The events of the recent past have really made one to wonder if we were truly ripe for independence.
What we have seen in the last few months have been policy reversal and somersault, inconsistency on the part of government and a lame attempt at fighting corruption.
With these inconsistencies, it is clear that there would not be any solution to any of the myriads of problems staring us in the face, at least for now. The government lacks focus and will to make any meaningful impact.

From independence till date, nothing has really worked in the real sense of it, which makes one wonder if the independence we got was really worth it. The entire infrastructure is in comatose and the common wealth is the pockets of a few politician and their cronies. No potable water, no light, no good roads, lives and property are not secure, the list is endless

One would wonder what would have been our lot (the Talakawas) if the British were still holding the reigns of power in Nigeria. We all know how Hong Kong is today.

Without mincing words it is crystal clear that we are not ripe for independence, perhaps with the benefit of hindsight, we should have allowed the British to stay a little bit longer.

This is not to say the colonialists are perfect or flawless, but I believe the basic things of life would be guaranteed for an average Nigerian, and the impact of the oil and gas revenues would impact positively on the lives of average Nigerians. The situation whereby we only hear figures without any thing to show for it in terms of welfare would not be.

This is my view.

nope i dont think so
cos we no suffer well well 4 am
maybe if we did we 4 value what we have now
and the civil war didnt last long enough either or else nobody regardless of his tribe would still sit down and allow some corrupt cartels to steal our wealth nad make the masses poor.
Nigerians too fear, i might be guilty of dat too cos i never challenge govt for any of their atrocities to the nigeria populace b4.

Nope we never still ripe up till now
we suppose dey say yes sir to people wey go at least develop their own part of the country dan say yes sir to all these moroons that take our money to develop other people country.

I do think your analysis of Nigeria since independence is misguided. How can you draw abitrary lines on a map and then force the inhabitants of the land to abide by these lines and then try to unite various differing tribes as one country. How can you compare Hong Kong a tiny island in the pacific with Nigeria. I think it is inappropiate do so. The population of Hong Kong is 6,980,412 whilst Nigeria has nearly 200 million inhabitants on a land mass that is at least 1000 times its size. What was the so called Nigeria like before the arrival of the Europeans ? The problems you have described comes from when the Europeans arrived so your argument doesnt hold.

, probably not. The antics of the first republic politicians during the first 6 years of independence, two x-rated violent military coups in the space of 6 months, and a civil war less than 7 years after independence, proves that Nigeria wasn't quite politically mature enough. It has took Nigeria 39 years to accept that military rule is corrosive and led to an authoritarian clampdown on human rights, and nearly 20 years to realise that regional ethnic based parties inevitably cause conflict.

it was ripe for independence due to nationalist sentiment among the indigenes and protest against british taxation. your only argument is about the transition to independence. the same problem can be seen in independence for india and other colonies.

This is not to say the colonialists are perfect or flawless, but I believe the basic things of life would be guaranteed for an average Nigerian, and the impact of the oil and gas revenues would impact positively on the lives of average Nigerians. The situation whereby we only hear figures without any thing to show for it in terms of welfare would not be.

what makes u think nigeria wouldn't end up like south africa or zimbabwe if it's colonization wasn't extended. hong kong is a special case and not the norm. most of the oil and gas revenue would have been transferred to the UK and not used domestically.

most of the oil and gas revenue would have been transferred to the UK and not used domestically.

@bawomol
You are so right you couldnt be more righter . That was all colonization was all about in fact it should have been called economic exploitation instead. I can't imagine working hard and having to pay taxes to the queen.
Having said that, from what its going on in Nigeria right now, naija would definitely have been better off than it is today or probably (probably being the keyword) have ended up being developed like Hong Kong. Also, there is another probability that it would end up being like South Africa where whites were only 8% (now 13%) but control over 90% of the wealth.

davidif:

most of the oil and gas revenue would have been transferred to the UK and not used domestically.

@bawomol
You are so right you couldnt be more righter . That was all colonization was all about in fact it should have been called economic exploitation instead. I can't imagine working hard and having to pay taxes to the queen.
Having said that, from what its going on in Nigeria right now, naija would definitely have been better off than it is today or probably (probably being the keyword) have ended up being developed like Hong Kong. Also, there is another probability that it would end up being like South Africa where whites were only 8% (now 13%) but control over 90% of the wealth.

How much of the wealth do we ACTUALLY control now ( when I say we, I mean we the people of Nigeria who are not greedy pot bellied politicians)

would dat 8% or is it 13% population u are talking about not be more than the less than 1% we have in Nigeria today and of course they are nigerians so which is actually worse.

at least the white man go provide electricity, good road, medical facilities, water dat we nigerians of today are clamouring for, or are we making all this noise to share the wealth?