Nigeria at 50: My thought

THE founding fathers of Nigeria had a dream of building a united, prosperous and developed nation state where social justice reigns supreme like ever flowing river.

This vision filled the atmosphere at the then Race Course, now Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos on that Saturday morning precisely on October 1, 1960 when the Union Jack (British Flag) was lowered for the Green-White-Green Flag. The Colonial Masters handed over the baton of the country's leadership to our founding fathers.

Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Nigeria's First Prime Minister, aptly called the Golden Voice of Africa encapsulated this vision in his speech at the auspicious occasion. ''We, the elected representatives of the people of Nigeria, concentrated on proving that we were fully capable of managing our own affairs both internally and as a nation.

All too soon, it has become evident that for us Independence implies a great deal more than self-government… This great country, which has now emerged without bitterness or bloodshed, finds that she must at once be ready to deal with grave international issues….

When this day in October 1960 was chosen for our Independence, it seemed that we were destined to move with quiet dignity to a place on the world stage… We are called upon immediately to show that our claims to responsible government are well-founded, and having been accepted as an independent state, we must at once play an active part in maintaining the peace of the world and in preserving civilisation. I promise you, we shall not fail for want of determination…''

Nigeria's foremost nationalist and first indigenous Governor- General, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe laid the foundation for good governance.

Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the visionary Premier of the then Western Region tagged the best president Nigeria never had walked the independence talk.

Chief Michael Okpara as Premier of the Eastern Region did wonders while the Northerners can hardly forget the Midas touch the legendary Sir Ahmadu Bello brought to governance as Premier of Northern Region.

Unfortunately, six years after, the Military struck unjustifiably on January 15, 1966, through a Military Coup that laid the foundation for subsequent change of governments by the barrel of the gun.

This caused many crises in the land including the Civil War. These conflicts / war retarded the development of our dear nation and above all, led to the loss of so many precious lives.

our founding fathers
The rest is now history.  As Nigeria turns the Golden Age of 50, many Nigerians have argued that our founding fathers may be turning in their graves owing to the state of the Nigerian nation state.

They say there is nothing to celebrate about. I don't blame them. I share in their disappointment. I appreciate the ugly fact that many of our people still live below poverty level. I am not oblivious of the fact that there is a predominance of unresolved issues that threaten our nationhood.

The only point of departure between me and them is that we have cause to roll out the drums, though responsibly. The singular reason that we have remained an indivisible entity calls for celebration.

If for nothing, in Nigeria for the first time, there was a civilian to civilian transition in 2007. The sustenance of civil rule in the land shows that we have something to cheer about.

The fact that this country has created internationally acclaimed brands of men and women doing the country proud calls for euphoria. As we celebrate our independence, we must do so with sober reflection.

We must ask ourselves certain questions to know where we got it wrong, where we did our best and our best was not good enough and where we failed completely to act as individuals, as public servants and as a government and make efforts to make our society work better.

I have never been comfortable with the poor image of Nigeria in the comity of nations. So when I was appointed Minister of Information and Communications, I initiated the National Re-branding Campaign to correct the negative perception of Nigeria and its people. So far, the campaign has permeated all nooks and crannies of Nigeria and the world.

In this era of National Re-branding Campaign, we are changing negative attitudes, forming positive traits, reviving our beautiful cultural values and instilling patriotism in our people, we cannot afford to be extravagant in the name of celebrating our 50th anniversary.

Already the Federal Government and the 36 states of the federation are striving hard to make the country one of the 20 developed economies in the world by the year 2020.

Fellow countrymen and women, as we celebrate, we must all join hands to evolve a Nigeria of our dream. Government alone cannot do it. For me, the Nigeria of my dream is a nation-state founded on justice and honesty of purpose. This is so because all great nations of the world thrive on justice.

I want a Nigeria that has zero tolerance for corruption, religious and tribal bigotry. Indeed I want to see a Nigeria where people will proudly say I am a Nigerian living in so, so and so state and not a Nigerian of a particular state of origin! This arrangement will unite the people, eliminate mutual suspicion among the people and remedy the indigene - settler induced crisis ravaging Nigeria especially in the Northern part of the country.

I have a dream that sooner than later, the votes of Nigerians will count and we shall say bye-bye to electoral fraud!  I envisage that in no distant future, our democracy will be built on one-man-one vote - the panacea for constitutional democracy! I believe if the peoples' votes count, the leadership will be more accountable to the led.

This will positively impact on all sectors of society because politics is the super structure upon which the economy rests. Once you fix the polity, you remedy so many socio-economic problems plaguing the society.

Electoral Reforms
Though this sounds like a tall dream but it is possible with Electoral Reforms and positive attitudes by Nigerians.

Even in the best of systems, it is the operators of the system that make it work and not the constitution or Act of Parliament per se.

The implication of this is that no matter the Constitutional Review and the Electoral Reforms carried out by the National Assembly, if Nigerians stick to their old ways of doing things, the system will still not work effectively! Britain for example has an unwritten constitution yet it is a politically stable and better organised society than our dear Nigeria with a written constitution.

A Nigeria of my dream is a country where its citizens enjoy critical infrastructure such as good road, water, un-interrupted power supply and to mention but a few.

Power will power the economy and help the country to attain the Millennium Goals.

With power, industries, large and small scale businesses would yield optimum results. I want to see a Nigeria that its transport system is complemented by a vibrant railway system.

This will make our roads last longer because most of the cargoes carried on roads will have to be transported by rail  hence minimising inflationary trend because economists have shown that high cost of transportation is partly responsible for the galloping inflation in the land.

I foresee a Nigeria devoid of alarming unemployment and insecurity. These are possible in view of the abundant human and material resources God Almighty has bestowed us with. I want a Nigeria, where citizens are proud of their citizenship and can actually take it to the bank.

To achieve this, we all need to roll up our sleeves and soil our hands in work. There should be no short cut to success than hard work!  Dreaming dreams alone will not make it happen.

Endless criticisms without providing viable alternatives will not make it happen. It will happen when we subsume our self interest for national interest. It will happen when we say, 'enough is enough'.

This is the Nigeria of my dreams. I am committed to it even at the expense of my life. It is this vision of Nigeria that has shaped my outlook and actions.

It is what keeps me going when I am tired and want to give up. It was what almost cost me my life at NAFDAC; it is what is propelling me now.

This vision of Nigeria is alive in my heart, I can see it.  In summary, all we need to do as a people is to get the polity right, shun corruption, be patriotic, believe in God and every other thing shall follow. Happy birthday! Nigeria: Good People, Great Nation

• Professor Akunyili is Nigeria's Minister of Information and Communications.

Credit: The Guardian