The feeling and euphoria that swept across the country on the first of October 1960 was infectious and extraordinary, although we had no doubt where we were going, we were going to be the leaders of our country, and Freedom was what mattered!! The nationalist leaders who helped gain independence for our dear nation, were hailed as heroes and swept into office with huge votes, Criticising
them became sacrilegious and, very quickly, the freedom
and development promised by this nationalist transformed into a melodramatic nightmare. This nationalist leaders turned into what Frantz fanon labelled as (Black skin, white mask) they became nothing but swiss bank liberators, kleptocrats and political looters, After independence true freedom never came to Nigeria, Nor did development.
For many Nigerians, the "paradise" promised them turned
out to be a starvation diet, life to most nigerian then was like flower without dew, it became colourless and dry, Public servants helped themselves freely to the nations wealth, election were ridiculously rigged, the subsequent national census was outrageously stage-managed , it didn't take long before Disaffection and alienation set in within the military, this disaffection led to the first military coup in Nigeria in 1966, however ,The first generation of coup leaders in the 1960s were professional soldiers who brooked zero tolerance for corruption, inefficiency, government waste, and mismanagement. They threw out the elite bazongas (raiders of the public treasury), cleaned up the government house, instilled discipline in the civil service, and returned to their barracks. The second generation of military rulers, who assumed control in the 1970s, emerge from the dregs, They were more corrupt, incompetent, and brutal than the civilian administrations they replaced. They ruined the country's economy one after another with brutal efficiency and looted Nigerians watched helplessly as they experienced yet another betrayal. This second batch of "military dickheads,". came from the bottom of the pit and left wanton destruction and carnage in their wake, Since the second coming of the military lords, things have gone from good to bad and bad to worse in the most progressive manner, By the beginning of the 1990s, it was clear something had gone terribly wrong in Nigeria,the country was in a state of anomy, Economies had collapsed. Poverty, in both absolute and relative terms, had increased Malnutrition was rife. In addition, hearts of men were failing, the ordinary people were heart broken,the country was politically unyielding, economically self-centred and administratively fraudulent also censorship, persecution, detention, arbitrary seizures of property, corruption, capital flight, and tyranny continuously plagued the country, Infrastructure had decayed and crumbled in much of Africa.
Roads, schools, and telecommunications systems were in
shambles. Empty bookstore shelves greeted visitors to
university campuses. Many school buildings showed
obvious signs of decay and disintegration. Most buildings had not even seen a coat of paint since the britain departed. The quality of education had deteriorated sharply. Nigeria 6-3-3-4 school system, was in ruins.
Students could not get books. Nor could professors do research( when education is disregarded in a country, the country will soon become a home of fools)
54 years after Independence, our dear nigeria is now a country of wounded cruelly citizens, I can feel the tears and pains of my neighbours, the nation is now full of contradictions, it is now a country where the impossible becomes possible, inconsistent becomes consistent, bad becomes good, it is a nation where those who stole the blind man walking stick in the morning and were given un complimentary names, have become decision makers, 54 years after, food is short, education is poor, Mind is depressed, body is low our dear country has been driven to the threshold of chasm , what a tragic reality, I tell you brothers times are indeed hard, Our nation is Seriously sick..
However despite this ills, Time has now come for all of us as a people united in hope for a better tomorrow to avoid the disgust of the past and advance our nationhood on the principles of equality, liberty and rule of law , we all need every inspiration arising from self-healing , self regeneration and self-pride--I Believe there's still a light at the end of the tunnel, the future and dreams of our fore fathers shall and will never be in vain, I believe in the Nigerian dream
HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY
KOSOKO OYEYEMI YEKINI

Rome was not built in a day,we would get there.