I woke up this morning 10 January 2025 to a tiktok post by one Chidera Precious who wants to go-fund a local hospital in her village in Abia State. She had been on holiday from the United States and her sister required medical attention after a domestic accident. It became a nightmare when they visited the hospital and the hospital asked them to go and buy practically everything that her wounded sister required.
(c) Image from Chidera Precious tiktok page
If you are interested in the entire story. You can search the name on tiktok. The comment section would also be worth reading.
My dear sister, you may have a good intention but…let me tell you the possible implications of the go-fund me. One idiot in the village may use the money to buy nice cars and a piece of land. If the fund became massive, the idiot would even build a house.
One boss at the hospital may actually buy the necessary items that you generated the funds for. But what happens when the fund is finished? Will you go-fund the hospital for life?
There are so many other things that may happen to the proceeds of the go-fund me. Let me leave that to your imaginations.
Nigeria can never be rescued with go-fund me initiatives in the field of medical facilities or health care infrastructure in general.
The good thing with this initiative is that it is focused on a village in Abia State. However, it would seem that the village is in the sky. I mean, does the village not have a local government chairman? Does the state not have a governor? The village is not existing in isolation I would presume. So, there should be some annual budget for health in Abia state. There must be budget plans for all the hospitals in all the local governments and in all in health facilities in the state. Private hospitals must have their budget plans too and their operations must be based on available of equipment and medical resources. I hope.
This village in Abia state is not alone. The entire health infrastructure in Nigeria is a complete disgrace to the intellectual well-being of the African person.
Many years ago on this blog, I suggested that there should be at least 108 functional world class general hospital in Nigeria. That is the least that Nigeria would need, in view of the ever-growing population. Dear Chidera, you cannot build 108 world class hospitals with go-fund me.
But my stance on Nigeria has changed along the line. I do not believe that Nigeria can be rescued, and I do not believe in Nigeria as a country. I have come to accept Nigeria as the business enterprise that the bastard British made it in 1914.
Therefore, my take is that the Biafra Nation or the Igbo Nation would care for the health of the people when Biafra is free. I believe that the Yoruba country would take the health of the Yoruba seriously when the Yoruba country is free. The same will be for any of the nations that are still entrapped in Nigeria, in 2026.
Someone may ask: what is the difference between the people ruling Nigeria now and those who will rule in Biafra or Yoruba countries. The difference will be huge my dear.
Nigeria is run as a business, so the idea of world class hospitals does not arise anywhere.
Biafra country, the Yoruba country, the Arewa country, the Niger Delta country would be governed as serious countries and not the business that Nigeria is. If you know the difference, you will find peace of mind and have great hopes for the unborn generations who would be beneficiaries of the potentials that are entrapped and enslaved in British-made Nigeria.
We cannot go-fund Nigeria. We need to fight for freedom. We need to set our entrapped countries free. We need to build the foundations for the children that are not born. We need to drop this hope and expectations that Nigeria will make it. We cannot wait for Nigeria to happen to us before we acquire or apply sense.
Advocating for Nigeria and hoping that Nigeria will become what we expect is no longer a dream. It has become a nightmare and the only time influential people realize this is when Nigerian suddenly happens to them. Meanwhile that is the Nigeria that we were born into, that is the only Nigeria we know, breath and sojourn daily. This Nigeria has no prospect for the unborn generations. It is based on me, myself and I. It is based on I pass my neighbour, it is based on myopic views about life.
We need to free the entrapped nations in Nigeria and that is the only way our unborn generations that compete in the world 50 years from now, 100 years from now and forver more.
We must let our stitch in time saves nine, and more.
I have not been writing regularly for some reasons. One is the fact that my blog which is about 2 decades old contain most of the issues that plague Nigeria. I could also blame the nature of my work and working hard to make ends meet.
Tinubu released some names this week regarding possible ambassadorial posts. One of the criminals on the list is one Omokri who participated in the looting of Nigeria under Jonathan. I consider him a criminal and therefore take almost no interest in what he post or spew. I do come across reactions to his posts so invariably I know a lot about the nonsense he propagate.
