NISM YPro October 2015. Volume 1, Issue 3
Happy Nigerian Independence!
Finally, we can all relax a bit, many have waited with baited breathe for President Buhari to release a ministerial list and it seems he stayed true to form and submitted one yesterday! This should be the much needed positive news that we’ve been waiting for, alongside the massive changes in the NNPC, both of which can be seen as a step in the right direction, albeit arguably one wrought with obstacles. With that being said, as it is Independence Day! I guess the typical thing to do would be to call ourselves 55 years old and to reflect on how far we’ve come in those years, but to be honest, I think that rhetoric is the wrong approach and let me tell you why. Nigeria as an independent state from British colonial rule may be 55 years old, but the societies and cultures which make up what we call “Nigeria” dates back much further. 11,000 BC some say, but I’m sure even further still! We have a nation rich with the result of hundreds of different tribes, languages and dialects coming together under one common identity; birthing some of the greatest minds of the modern world, such as Wole Soyinka, Fela Kuti, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, to name a few; and food, our glorious version of Jollof rice for example, and music and arts, such as Afrobeats; not to talk of philosophical teachings, architecture and so forth.
One mustn’t look at Nigeria in reference to when we gained independence, but rather a nation home to a diverse range of people who have come together under the banner of Nigeria and been influenced by various events; colonialism and its end included.
In 55 years many argue that Nigeria should have gotten further than it has, but I think that you must consider our history before colonialism and how we arrived to calling ourselves Nigeria to truly understand the task at hand. Now in speaking of Nigeria, and what my dream for us is over say the next 45 years — It is to have a society where we are truly aware and proud of our diversity and comfortable with our wider diaspora as well. As Nigeria grows and evolves, we also need to appreciate our place in an ever globalised and interlinked world and what part we wish to play in it.
NISM YPro’s inaugural event in September proved that we have an amazing amount of untapped talent, expertise and knowledge to bring to the global table and that our generation will be pivotal in spearheading this cause. I’d say we shouldn’t ask ourselves what Nigeria we’d like to see, rather what we would like to be and what will result is a Nigeria that reflects the best of all of us.
