In less than 24 hours
from now, Nigeria, the giant of Africa will be celebrating her 55 Independence
anniversary. Though, the President has assured us that the celebration will be
low keyed to accommodate present realities, the Editorial team at Daily
Independent took time the analyse the journey of the country so far
Read it after the cut…
On October 1st
2015, Nigeria would be rolling out drums in celebration of her 55th
Independence Anniversary. When the country got her independence as a sovereign
nation from British colonial rule in 1960, the expectations of our founding
fathers were very high. None of them expected that by this time, the country
would be facing myriads of challenges ranging from terrorism, irregular power
supply, deplorable condition of roads, insecurity and unemployment, judging by
the fact that the nation is endowed with
abundant natural and human resources.
But the abundant
natural resources in the country have not been properly managed to the benefits
of its teeming populations. Nigeria
remains one of the countries with the highest poverty indices in the world and also among the leading exporters of food
items. It has been observed that one of the greatest threats to Nigeria’s
economic growth is corruptin. Analysts
believe that if only 50 percent of the country’s resources that have been
frittered away to foreign counties could be
recovered and properly utilized, the country’s wouldn’t have been in the
state of economic quagmire it find
itself at present. Judging by myriads of
problems confronting the country, many Nigerians believe that the country has
nothing to celebrate at 55 because. They contend that many hospitals in the
country is a shadow of itself with some ailments that are supposed to be
treated in the country being referred to outside the country for
attention. The quality of education in
the country continues to deteriorate with no Nigerian university named among
the best 1000 in the world.
Despite the
disappointment, others are quick to
point out that the country has a lot to celebrate for the mere reason that the
country remain united in the mist of crisis it went through over the years. Such people are not in a hurry to forget the
civil war fought in the country between 1967 and 1970 which would have divided
the country. The war which was fought
between Nigerian soldiers and that of Biafrans led to the death of millions of
people. Apart from the civil war,
several elections conducted in the country since Independence have been
characterised with violence and wanton destruction of lives and properties.
The emergence of the
dreaded Boko Haram insurgency in the northern part of the country some years
ago was the greatest threat to the corporate existence of the country. While
some leaders continue to claim that the corporate existence of the country
remains sacrosanct, the reality on ground did not support the claim.
Unconfirmed report has stated that more than 500,000 Nigerians lost their lives
since Boko Haram insurgency took a deadly dimension in 2009.
As the country
prepares for the anniversary celebration, the administration of President
Muhammadu Buhari as usual intended to make the event a low keyed. That could explain why the administration
budgeted only N70 million for the celebration.
This year’s celebration is coming at a time when the economic downturn
occasioned by the fall in the price of crude oil at the international market is
taking its tolls on the country. Many
state governors who depend on allocation from the federation account to pay
salaries and embark on other projects are currently stranded. They have to depend on bailout from Central
Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for them to be able to pay workers who are owed salaries
for several months. But will thing
change for the better under Buhari and
the All Progressives Congress (APC) ?
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