My take is still that Nigeria is a business empire more than it is a country. That is why criminals parade themselves as politicians. That is why, like I always state, rather than living in prisons, the politicians are in Aso rock and all over the government houses in Nigeria acting as leaders.
That is why a former criminal under Jonathan’s regime who is a known liar and haters of certain ethnic groups in Nigeria would get a nomination to be an ambassador. The same criminal who boasted that he will never under any circumstances accept a position under Jaguda Tinubu.
It can only take a jaguda government to employ criminals all over the place.
Until my last breathe, I will be for the dissolution of Nigeria and the emancipation of all the powerful nations entrapped within it.
Therefore, though I detest the situation in Nigeria, I should care less of a certain nonentity called Omokri.
My focus is still about the Yoruba country which I would like to see in the fore front of world affairs (even if I have to see that from the grave).
Those hoping that another government other than Tinubu’s jaguda government can fix Nigeria are myopic. I always say, after observing Nigerian politics since 1979, and seeing no changes in all those years, I’d be a fool to believe in a regime change. Nigeria will never work!
It is only the nations entrapped in it that can rebuild and bring their people closer to the meaning of life, allowing them to pursue happiness, peace, love and prosperity with what nature has endowned on them and with the human resources at their disposal.
Do I need to say again that the unitary system of government is the most useless, most senseless and most stupid system of government any country can practise. Until that system is abolished, until Abuja politics is erased and the criminals in the useless senate/house are sent back to the constituencies, we are all just complaining in vain.
We are used to addressing symptoms, and always afraid to kill the disease. Since 1966, that is what “Nigerians” have done. The day we are ready, the demands are clear: take us back to pre-1966 coup or give us our countries: Yoruba Country, The Igbo Country and so on.
A rethink on Nigeria’s independence. Is it worth celebrating?
By Adeola Aderounmu
The idea of Nigeria celebrating indpendence from the British gangsters should actually be re-considered. Is it worth celebrating in ways that glorifies the slave masters? I do not think it is worth celebrating that way, or in any other way anymore. We ought to get over the hangover of an unnecessary occurence (enslavement of our grandparents and the plundering of our resources). 64 years after the scam called independence, we the people do not still have any control over our resources and how we want to use it to improve our lives.
We need to get over the disappointments of the failures of our grandparents and parents in securing their dignity and self-preservation. Self-preservation is probably the most powerful instinct in safeguarding the existence of any (living) species. Therefore we need an affirmation that, for example, I am a Yoruba and that I existed before the British gangsters and fraudsters created a colony over my head for the pleasure of the Queen of England.
In a way, it hit me bad to see how the British colonial thugs would sit back and watch us dancing annually, laughing at us as we dance to our escape from their shackles. Sadly enough, many African countries are not even free yet. Several of them are still tied to their slave masters one way or the other. The influx of the Chinese and the continuous draining of our resources-material and human-attest to the fact that the Nigeria created by the British is far from being free and independent.
So, what the heck is the celebration for actually? Is it hard to see why Nigeria is in shackles and shambles? Is it not obvious that Nigeria will never be free? Is it hard to see that the nations within Nigeria need to be set free before we can even talk of anything close to independence?
Our days of ignorance can be overlooked. However our days of stupidity are unforgivable. There are so many traditional days and events in the nations that are entrapped in Nigeria such that everyday could be a holiday. There are so many days in the Yoruba calender as much as there are in the Igbo calender about our original Yoruba New Year, The Igbo New Year. Our festivals abound and there are countless number of days we could set aside to honour of our deities. We cannot even exhaust all the possible things we can celebrate in our different nationalities yet we stuck as real slaves choosing to celebrate the Nigeria that was created as an entrapment by British thugs who fooled and dishonoured our grandparents.
