Nigeria gained Independence from the British on October 1st 1960. For this reason, we celebrate our independence day every 1st of October. On this day, we revisit our nation’s history and this enables us to see how far we have grown over the years.
This then begs the question.. what did Nigeria gain Independence from?
Nigeria was colonised by the British government who purportedly sought to gain control over it’s natural resources – Crude oil, palm oil and mineral resources.
For Nigeria, being colonized means Nigerians didn’t have freedom of speech, freedom to education, right to fair hearing. Basically, it means Nigerian had no access to fundamental human rights. A successful Nigerian then would be one working as a houseboy (gardener, cleaner) in a white man’s house. This was the life of an average Nigerian then.
Seeking independence, the likes of Obafemi Awolowo, Nnamdi Azikiwe and Tafawa Balewa persevered it all to gain it. Nigeria has independence today because of their determination. They are heroes worth remembrance.
Independence for Nigerians means we can now have access to education, make economic and political decisions, express our culture freely and make our mark in the world.
Independence means we can dream and fly without restrain. It means we as Nigerians can stand tall, proud in our heritage and strong as one nation. And today we have strong men and women spread all over the world.
We have people like Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala Director general of the World Trade Organization, Aliko Dangote the wealthiest person in Nigeria and many other great people from Nigeria.
All these achievements we see in Nigeria today emanate from sixty one years ago when Nigeria gained independence. The freedom to pursue a career and to aspire to become better in life was restored to Nigerians. Nigeria is still a developing country but one thing is certain. She and her people can’t be stopped. They keep moving forward.
Today we celebrate with Nigeria and wish her a Happy Independence day.
