Austin Imoru: The Nigerian Dream, Pt 2

What is the Nigerian dream? If you remember the Biafra war, during and after the Civil War you will have a clue of what our dream could possibly be. Many patriotic Nigerians have kept that dream in their hearts but didn’t know how to go about it. 

General Yakubu Gowon in that his infamous speech declared that we must fight to keep “Nigeria one” and concluding he said, “to keep Nigeria as one is a task that must be done”. Later the nation coined a slogan that speaks the Nigerian dream, which was “one Nigerian, one Nation” this could be the undeclared and publicly acclaimed Nigerian dream, is unity. It is in our coat of arms, in our flag, in our everything but our hearts and our drive. We sing it everyday in our national anthem but we have never practice it.

 

We all have freedom except “political freedom” so we are not asking for freedom for all. Beside, we can’t ask for freedom in nepotism. And we can’t ask for justice in diversity, we can only ask for justice in unity. We can only fight selfishness in this country with unity. Nobody will take patriotism to heart if we lack unity. Our leaders will keep amassing wealth for “self” if unity is not their watchword. We can never fight corruption except we stand together.  In America, the nation as a people has the last say, not the president, the key to that is unity. “Don’t ask what your country will do for you but what you can do for your country” was borne out of patriotism, which emerged from the womb of unity. We can’t say that in Nigeria because we dwell in nepotism, which can never give birth to patriotism.

Our nation is a full-grown man of 49 years without a dream or purpose, it is abnormal, it is an error. We should use this independence celebration to ponder on where we have been and try to realize where we are heading, if we are heading anywhere at all. We must stop this political travelling in circles; we must believe in our nation and live by the codes of unity. The truth remains that even if our leaders are irresponsible, we as a people, as individuals can’t afford to be. We must bear the responsibility of uniting the nation. The more we speak disunity, the more destabilized the nation will be. It is only unity without tribalism that can heal the many diseases and corruption that has bedevilled our beloved nation.

To be cont ....