There is a reason why the so called nonsense independence day is held high. It is not unconnected to the criminal politics and waywardness of the people who own Nigeria. Imagine how sad they will become to know that we disregard British-made Nigeria and sought our own nationalities to lift, behold and uphold. Those who spend several billions of dollars annually celebrating Nigeria’s ”independence” are happy to keep it going. They are happy the way Nigeria is today, a wretched, worn out and devastated country where poverty and penury have shred into pieces the souls of the citizens,
My personal opinion is that Nigeria should stop celebrating October 1st. What has the British-made country achieved compare to the most advanced countries in the world? A country that cannot produce electricity is celebrating independence. Independence from what? It is laughable. A country that is not navigable in and out by road network is wasting funds on celebrations. I am not going to bore you about how disgraceful it is to flaunt the Nigerian identity in some situations. It is mostly on personal levels and the achievements of mostly young people over the years that the British-made Nigeria have made global impacts. A national identity will remain a mirage and all attempts to achieve prosperity for all will never come to light in a British-made country.
In all, it is not about forgetting the efforts of those who partly set us free from the shackles of the colonial thugs. The likes of Awolowo for example, I can honour as a Yoruba man. Let the other nationalities within Nigeria lift their heroes and let us ”worship” them as we like. But not on any fake date like October 1st.
We need to stop glorifying the colonial thugs and we need to stop flaunting our inferiority complex in the name of ”independence day”. Every man was born free and that glorification of those who chose to infringe on the universal rights of others either through slavery, colonisation or outright invasion must be stopped, now!
On Yoruba Kingdom, I shall stand. I was created a Yoruba, but forced to retain a British-made Nigerian identity. I celebrate my identity. Yoruba, Omo Oduduwa.
In 2008 when I turned 36, I started this series called My Random Reflections. Today I’m writing my random reflections @ 52. Usually, I’d write the article the day before my birthday or exactly on the day and publish it.
This year, I’m working hard to put my thoughts together 3 days after. It is not for the lack of random thoughts. It is not because there are no issues to reflect upon. How do you even choose what issues to reflect upon albeit randomly? England have just lost the EURO football second final in a row. The best English defender, arguably, Fikayo Tomori, did not even make the team. When a goal is conceded in the dying seconds due to the wrong positioning of 2 defenders, first Walker, then Guehi, I can say: serve you right England! Fight for your best to represent you!
My focus on my random has always been Nigeria. Sometimes it is a general focus or reflection on life from my perspective. The reasons are obvious. I lived in Nigeria for 29 years before relocating to Sweden in 2002. Over the years my views of Nigeria have changed. It started from my wish for Nigeria to be one indivisible super (world) power to my sarcastic article in the Nigeria village square wondering what would happen if Nigeria was recolonized.
Today, my opinion about Nigeria is constant because having observed Nigeria politics since 1979 as a 7-year-old, I have come to the irreversible conclusion that Nigeria should be dismantled so that the prosperous nations that are entrapped in Nigeria could emerge.
Unless the system of government in Nigeria is abolished, I don ‘t see a bright future for the unborn generations entrapped in it
At some point in the time past, I was one of those focused on putting all the problems on the president(s) and politicians in the country. Indeed, in this Tinubu’s jaguda government, one can still describe the politicians as criminals for that has not changed. I mean, my knowledge of Nigerian politicians and the military regimes that intersected the periods from 1979 to date gives me the right to classify both the civilian and military governments as pure gangsters in power.
But the regimes that emerged are also direct products of the citizenry. However the worst thing about Nigeria is the crazy system of unitary government where the president and the politicians for example are simply above the law. The unitary system of government in Nigeria is the dumbest system of government on planet earth. The charade called elections to get into this system of government are also a complete disgrace to the lowest of intellectualism.
What this has led to, for me, is that whilst I can call Tinubu’s government a jaguda government or Nigerian politicians complete criminals, I am at the same time aware that even a criminal Peter Obi as governor of Anambra state would not fare better than Tinubu in power in Aso rock. A Phd Jonathan was as useless as a senseless Buhari in power. A cunning Obasanjo stole as much as he could to secure his finance. Atiku almost sold all of Nigeria! If one is criticizing Tinubu and assuming that Peter Obi or Sowore would do a better job, I think intellectualism is far from that individual.
