We love the sonorous sound of that day when our founding fathers eventually reaped the reward of their struggle for autonomy after “wars” of national liberation. They freed the nation from colonial oppressors, so we thought. Oppression is always a bitter experience. We sang and danced. We wet our eyes with joyful tears. We trekked from the north down south. We were free. We were free – at last.

The land now belongs to us and we would manage it more effectively than our white oppressors whom we had successfully chased away. We had chased them away, therefore no more oppression. Ours would never be a case of dog eat dog, so we thought.

Now, we erect our own flag that symbolises new life of a people. It is a beautiful colour of white-green-white alongside coat of arms representing Unity and Faith, Peace and Progress, which would soon be thrown into dustbin. We would live together in harmony, so we promised the colonial oppressors. Freedom is sweet. And in haste we govern ourselves. No one realises the implication of coercion. It is time to party; it is time to celebrate. It is time to show that people of Niger areas are human beings like our colonial masters, who had introduced and imposed their ways of life on us.

Animals have tails, people of Niger areas have no tails, and so we are not animals (forget Fela Anikulapo Kuti’s “mad talk” that we are animals in suits). How could anyone in their right senses describe us as animals, after all, we understand what freedom and democracy is all about. No, we are not animals because our rulers have the spirit of emancipation and the spirit of nationhood, which is thicker than even blood. We are human beings – truly. 

Niger area people are now aware of our new status. For it has now been affirmed we have some things in common with the white man and woman who had earlier enslaved our ancestors. We have cause to celebrate, and so we engulf the street with great happiness and elation. It is show time. Every October 1st is when slaves become masters. And no one is going to deprive us of our rights to remember such significant aspect of our precious life. It is our time and it is our celebration. We won’t allow anyone to take our pride and birthright. Those in Washington D.C would trek to New York to  California to Chicago to European countries or Asia or Australia etc. We must celebrate our hard fought independence. It is normal.

Agreed or not, it is a day when Niger area people must showcase our achievements. The universe should know we are the happiest human beings that ever lived. We are among the richest nations, where “demo-crazy” is the form of government. It is time to show the world that Niger area people have good roads, constant electricity, adequate running water, well equipped hospitals, political stability, free and fair election, first class education system with 99% of our youths in schools. We have every reason to jubilate like one of our former rulers rejoices in a spurious paid advertisement about his empire, which was once aired on CNN.

Those portraying us as the second poorest nation or whatever are only being vicious. Surely they did not bother to check how many of our governors and other high-ranking public officials keep foreign accounts. Let them research further and it will dawn on them that we are neither eating from the dustbin nor in abject poverty. Those researchers should be told that we have new #1000 notes. Besides, a nation cannot be officially regarded as being poor while its governors and presidents - former or present - keep properties worth billions of dollars in far away Bush and, or Queen's land. Even our rulers could comfortably generate funds amount to millions of dollars for a private project, while their people are dying of hunger (did I say hunger? I mean to say wealth).

Irony apart, October 1st has always been a symbolic day to differentiate unpatriotic elements, pseudo-patriots, sycophants or crawlers and hypocrites from genuine patriots and principled men and women of our land. And by their acts ye shall know them. Our rulers would tell us in their usual loud and empty and confused talk that there is cause for celebration. And who am I to think otherwise. What do I know to oppose people like a brave farmer/hunter and retired general for that matter, who tamed a ferocious lion with his deft hands? Who am I to disagree with the emperor who is stark naked but thinks he is robed. Who am I to say that our rulers have mouths that stink? Who am I to say that the president's mother keeps a strange bird in her tummy? Who am I?

The school children would not be left out of such burlesque show in the country. They would trick them as they had tricked us. They would ask them to wash and starch and iron their uniforms for October 1st patriotic carnival. Most of these children would march and sing the national anthem, and pledge to Nigeria their country without or with little food in their stomachs. They would play on their innocence as they had played on ours. They would tell them they are the future leaders of tomorrow. But tomorrow never comes. Does it? If only we had known.

But let them celebrate our success – of failure. Let Nigerians who have forgotten the reason for their sojourn in a white woman’s land, swing their body to the sonorous sound of October 1st. Let them put on their best attire and swim across the Danube; dance and climb the Status of Liberty – to showcase the joy of a nation in hopeless disarray; visit the Ivory Tower or pay the Queen a courtesy visit to remind her of a marriage of convenience she had solemnised – for her own interest perhaps.

