Nigeria is regarded as the giant of Africa because of its abundant human and natural resources. The Federal Republic of Nigeria lies at the extreme inner corner of the gulf of Guinea, with the largest geo-political units in West Africa. It consists of various ethnic groups that share different cultural practices and beliefs. It shaped back the most historical sovereign in Africa.
Just like many other African countries, Nigeria was colonised by the British government in 1861 and was a British colony in 1914 led by Sir Lord Lugard, while it got its independence on October 1, 1960, and became a Republic in 1963.
Nigeria’s main problem today lies in how Nigerians use sentiments in judging other members of the country, based on ethnicity, region and religion. In almost everything Nigerians do, they consider ethnic or religious base as well as regional identity, which affects the development of the country.
Today, even elections and candidates of political parties are seen and evaluated based on these facts. The problem of ethnicity, religion and region emerged glaringly in the recent elections, as one can see that elections were conducted totally on ethnic, regional and religious sentiments.
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Nigeria needs to wake up from its deep slumber. Today things are getting worse and out of position because we don’t work on merit or standard but on discrimination. Take a look at our great national patriotic leaders, like Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa who was the first Prime Minister of Nigeria, Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Premier of Northern Nigeria and Chief Obafemi Awolowo who played very significant roles in pre-independence struggles and during the first republic. Giants of Africa also like Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, the first president of Nigeria and governor general, General Yakubu Gowon who fought and kept Nigeria as one country, during the Nigerian Civil War (Biafran) in 1967 to 1970.
In those days, things were easy but why are they not today? Why are Nigerians suffering? Why is Nigeria, which is referred to as the giant of Africa, losing its identity? Why is Nigeria not doing well compared to other African countries, like South Africa, Chad and Morocco?
The answer remains within us. We must remove sentiments, prejudice and being biased or any difference. We should appreciate achievements without considering ethnicity or religion. Nigerians also need to change the attitude towards choosing our leaders. If a candidate proves to be responsible and good, we should elect them without considering the above factors. Let us elect leaders of high integrity, discipline and those who will fight corruption in every section of the country.
We must wake up from our slumber to find out our weaknesses and remedy them before it is too late to do so. Therefore, always have in mind that Nigeria is our country. We need to be focused, united, responsible and lead our nation like other developed states in the World. One Nigeria, one World!
Aisha Muhammad Sintalma, Department of Mass Communication, University of Maiduguri
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