In my opinion, what took (Nigeria) to stardom and placed development in Western Nigeria (Yorubaland) ahead of London or Paris in the 1950s remains the only permanent solution for Western Nigeria to come back and retain that position (probably in the next 50 to 100 years) if Nigeria is dismantled today or reverted to the old order. In those days the Eastern part of Nigeria was also making advancement in technology (evidentially proven later in the civil war) and the Northern part was a rising agriculturally independent nation. It was jolly to live in the 1950s Nigeria because of the economic and political independence of the regions. There was focus in / on the regions and political corruption was minimal but not detrimental to development, as it is normal even till today in the most developed countries of the world.
Allowing the poorest people on earth to exist in the most blessed region on earth, in my opinion, is a very disturbing occurence in the history of Africa.
I’m not the best official custodian of Nigerian geography and history but I know enough that by carefully re-carving Nigeria under conditions of mutual respect and understanding, the various nations in Nigeria can seek independence again and, in a few years, rub shoulders with the most advanced countries in the world. It is the people who must demand this and see it to a logical end.
The fallacy and the error propagated by the elites and the political class is that greatness can be achieved as one indivisible Nigeria. Time, space, politics, events and the ambitions that I have witnessed since 1979 have shown that the views of the elites and the political class are mirages. I have waited for Nigeria to be great since 1979. I would be foolish in 2024 to think that that greatness would come.
I have discussed extensively on my blog how Nigeria’s fourth generation is wasting away believing in the same nonsense and false hopes like their parents before them. This blog you are reading is one of Africa’s oldest individual blogs. Let that sink in that my goal is to see you in that geographical region come out prosperous and that your unborn generations need not suffer like you and me or our parents and grandparents.
I would like to leave it there so I can discuss other things, randomly. I’m trying hard to stay away from US politics but it’s hard not to feel embarrassed on behalf of the American people when their current president, Mr. Biden continued to speak nonsense while at the same time sitting tight in power and vying for a new term. I remember how African rulers have been called sit-tight rulers by the western press. What does one call Biden? How does one move on from the stupid debate that Biden and Trump participated in? We are currently waiting for the report of the security apparatuses in America regarding the assassination attempt on Trump. Interesting times ahead for the world.
In other reflection moments, when I’d reflected on conflict/war in the Middle East and the Ukraine-Russian war, my conclusions always took me back to one point: that humans may be suffering from deficiency of what I called “collective global intellectualism”. I’m now sure that humans, despite all our achievements and advancements, are devoid of sound reasoning power in conflict resolutions. I’m not particularly a good student of history, so I might need help to remember where one party had been right in a war and examples of using wars to resolve conflicts and misunderstanding.
My knowledge of Nigerian history, Nigerian civil war and what my mother (now late) told me about the Nigeria remain good bases for me to understand how Nigeria is the mess it is today and how keeping it as one country would continue to favour poverty, impoverishment, and a hopeless life/existence for several millions.
There are so many aspects of our lives in the geographical entrapment called Nigeria that must be looked to at the same time.
How is our level of education today? How does it compare to the global situation?
How is our transport network on land, water and air? How do we limit accidents?
How is the level of security of life and property? How is our night life for work and pleasure purposes?
What is our plan for our good life and a good life for three generations from now?
Does “the common good” exist in our vocabulary, in our thoughts and deeds?
What is our state of basic infrastructure for supply of electricity and water to every home?
What is the housing policy for workers, the elderly, the young people and the pensioners? What are the plans for now, the future?
What are our plans for health care and medicine?
What about research and development?
What happened to dignity in labour? How do we want to reposition education?
Let me be clear, trying to do resolve all our problems in Nigeria under a unitary system of government will never fully work. That is why I’m just looking at people shouting at Tinubu. I think they might get some changes if they shout at their governors or local government chairmen. They might get a better response if they shout at their constituent representatives.
Imagine then a system of government where all the changes needed are concentrated in a region or a smaller nation like the Yoruba Nation or the Biafra. Have you thought about the ease to get your thoughts across?
