Be it said that a nation that thinks out acts out to redirect itself to a vision and goal. Since 1914 till 2014, a statement is hereby called for to unleash a New Nigeria in our own terms. Not a colonial mandate, but a Nigerian mandate. What is that mandate?
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!By December 31st, Wednesday @ 12 midnight, we shall shout Happy New Year while dispensing off the old years from 1914 to date. What will that stand to mean for Nigerians troubled with colonialism and the development of Nigeria? An era of new and old civilization will be thrown out to discourse and solutions.
This means that every century as marked by the story of Nigerian amalgamation of 1914 by the British Colonial Government in Nigeria – thus, of the Northern and Southern Protectorates or Regions, Nigeria has clocked a desired 100 years and therefore a century nation. The colonial government imagined that by 100 years Nigeria must have fully experienced and lived out itself as a nation. Nigeria in that dispensation must have worked through the challenges of forging what it can hold as true to itself or discard what did not help it advance.
By amalgamation, which ends with the year 2013, the new year of 2014 begins a porous or clear border century of a nation; a nation to be found on a critical harmonized cultures and development aspirations.
My take on the fears of Nigeria ending to live together or set on the path to divide by ethnic “we-feelings” should be understood as a new national consciousness to be or not to be as one nation with one or plural destiny.
It must be properly said that the 1914 amalgamation creed that hoisted Nigeria as one nation on plural destinies and cultures was a mere accident of or rather a flip flop of political experiment to exploit the resources of Nigeria by the colonial administrators. Did it serve them of the purposes for which the geographical expression called Nigeria was set like any other investment activity? The answer is yes, it did. As such, why have Nigeria been arguing endlessly to understand what to do by the end of 2013 being the end also of the life of the amalgamation creed of 1914?
When a business enterprise is old and seems to pose more problems than yield progressive returns on investment, economists and business operators tell us to re-assess, re-structure, re-brand, re-launch, re-position and re-manage. Apparently, it must be seen as a good thing that the old Nigeria has come to a close and will give way to a new Nigeria.
A New Nigeria is a Nigeria that will not be associated with colonialism or built on its dangerous virtues anymore. It is a new nation that will be constructed by Nigerians themselves on their own terms, not on the terms of the colonial powers.
Why is the end of troubled amalgamation not making sense as an end of a colonial established era, a forced culture of the North and south when they were not prepared for it? After 100 years, we now know where cohabiting as one nation hurts, collides or build bridges of affection and progress. It shows that every new century ushers in a new era of hope or despair, skills, visions, attitudes, values, goodwill, experiences, resources and connections to win a political and economic paradigm shift, a leap forward on the terms that make the nation builders happier, enlightened professionals – and therefore enabling political corporate abilities than before.
Nigerian political managers should come forward and make strong political statements on which way to go. For me, the end of the amalgamation is challenge to rethink Nigeria. It must be done swiftly and productively. Delay they say is dangerous. We want a new Nigeria constructed by Nigerians in our own terms. Will the Jonathan call for political dialogue do the miracle? Time will tell.
Like it or not, Nigeria as it is today is vulnerable to its own history. In unleashing a new Nigeria, there will be no more blame thrown at colonialism and western economic and political authoritarianism.
Happy New my friends.
