Another national anniversary
China is not the only country noting a national day today. Nigeria became independent 49 years ago today. Two of the major newspapers in Lagos don't think there's a lot to celebrate. These editorials would probably be good supplements to your textbook's Nigeria chapter.From the Daily Independent, Lagos
Still Wobbly At 49
Today, Nigeria is 49 years old as an independent country. Like most post-colonial states, the federation embraced independence with a great deal of promise, hope and expectation. Most of these positive expectations have, unfortunately, been dashed, so much so that Nigerians no longer feel any excitement about the nation's anniversary...
The country's... caught in perpetual childhood, for some mysterious reason. Rather than exude the robustness of mind and physical energy of an adult whose exuberance is beginning to be moderated by the early signs of approaching old age, Nigeria refuses to grow up. For two decades at least, its infrastructure has stagnated in decay; its vital institutions are in ruins; the once-vibrant agriculture-based economy is comatose, knocked senseless by petro-dollar intoxication. With mass poverty afflicting the people, despondency has long set in. Credible multilateral agencies all classify the country as a leading member of the league of the world's poorest nations. Transparency International, in its recent report, rated Nigeria among the five most corrupt nations on the globe. It is a dismal report card of a country after nearly five decades.
It could not have been otherwise. Here is a nation that, for many years, produced about two million barrels of crude oil a day, the sixth largest exporter of the product in the world. Yet, owing to corruption, ineptitude and villainy among the ruling elite, millions of Nigerians are out of work and without hope of finding a decent job. It has become a cliché to say the country is richly endowed with natural resources, including a huge population (about 140 million) of talented and enterprising individuals? What else does a nation need to move forward?...
The nation's bane is, to put it bluntly, a corrupt, selfish, indolent and irresponsible leadership. Trapped in the morass of a callous, self-demeaning ruling class, Nigeria has become a nightmare for its citizens, and an international embarrassment. The stage for this failure was set at about the same time that the nation took her seat in the comity of independent nations...
From Vanguard, Lagos
Niggling at 49
Nigeria has fallen from the high expectations at independence to a country that celebrates its survival of self-inflicted injuries from intrigues that pass for governance. Nigeria is so backward that our leaders denounce statistics that show our country is notches away from the worst performances in the Human Development Index.
Nigeria ranked 154 out of 177 countries, in the 2008 Human Development Index, missing the bottom by 23 places. Nigeria with its abundant human and natural resources ranks behind Libya, Gabon, Mauritius, and Equatorial Guinea. Some African countries that have been at war for decades, or face the challenges of drought and poor resources are a few notches behind Nigeria. Interestingly, they have better development plans, which if implemented, would get them ahead of our country that proudly dubs itself the giant of Africa...
Nigeria appears to be a country with its greatness in the past, a declined destination, a fractured foundation of injustice, a defying entity that thinks so much of itself that it keeps believing the world cannot move on without it...
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Labels: corruption, history, leadership, Nigeria
posted by Ken Wedding @ 8:20 AM
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