Jonathan did not see you, Obasanjo did not see you, Buhari, Yar Adua, and now Tinubu. Even Babangida was busy lining his pockets. Abdulsalami nko? That is what they all do, they eat and quench. They take care of their families and friends. That is what a unitary system of government does. It turns men to gods, saints to (d)evil people.
Bring on the regional government or even separate nations that would compete with one another and see how the other countries of the world would start to shiver. Biafra, Arewa, Yoruba and the Delta are prospective world powers and until they are set free, their existence in a British-made, elite-sustained Nigeria would continue to mean a life time of hopelessness, poverty and impoverishment such that it would be impossible to remove Nigeria from her position as the poverty capital of the world.
Allowing the poorest people on earth to exist in the most blessed region on earth, in my opinion, is a disturbing occurrence in the history of the African. The region around the heart of Africa is well endowed so much that the entire continent and beyond can feed from the flow from the heart of Africa. Unless the system of government in Nigeria is abolished, I don’t see a bright future for the unborn generations entrapped in it.
We cannot keep relying on religion and think that we can catch up with the rest of the world. Great nations are built on simple and common things like common language, custom, culture trust, common good, service to humanity, respect for law and order, sound education, developing infrastructures, accessibility to public servants/politicians. These things can be built and created in nations like Yoruba, Biafra and Arewa but never in a fictitious Nigeria.
In 2024, some states in Nigeria do not produce a pin or a broom.
Understanding The 2024 Situation In Nigeria
In recent days (this February 2024), the criticisms against the Tinubu Jaguda government have toned up. There are reports of people dying of hunger. A woman fainted and her children are starving. A bag of cement is 9000 naira. A lot of things are displayed online with prices hitting the roof and bursting off.
But, how many of these problems in Nigeria are handiwork of Tinubu’s jaguda government and how many of it are due to the (stupid) expectations from about 200 million people? My explanations are long and perhaps repetitive.
Things are expensive globally
The rise in cost of living in recent years, especially since the inception of the Russia-Ukraine war, is on a global scale. In Sweden, I know of an interest rate on housing that flew from USD 700 per month to USD 1300 per month. How does a civil servant anywhere in the world prepare to cough out so much difference every month on mortgage? What about the cost of food, transport, health care and other stuffs? In our stores and supermarkets in Sweden, prices have hit the roof and a lot of families are struggling. But this essay is not about the situation in Sweden.
In a country like Nigeria, where the minimum wage is N 30 000 (< 20 USD), the hopes after the emergence of the Tinubu Emilokan jaguda government was that there would be a positive change. The man, Tinubu, made so many promises some people thought he would be their messiah. It’s turning out to be another episode of a long series of broken promises in Nigeria’s horror-filled politics.
Nigeria is running a useless system of government
Some of us have mentioned this several times but majority still troop to the ballot boxes every 4 years to keep the useless and senseless system of government working. As long as you are voting in Nigeria’s political elections, you are part of the reason Nigeria is what it is today. As long as you belong to a political party in this senseless system, you are part of the problem with yourself. How does this sound to your hearing: Make money in River State, send the money to Tinubu, Tinubu shares the money to Sokoto, Kaduna and the rest of the state including River State? How much of the amount River State sent to Tinubu do you think comes back to River State? Do the same math for Lagos and all the other states in the country where some economic activities are still going on. Do you think money made in Alaska would be send to Biden so Biden can send the money to Texas and other American states?
In Nigeria today, all the monies from the regions are sent to Tinubu in Abuja. Before Tinubu, it was to Buhari, Jonathan, Obasanjo, Babangida, Shagari, Murtala and Gowon. This senseless thing started after the coups of 1966. How can you send money to one person and expect accountability? How can you send all the monies in an economy to an individual and you expect that individual to be sane? Even you, you will go crazy and surely become very corrupt!
Make money in Rivers State, send the money to Tinubu in Abuja. Tinubu shares the money to Sokot, Kaduna, Imo and the remaining states in Nigeria. How much of the amount comes back to Rivers State? Does that even make any sense to you if you have some brain cells to think? But that is what you vote for every 4 years? You are the problem with yourself!
