Readers mail: Nigeria at 52

In 1985, I was barely young enough to be admitted to primary one. That year, Nigeria was 25. I remember with nostalgia Bongos Ikwue's theme song:
Nigeria is 25!

-----------------------------------------------------
Nigeria is 25,
The odds we did survive,
arise salute the nation,
come join the celebration,
A people united will never fall
the sun will shine and the rain will fall ,
on our land, vast and mighty,
richly blessed by the Almighty ,
Like bees in a hive
We work so hard
to make the honey flow
but not without the use of the hoe hoe! hoe!
Arise salute the nation
come join the celebration,
Nigeria is 25
Nigeria is 25

We Are 25 Lyrics

We are 25
ring the bell
Help Nigeria grow
The future is in your hands
Mould it well
Let our greatness show

We've come of age
so get on the stage
make nigeria greater today

for both the young and the old
there's a part to plaaaaaaaaaay
let prosperity grow

Let's join hands to build a stronger nation
Help Nigeria grow
In every way help develop the nation
Let our greatness show

Nigeria is great
Make it greater
We are 25, don't leave it for later

So come on everybody wherever you are
Let our greatness show
-------------------------------------------------------
Today, Nigeria is 52, mathematically, a reverse of 25! Literally, that's exactly what our dear country is at 52.

Neglected & warred from the East; ethnic cleansed & bombed from the North; Bruised & exposed from the West; Milked & dumped from the South...Nigeria is a nation on the brink of collapse; collapse by the activities of men supposed to hold her resolute.

Some have said that Nigeria is a contraption of the British. That intent on having a sovereign under the authority of the Crown, the British made an unholy alliance of the Protectorates that formed present day Nigeria & named her Nigeria in 1914 from the word "Niger Area"; around the Rivers Niger & Benue confluence .

Fifty two years ago, the Union Jack was lowered; the British have gone leaving with them a country in our care...Thus far, we have been unable to build a virile & egalitarian nation.

All of us share in the 'failed state' that we call Nigeria. We are the architects of the master-plan of the chaotic situation we've put our innocent country into.

Oh! Where is the valour in our National anthem? How will our leaders, politicians, technocrats, bureaucrats & country men who steal & milk our nation dry; and those who sit back & watch things go wrong stand when we sing:
Arise O Compatriots!

Which call will they obey? The call to corruption & fleecing of her natural resources? Yes! Our people obey that call. Yet! Our people blame Her for our condition. Is it not a case of giving a dog a bad name so you can hang it?

If our country has a voice, it would have asked all of us:

If Nigeria were your private property, will you pillage & plunder it? If she were your daughter, will you rape & batter her?

If it were your prized farm land, will you burn & let it go barren? If it were your investment, will you milk it dry?

...If Nigeria were your inheritance, will you leave it in shame & shambles?

Stop! Wait!! Ponder!!!

If we kill this country; would we pack our loads to settle in Ouagadougou and claim another man's land?

Nigeria is 52, old enough to be the pride of nations, blessed enough to be the wealthiest of all, rich enough to be envious of.

Yet! Our country is chequered by instability, battered by corruption, impoverished by greed, deserted by patriots, destroyed by all.

Yet! We've no other father land that we call ours but Nigeria.

This piece has been titled after another song for I'm confident that when we go the right way, we shall live in a country that we will truly be proud of.

Yes! We can build our nation.

I look forward to the day my wife will carry the Green passport at airports & in all corners of this world with good gait & shoulders held high.

Yes! I'm a Nigerian!

The way to go for our dear country lies in every one of us; we carry yet our destinies in our hands & the future of our unborn generation.

We could re-build this nation on a foundation of truth, freedom, justice, rules, social order, equity & patriotism. We could use our vast resources to build a nation and litter our streets with gold.

Let us live by the creed in our National Pledge:...To serve Nigeria with all my strength...And uphold her honour and glory...

If we could hold these words at heart & make them our watchword in all things pertaining our country...

...That Africa's sleeping giant will awake...

Happy 52nd anniversary our mother land!