Growing up in Nigeria, every child must know the chant ‘First of October 1960, Nigeria got Independence..oh FREEDOM, FREEDOM everywhere…..
History has it that the people sang and danced because the Queen was no longer The Head of State. The jubilation was beyond compare because Power over Nigeria will now be held by a Nigerian.
The feeling of finally being in charge of your own territory was what pervades the atmosphere like the aroma of the local maggi, ‘okpehe’.
The long last expectation of having a place where we could call ‘OURS’ without feeling jittery finally came to pass and we gloated over and over.
At first, it seemed like it was going to be rosy because that was what we heard ‘THEM’ say. And true to ‘THEM’ it was until there was a power tussle. The need to protect the common entity faded and there was a rise in the pursuit of personal interest.
Gradually greed took over, tribal and ethnocentrism became the new order. And since the vision from the beginning was forsaken, the narrative changed.
The Nation that was once the strongest among the Black Race became the weakest and a prey to the ones that bowed at the mention of Nigeria. We became so afraid and vulnerable to the point that we began to desert our own homes…
In fact, everything crumbled! And from the time Albert said that ‘Things Fell Apart’, things have always remained fallen.
Yes, we hear of imaginary rising. But if one is true to the reality, you will gladly accept the fact that there has been no rising since the time of the fall.
Today, He is 61–an adult on his way to retirement. But that ADULT still depends on borrowing from foreign countries; not just money but policies, and phenomenons that are contrary to an INDEPENDENT STATE.
So, that was why it was asked if Nigeria is celebrating ‘INDEPENDENCE OR IN DEPENDENCE’? Well, let’s wait and listen to what Winifred Òdúnóku has to say about the question.
Winifred Òdúnóku
Today is October 1, it’s Nigeria’s Independence Day celebration. She is supposed to be marking her 61st anniversary of gaining freedom from what-are-they-called-again?
She is also supposed to be celebrating 61 years of socio-economic growth, good governance, technological advancement, educational development, good transportation system and all the rest of that.
However, it doesn’t seem like she’s got all her acts together. With the way things have gone from bad to worse for good, one is left to wonder:
Is she independent or in dependence? Since we are not so sure, it depends. It depends on how you define dependence versus your understanding of independence.
If for the past 61 years, Nigeria has been set free from the colonial masters and yet her very own actions and inactions are still putting her in fetters, then it depends.
If she hails herself to be the giant of Africa but still heavily counts on those supposedly smaller siblings and other bigger friends to get by, then it depends.
If she can’t take pride in managing the many natural resources that she has to feed and clothe her children, but runs to other countries to bring in things as little as toothpicks, then it depends.
If at the mention of her name anywhere in the world, everyone bows, but when it’s time to take up responsibilities and be that great nation everyone expects her to be, she cowers, then it depends.
If she is truly 61 today but can’t boast of:
• Good roads and infrastructure to support comfortable living.
• Employment opportunities for youths and old (wo)men alike
• Uninterruptible power supply to aid business growth.
(Just to mention the essentials)
Then her Independence depends on the Dependence of other countries to feed, clothe, and employ her. Because what has she been doing with her life all these years?
So can we truly say Nigeria is independent? Can wishing her a #happyindependenceday change anything? Well, it depends.
But wait to hear the conclusion whether it is Independence or In Dependence from Jozxy OTOR
®️WWinifred Òdúnóku
Joxzy OTOR
61years after: the same old story. It calls for a quiet time of sober reflection to build, but not regain her glory. For there should have been (a) glory, before a loss and then, a recovery.
Sadly, having to go through the thoughts of imagining Nigeria as a human, who, over 60 hasn’t found his/her path is the most condescending reality the populace is having to deal with.
And like it is said, “It is not about not supporting evil but about supporting good”. If the good man folds his hands to watch because the bad man glories in the wreckage, then the good man is worse than the bad man.
It is October 1st again, and as she celebrates 61years of poverty, hunger, epileptic power supply, death-traps of roads, insecurity, and bad governance in the name of ” independence” one might want to ask if it is “in dependence” she celebrates.
Are you not dependent; When you often have to borrow to sort your mess? When you depend on the help of another country’s intelligence unit of the military to uncover the many lies and truth behind insurgency and banditry?
When at 61 years of age, you don’t own a refinery, so much so that you depend on other countries to extract, refine and retract before you can (re)distribute, thereby incurring a higher cost of purchase on your citizens?
When, whether privatized or not, the power holding company is as good as dead, so much so that the citizens have gotten used to the unfortunate reality?
Should we talk about bad roads and hospitals? If you ask me, it would have been easier to go back to the drawing board(if we had one) or create one for a change. For a reformation of mindsets, for liberation from the shackles of slavery.
Because of course, until a country can stand on her own to fare for her citizens, that country is still “in the dependence” of (an)other country(ies).
Should I talk about Nigeria as a human, 61 years of age, who isn’t aware of the number of children he/she has? That every time what he/she does is to assume “over XYZ number”.
And that the usual, though, insincere national population census which is held after every 10 years has not been carried out since 15years+.
When you imagine Nigeria as a mother/father, I am sure your eyes(if you mean well) will rain, a shower of pain, disappointment, and frustration.
But then, the people like to suffer and smile, yell and chant “God bless Nigeria” and “Happy Independence” but indeed, it is a “Sad in-dependence”.
©JoxzyOTOR