Nigerian Politicians are corrupt. They are documented criminals.
Some may argue that if Nigerian politicians are not corrupt, the unitary system would work. But that is the exact illusion that is created by the system and the (s)elections that come with it. That is what the criminal politicians what you to believe. That is why more than 3 generations of Nigerians have wasted away. That belief and hope in the system is the reason why this generation would die in extreme penury and poverty.
Globally, politicians are corrupt to varying degrees. But Nigerian politicians are documented criminals. Some were criminals before they entered government houses, others became criminals after emerging in government houses. There is no way a sane person will not become insane after emerging in Nigerian politics. It’s designed for you to steal or loot.
To be clear, the list of criminal-politicians living openly in Nigeria after looting in politics is endless. There is no justice under a unitary system of government and one of the reasons is the concentration of power in one person, at the center. Buhari, Jonathan, Obasanjo, Babangida, name them. All the former and serving governors. All the ministers, past and present. Everyone in Emilokan Jaguda government. They are all thieves. Nigeria is running a useless system of government supervised by thieves and you are crying that thing are expensive. You are not ready to save yourselves and your children.
Nigeria is a consumption-based economy
One of the consequences of sharing monies to different states in Nigeria was that several states became unproductive. Before the useless unitary system was introduced to Nigeria, all the different regions were very productive. Agriculture and industrialization were in full speed. The regions competed with one another. Their respective economies were vibrant, and the common currency was very strong. Infrastructures were built and maintained. Everything made in Nigeria and by Nigerians were of the highest standard. Our health care and schools attracted people from all over the world. That was the golden period of the regional system of government in Nigeria.
Fast forward post unitary system of government. In 2024, some states in Nigeria do not produce a pin or a broom. The politicians cross their legs, sit their asses at the government houses and wait for federal allocations that have been mopped up from a few productive states. When the money gets to them, they steal most of it, at the state and local government levels. The same at the ministries; ministers loot monies and they get away with their loots. There are almost no consequences for being a criminal politician in Nigeria.
Even in some states where minerals are mined, a few criminals in the states have cornered all the mineral resources with the help of unregistered foreign companies/persons. So, it would appear that the money shared to the states are looted by politicians. Then the income from the mineral resources that are supposed to be used for the state end up in the pockets of the same politicians and a few of their friends. These are the people you see buying houses and land for trillions of naira all over the country and abroad. Several politicians starting from the presidency down to the local government level just dip their hands into the country’s account and take money to buy houses in UK, Dubai and America. Then you are there crying that things are expensive, you are not serious yet. Our freedom will never come on a platter of gold.
A rotten head
What people are facing in Nigeria today are not only due to the pressure of global crises. Internationally, we are all feeling the impacts of a global economy meltdown. Interests on our mortgages are up in the sky, depression is high and homelessness (even in the absence of war) is noticeable. But what makes Nigeria unique is that the head is super rotten. The head is represented by politics and policies. It is represented by law and order. By accountability and patriotism. But they are all decayed!
It does not matter who is elected or selected as Nigeria’s president. You can be Atikufied or Obidiots or Agbadoists, it does not matter. Where did Anambra money go when Obi was governor? What did Atiku do with all he stole for years 1999 – 2007 as VP? The unitary system of government does not give accounts. It loots and assist to loot because that was the purpose of the system. In recent years, a man called Buhari, a classical dullard and a man of low mentality was pushed down the throats of Nigerians as president. In private conversation, we know that no one of us will employ Buhari as a gatekeeper or servant. He was that incompetent and incoherent. But some cabals made him a president. Unforgivable. Today, a certain Tinubu whose identity cannot be verified is leading. Everything about Tinubu is unclear. What is clear is that he, like Obi and Atiku, is one of the criminal politicians in Nigeria. But he is president.
