my greatest world-weariness, after we boarded a cab within the hotel vicinity, less than halfway through our journey to the main park at Nyanya, some kilometers before Mogadishu Barracks, we abruptly met a huge and intimidating gridlock necessitated by a growing crowd of protesters. Startlingly, we also noticed less flow of cars and vehicles with increasing flow of pedestals taking over almost all paths within the city’s major routes. Most of them were sweating holding their belongings close to their torso, as if something horrible would unpredictably happen.
After a couple of arguments, our cab driver for fear of the unknown decided to abandon us in the “middle of nowhere”. Against all odds, we were left with no other option than to trek for quite an imaginable kilometers, we almost got to the Nyanya Park before help eventually “came calling”. We had to pay through the nose before an Okada operator took us to the park.
Much Later however, yours sincerely got to know that the protesters who took to the streets were protesting against the excruciating policies of the incumbent administration, but ended up blocking some major roads in the city center creating untold hardship for the citizenry. While trekking and trying to navigate my way through these angry protesters and unknown routes in our nation’s capital, I kept asking myself whether we deserved this kind of physical life draining torture in the first place. Why were we subjected to this kind of unpalatable trekking and punishment for no fault of ours? If the people to be blamed for Nigeria’s unabated problematic disposition of today are our successive leaders of this country, why should these aggrieved youths block major roads in Abuja adding salt to our injuries?
Why did they not block our international airports and or several five star hotels where some of these cabals maybe found to registrar their displeasure over these negative developments in the country? If their protests were well intended, why did they not go to Aso Rock or perhaps visit our National Assembly complex to proficiently register their displeasure before our lawmakers?
Unfortunately, and as is always the case, when such protests are held, only the poor masses suffer. This is because; the right channels are not followed in tabling such issues to the appropriate authorities to ensure that they are properly addressed.
No doubt, at 61, there is everything wrong about our journey to nationhood. Nigeria as a state is becoming a moving bus full of passengers without a conductor and or a driver. It is a nation trekking on dangerous grounds with little hope of readjusting to overcoming all these challenges.
What we have passed through in the past few years of our nationhood has almost truncated our hope for a better country. These unpalatable traumatizing experiences have drained a lot of energy out of us rendering many incapacitated for life.
Before the liberation of Nigeria from the shackles of colonial subjugation, our nationalists irrespective of their ethno-religious affiliations had worked and hoped for a better nation. Their individualistic and collective sacrifice for a better nation subsequently motivated the zeal of many post colonial activists to take the bull by the horn towards facilitating an enabling environment for peace, unity and progress of the nation.
Sixty one years down the lane however, Nigeria has not fared well amongst comity of nations. Both its external and internal policy formulation strategies have left much to be desired. In the past few years, the nation has almost been crippled by various criminally minded elements whose notorious acts of personal aggrandizement has brought us to where we are today. Most of these leaders of ours through their acts of administrative ingenuity, nepotism and greed have robbed us and our children a better and more convincing prosperous tomorrow.
The issue of insincerity in act of governance has brewed various social vices including Kidnappings, banditry and armed robbery. Today, no part of this country can be declared safe even as many citizens in various communities are being held hostage while many other unlucky ones have been slaughtered like chickens with impunity.
It is no longer news that both our educational and health sectors are not in their best shape. While these incessant strikes actions embarked upon by stakeholders in our educational sector have dealt a significant blow on our quest for technological growth and holistic advancement, our rural populace have suffered a lot following the near absence of solid healthcare facilities in our hospitals and dispensaries.
This development has over the years encouraged medical tourism to other countries of the world by our high ranking government officials to the detriment of us all. Thus, more definitive measures have not be taken to restructure our healthcare sector due to the total neglect by successive administrations in the country.
The issue of deliberate and systematic corruption has adversely affected the socio-economic growth of the nation. While more than half of our citizens live in abject poverty, the story seems to be much different for the elite and the political class.
Yet, hope is not lost for the country if the right steps would be taken to salvage the nation from nose-diving into oblivion and possible chaos. Though Nigeria is not yet a failed state, the hand-writings on the wall are not palatable but can be reserved if the required strategies are employed.
That is the more reason why the leaders of this great nation must in the interest of the citizenry serve this country altruistically, and be more patriotic in their approach to navigating our way through the present jungle of difficulties. It is through this collective sacrifice that we as a people would be able to save our country this time around.
