As Nigeria marks its 66th Independence anniversary, it appears the frustration among Nigerians is getting to an unbearable state, over the state of the nation, considering the hardship, insecurity and widespread poverty among the majority of the people.
Our correspondent spoke with some Nigerians who witnessed the earlier years after independence on the nation’s 66th Independence celebration, and their thoughts were those of despair, as they acknowledged that things have gotten worse for Nigerians.
The respondents, including academics and public affairs analysts cited worsening economic hardship, insecurity, poor governance and declining standards of living.
Speaking in Awka, Anambra State, on the occasion, the first female Professor of Mass Communication in Nigeria, Professor Stella Okunna, said there was nothing to celebrate given the prevailing conditions facing ordinary Nigerians.
Okunna said widespread poverty, hunger and insecurity had made life increasingly difficult for the majority of Nigerians, stressing that political leaders needed to give citizens tangible reasons to be patriotic.
She said Nigerians could hardly boast of meaningful improvements when millions were struggling to afford basic necessities, while insecurity continued to threaten lives and livelihoods.
The don also expressed concern over the rising cost of transportation and other basic services, saying the hardship confronting citizens called for urgent action rather than what she described as excessive celebration.
Similarly, Professor Chijioke Uwasomba of the Department of English, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, said Nigeria was still lagging behind in several indices of development despite decades of military and democratic rule.
Uwasomba, who is also a current affairs analyst, blamed the situation largely on leadership failure, arguing that successive governments had introduced reforms without producing the desired improvements in the lives of Nigerians.
He expressed concern over the decline in the value of the naira and Nigeria’s continued dependence on imported refined petroleum products despite its abundant crude oil resources.
“Nigeria needs to reform its political system and make governance more service-oriented rather than allowing money to dominate the political process. It must be service-oriented. The current political arrangement doesn’t allow for development. It encourages corruption and all sorts of undemocratic triggers,” he said.
Also speaking, Professor Austen Azubogu, a Professor of Wireless Communication and Digital Signal Processing at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, said Nigeria of the 1970s and 1980s offered citizens better conditions in some areas, particularly in security, welfare and the economy.
Azubogu recalled that as a student at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, he could travel by road at night to Kano without the fear of insecurity that characterises such journeys today.
He also recalled the freedom with which students expressed grievances during his university days, saying the situation had changed considerably despite the country’s return to democratic rule.
Azubogu lamented that a country once regarded as having the potential to lead Africa out of underdevelopment was now, in his view, struggling to fulfil its potential.
“Today, we celebrate democracy. Yet, there is nothing in it for the ordinary Nigerians. If this is what democracy is all about, I will prefer to be under the military dispensation of 80s.
“It’s very unfortunate that a richly blessed country that showed so much promise of leading Africa out of the woods, is now making mockery of the black race,” Azubogu regretted.
On his part, Professor Dennis Aribodor, Professor of Public Health Parasitology at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, attributed many of Nigeria’s challenges to political leadership and weak citizenship engagement.
Aribodor said several countries that once looked up to Nigeria, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Brazil and Kenya, had made significant progress in areas where Nigeria was still struggling.
He identified the economy as one of the country’s most pressing challenges, saying many civil servants were finding it increasingly difficult to meet their basic needs.
The don also raised concerns about the education sector, saying poor remuneration of teachers and declining quality of education were affecting the system.
He argued that citizens also had a responsibility to organise and demand accountability, saying weak citizen engagement had contributed to the emergence of poor leadership over the years.
The academics, however, converged on the need for improved leadership, stronger institutions, citizen participation and policies capable of translating Nigeria’s vast human and natural resources into better living conditions for its citizens.
They also harped on the need for citizens to begin to reorganize themselves through the electoral process to engender the kind of leadership the nation deserves.