The heads in Nigeria have always been rotten. The implication is that the rottenness spreads into the entire network and systems in Nigeria. There is nothing in Nigeria today that does not smell. That is the most viable explanation to how some people with no known source of extra income, can survive on USD 20 a month. Even a bag of rice approached USD 70 but we move, abi? Nigerians say they hustle to make ends meet. You don’t want to know what hustle means to some people. Let’s leave it there. Try to get something that is your right in Nigeria, like a passport. Try to open a bank account. Try to park your car in a public place in Lagos Island. Everything is hard and frustrating. We rip one another. The head is bad, rotten and smelly. You can feel it in everything in Nigeria.
Where do we go from here?
In some articles in the past, I have written very provocatively. I still do, sometimes. In one controversial article published in the Nigerian Village Square, I asked if we should lease Nigeria to the former colonial masters, to see if they can turn things around in 10 years. On more than one occasion, I wrote articles titled: No rage, no change. They are here on my blog. Today, I cannot stand by and allow a rogue called a colonial master to rule my life; that article on leasing Nigeria was borne out of frustration in the days of ignorance. Still the idea was to provoke to positive actions. More than a decade later, Nigeria is down the hole.
But I stand by “No rage, No change”. Sometimes, we say revolution. Sadly, Nigeria does not need a revolution that change people or replace people in a unitary system. Nigeria needs a revolution that would reshape the geographical space very dramatically. If Nigeria continue to exist in its modus operandi, I cannot see the light. Even the tunnel does not exist. As long as a unitary system of government remains, Nigeria and Nigerians are hopeless. 10 years from now, some will debate this provocation!
The big question is: what can you give to make your geographical space a better place for your children? If my generation or the one after ends thinking we can save Nigeria, then we would end up chasing shadows. Our lives may add no real values to humanity. Our parents died believing in a certain imaginary one Nigeria. See where it left us.
Our concern should be on our common heritage, our common culture, our common values, our common language. We must return to where the bubble bursts in 1966. Everybody need to know where we were before the 2 useless 1966 coups in order to understand what we are up against. It would not come easy because the politicians, the elites and the rogue colonial masters are also ready to keep Nigeria as a giant slave camp. But with a massive population of over 60 million representing, the Yoruba for example must be able to govern their Western Region where Agriculture was king. Nobody was eager to leave Yoruba Western Region for a low standard London or Paris, at that time. My mother stayed back in Abeokuta of the 1950s. She told me the story. What a glorious choice she made. In 2002, I could not make the same decision as my mother when the call came. What applied to a 1960 glorious Western Yoruba Land applied also to the other regions at that time. It is the regions that we must take back in order to pursue own peace, happiness and economic prosperity.
One of the greatest fallacies and chant of slaveries in Nigeria today is “We will take Nigeria back”. From who? Was Nigeria ever made for you? What is Nigeria? We have lived our lives on false identity. Sadly, we will die this way, with the identity that our ancestors did not bequeath to us. But we can save our children and the unborn generations by giving them their rightful identities. You can never claim back what was never yours. Nigeria was created as a slave camp. What belongs to you is Western Region-Yoruba, Eastern Region-Igbo (Biafra), Northern Region-Arewa, Middle-Belt and the South-South (The Delta). In this new age, perhaps more regions should emerge. Why not? Some of the most prosperous countries in the world do not even have a million inhabitants.
Finally, there will be no quick fix to all the problems that have accumulated in Nigeria since the erroneous coups of 1966 and the prevalence of mad, corrupt people in government houses since 1966 to date. If we correct the most fundamental error today (that is operating at the regional levels), our children and children’s children would have something to smile about in the next 20, 30, 40 or 50 years and forever.
We have to stop crying or lamenting on the social media and in real life. We need to stop praying from Maiduguri to Jerusalem and Mecca. Let us stop wasting time. Stop sharing nonsense. Share the history and stories that will change for our lives for better, forever. Spread the news that awaken our critical thinking. Let us disagree to agree that we need a proper plan for the rest of our lives. Our progress starts the day we start building our respective nations again. Everything starts on the day of our real freedom from a slave camp called Nigeria.
A View From The Scandinavian 