NIGERIA

I just recently finished a novel by Chimamanda Adichie- Half of a yellow sun. It’s about the cause, effects, and experience of the Nigerian civil war (the Biafran war). The story was so graphically written, and simply told; I felt the pain, hurt, and trials the Igbos of Nigeria went through. The book evoked deep emotions in me, and it took me a while to snap out of it and adjust to the reality of my real life environment (in which there is peace, thank God). The inhumane and insensitive attitude of the then Nigerian government towards the massacre of the Igbos had my blood boiling, and I was so close to developing hatred for the country Nigeria. I wondered how the Igbos could forgive, forget and move on from the deliberate and pointless tragedy inflicted on them; and felt like the Nigerian government and Nigerians in general should have become better for all that happened.
The book made me realise that Nigeria has never been a country to take care of her own. It’s the same now as it was then, you can see what is happening with the missing Chibok girls; it took our government THREE weeks to respond to the cry from the North, and even then they only did because the international community had immense interest in the situation. It’s sad to see that after decades passed, we have not once had a sincere, disciplined, ethical government; and Nigeria and Nigerians live with this exploitation and corruption as a normalcy.
 In a country like Nigeria, belief in a higher power is essential. The short-comings of man makes the mercifulness of God all the more apparent. We need to hold on to God, because He is really all we have. Nigeria needs prayers. We are a sick country, and we need God to help us heal. We have been blessed with abundant resources- mineral/natural resources, human resources, good weather, and a resilient attitude; we should be the Lions of Africa, but we are steadily declining. After years and decades of independence, we have no electricity, no good roads, poor education system; we have made no progress. The dreams our patriotic fathers had for this country have still not been brought to fruition.
It’s so easy to cast all the blame on our failing government, but we are all a part of our problem. If we can start to do things right, we can spearhead a change. If our predecessors have failed us, we can right their wrongs, if we have a dream for this country, we can work hard at it till we see it work out. I want to use this post, this article to inspire and rally us, the young ones to stand up for what is right, put selfish interests aside, and join hands to make Nigeria better than we met it!
God bless us all.