The president who is obviously not in good physical health and his ceremonial Vice-president should also join in the open-air jamboree. They should don a green-white green royal robe. They should hold hands, wreathed in smiles; and lead the governors, political godfathers or thugs, senates, ministers, legislatures, INEC officials, councilors, etc to the lagoons of independence with suit cases full of dollars or pounds sterling – towards Britain or America – their adopted fatherland.

Let Nigerians in the street of Amsterdam or Berlin or Stockholm or Vienna or Sydney or Budapest blow their trumpet and rejoice for escaping poverty in their own land. Let them celebrate by poking fun at those who could not escape the hardships at home. Let them celebrate the glee of freedom they enjoy in white woman’s land but lacking in their own land.

Let them fly Sunny Ade or any of those amuluduns (entertainers) to thrill the occasion in their adopted countries, where comfort has blinded them to the reality of unnecessary suffering in their biological land. Let them celebrate this memorable day that sticks to mind like a nightmare. Let Americans and Europeans of Nigerian descent invent cultural links or mundane things as a pretext for celebration. It does not matter as long as some of us do take time to reflect on the day of independence that never was. It does not matter as long as some of us – though with puerile tears – ponder on the subject of incredible misery of our people in Nigeria.

So while we let them exercise their rights, we should also whisper: that celebrating October 1st portrays them as those carrying coffin but instead of mourning, engage in joyful laugh. With rapid decline and, or uncertainty that clouds our standard of living and our future, October 1st celebrants seem to me like a bearer of burdens who foolishly confuses the skin on his head with bread and thus starts eating it with such fanfare ignorance. They don’t need to ponder on this. Or what do you think?

 Copyright 2008

mysmallvoice@yahoo.com

Robot  Villager

# 1 Let Nigerians in the street of Amsterdam ...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 02.10.2008 13:03

Gbolly  Villager

# 2 Dear Mr. Hakeem Babalola, On behalf of all "optimistic" Nigerians around the world, l thank you for your insghtful article. You are so real, my brother. Let them go ahead and celebrate as they see fit on the so-called rich western soil. The rest of us shall continue to be progressive minded and aim for God's plan for us. May God continue to shed His grace and mercy on Nigeria. Posted by Gbolly| 02.10.2008 16:15

ttonjo  Villager

# 3 So while we let them exercise their rights, we should also whisper: that celebrating October 1st portrays them as those carrying coffin but instead of mourning, engage in joyful laugh. With rapid decline and, or uncertainty that clouds our standard of living and our future, October 1st celebrants seem to me like a bearer of burdens who foolishly confuses the skin on his head with bread and thus starts eating it with such fanfare ignorance. They don’t need to ponder on this. Or what do you think? What do I think? Akeem, you have said it all and I really thank you for your words of wisdom, with great sense of decorum, which is lacking in our society, called Nigeria. I am very proud to be a Nigerian, but this is not the time for lavish celebration, but time for sober reflections on how to move our country forward. I do not see the Malaysians, the Indians, and other Asians countries who have attained greater things after independence, celebrating lavishly like we Africans. Indian and Pakistan are even a nuclear nations, that command greater respect in the community of nations. They are also once a British colonies before they achieved independent respectively, few years before Nigeria. What are we celebrating, I don't understand? In fact, I was really disgusted the way our people celebrates the 1st of October lavishly as if everything is honky dory in Nigeria; some people have even turned it into money making ventures. I am totally in agreement with President Umaru Yar'adua, when he directed the states and government agencies against lavish independent celebration in Nigeria. Here in London, it is another story entirely. Everywhere you go in the Nigeria community, both on radio and Ben television, there is one advertisements or the other about sales of tickets at different venues for the celebration of what? I don't understand. Our people behaved like the Galatians, which the Holy Bible, described as the people who have no sense of reflections and deep thought. As far as I am concerned, the October 1st Independent celebration should be a period of sober reflections on what we have achieved since independence and focus to the future for greater things that we are capable of achieving to make Nigeria great as a nation. Posted by ttonjo| 03.10.2008 03:32