There Are No More Nigerians In Nigeria

APART from hundreds of embassies abroad that are being funded to represent our dear country Nigeria and some Nigerians living abroad are being denied nationality and facing discrimination or some that have gone out to study but with serious ties and wanting to return home or those that are in the corrupt system making a fortune from the failed system or some unemployable politicians that have forgotten about the civil war that we fought and still fighting, have forgotten about the military regimes that once put them out of employment for years and finally have forgotten that Nigeria was once a developing Nation but now classified as an underdeveloped country. Those are the class of Nigerians that want to continue to be Nigerians otherwise, today most Nigerians are either Christians or Muslims but so much dis­like for each other and holding back the country from moving forward.

With this blaring scenario, how can anyone talk about patriotism let alone demanding such from its citizens? In the past few years, I have written many articles in this column on patrio­tism, also in my book HOW LITTLE WE ARE. I feel so bad that people are not reading anymore because the hopelessness of the situation we find ourselves in today was predicted and was written about so many times, so many years ago and we saw it coming. Not only that we saw it coming, we also suggested even risking my life to do so and fearing the consequences of saying the obvious but at almost 85 years old, I feel for the younger generation and the country that I may be leaving behind. I also did because I thought I was going to see a real change before I depart this wonderful country that I love so much.

Now for the benefit of those that have not been reading me, particularly in the past five years that I have been writing on fadeafrica’s website WWW.FADEAFRICA.ORG, I would like to lift a few lines from the article titled “Nigeria: A Fractured Nation”, I was of the opinion that the one thing that rings true in all the different scenarios and challenges Nigeria is faced with is the lack of patriotism that abounds in the coun­try because only one who cares nothing for his or her country will work tirelessly to destroy it like so many of our leaders and some of us do. Lack of Patriotism cuts across tribe, religion, age and status.

“A Fractured Nation: Patriotism”. Here I pointed out that the quickest way to bring back Nigeria to the one Nation it once was, is to bring back PATRIOTISM. Nigerians no longer belong to Nigeria and we must find a way of giving Ni­gerians some sense of belonging, something to fight for like HOPE, but not false hope. Security not amnesty; Opportunity to quality education, not contracts or appointments; Justice, not poli­tics without defined ideologies. Nigerians know how to go from poverty to wealth despite the huge disadvantages in our economy. Nigeri­ans also know how to handle ill health to good health without having to travel abroad for medicals. My son would like to be able to work in every part of Nigeria the way I did. I told him that it is possible, but then we must first bring back Patriotism by going back to those things that united us, not the senseless politi­cal divisions, senseless religious ideologies and senseless ethnic bound­aries that never existed but were created by men and women of for­tune for selfish gratification.

True Patriotism, not lack of it, will make it hard for an individual to embezzle funds meant to provide health facilities for 170 Million Nigerians. A lack of Patriotism is the reason why an individual will embezzle bil­lions meant for the construction of Federal and State roads. It is the lack of Patriotism that makes an individual or groups spend huge amount of money that can be used to better the lives of Nigerians to sponsor terrorists and militants to kill and make life uncomfortable for Nigerians.

As of today most Nigerians especially the young ones would be prepared to dump their Nigerian nationality for that of European countries, the UK and the Americans espe­cially with what is currently happening with Kemi Badenoch who is Britain’s Conservative Party’s leader who has chosen to identify with her tribe than her country. Some have already done so and we see them in sports, in music, and the Arts. We also see them in politics and the sciences performing on global stage. Most are Nigerians by birth and we know them by the names they carry. Apart from some sol­diers, I do not know a single Nigerian that is prepared to die for his country the way Nelson Mandela laid down his life for the emancipa­tion of his people in South Africa. Our military is being funded ten times over to defend the nation, also the security apparatus includ­ing the police are equally twenty times over to secure the Nation but having difficulties securing themselves.

Thus, Patriotism must be seen from the standpoint of every Nigerian belonging to Nigeria. The nation has gone through sense­less wars, misrule, and leadership deficits, insurgencies and political racialism. These issues cannot be corrected or rebuilt in four or eight years, especially when those years still dwell in the bosom of sycophancy and incompetency. We must therefore seek lead­ership that can bring everybody together and not bring disunity of loss of sense of belonging in one’s Country and Nationality.

As can be from the aforementioned writ­ings, I write from a stand point of someone that lived and travelled length and breadth of this country, sometimes living like a nomad, fished in many rivers including the chad, planted trees and established carbon prints, moved round some forests and hunted for food, farmed in so many lands, and shared farm products with friends and relatives all over the country. That was a beautiful Nigeria that gave me all that and a Nigeria I am not able to hand over to those coming after me which is regrettable.