Some people may want to chew my head off but i kept wondering about this and decided to ask Nairalanders.
Nigeria became an independent nation in 1960 and began having ethnic problems almost immediately. Just 6 years into its nationhood, those in power refused to let go and cross carpeting began which led to the civil unrest and then coup de tat and murder of prominient Nigerians including the prime minister, a Northerner.

That fueled the tribalistic sentiments.
The rest is all history we know and recall with nausea.
Take a look at this.
[b]
Alhaji Tafawa Balewa- Prime minister (1st Nigerian leader) Murdered

General Aguiyi Ironsi- Head of state  (2nd Nigerian leader and 1st military head of state) Murdered

General Yakubu Gowon- Head of state(3rd leader) Over thrown

General Murtala Mohammed- Head of state(4th leader) Assassinated

General Obasanjo- Head of state (5th leader) handed over to Shagari

Alhaji Shehu Shagari - President (6th Leader) over thrown

General Mohammadu Buhari -Head of state (7th Leader) Over thrown

General Ibrahim Babangida-head of state (8th leader) annulled June 12 and stepped Aside

Chief Ernest Shonekon - Head of interim government (9th leader) over thrown

General Sani Abacha- Head of state (10th leader) died under questionable circumstances

General Abdulsalam Abubakar- (11th leader) handed over to Obansanjo in a flawed election

Chief Obasanjo- (12th leader) handed over to Yar'adua in a seriously flawed election

My questions are these:were we ready for indepence?  was Nigeria doomed to fail from the start?
are we more of tribes forced together in this unholy alliance?[/b]

There were ethnic problems even before 1960.

Nigeria is a failed experiment championed by the British.

Is only God that will see this country through. I pray for it to come faster.

Nigeria was not meant to be those who amalgamated the north and the south together made grevious mistake by doin so and it is that unholy union that led us to where we are today.

Brethren,im coming, oooooooooo

Zik and the rest of them must be blamed for literally begging the North to join Nigeria. The North declared their intention to pull out of Nigeria in 1954, after which Zic and em begged the North to return. The North then gave a 10 point agenda upon which their union with Nigeria was dependent, at which the East and West caved in.

Ibime:

Zik and the rest of them must be blamed for literally begging the North to join Nigeria. The North declared their intention to pull out of Nigeria in 1954, after which Zic and em begged the North to return. The North then gave a 10 point agenda upon which their union with Nigeria was dependent, at which the East and West caved in.

Zik was a reprehensible buffoon because of his genuine conviction he could turn a leopard into cashew- leaves- chewing herbivore, or a butterfly into a suckling mammal.

@poster

you forgot to add M K O Abiola and notable leaders irrespective whether they got the chance to become leaders or not - He is equally as important as any one u listed above.

Oh Nigeria.

olasboy:

@your question, Nigeria was not ready for independence at all, these are my reasons:

1. As at 1960 less than 5% of Nigerians were educated

2. Those that we are calling heroes of independence were little children (teenagers & early twenties) e.g. Pa Anthony Enahoro who moved the motion for independence in 1956, (53 years ago is in his seventies now) was how old then? abt 20yrs.

3. An average 20 yrs old now is writing JAMB, abi? or selling on the street. Backward movement!

4. They got the independence for themselves not for YOU nor ME and that's why the started killing and overthrowing themselves when they could not agree on the sharing formula after independence.

5. There is no hero among them not even Awolowo, Azikiwe nor Enahoro. The shagaris are worse. We just have a culture of pitying the dead in this part o the world

6. They are not seriuos about developing the nation.

Now we're in a sorry state, we need a Jerry Rawlins

my bro. not even 20 jerry rawlings can repair nigeria. nigeria is irrepairable. its getting worse everyday. its condemned, finished, dead, rotten, or any other name you like. thats the fact.

@topic

we we'rent ready then, we prolly wouldn'n be ready now

@al-qaeda

lets not lose hope, there will be a Jerry Rawlings one day. . .  prolly by the next century. could even be your great, great grand son

dominique:

@al-qaeda

lets not lose hope, there will be a Jerry Rawlings one day. . . prolly by the next century. could even be your great, great grand son

my dear, i lost hope 11 years ago and to show you there's no hope, just point to 1 thing that is better now than it was 11 years ago. absolutely nothing. everything was working fine uptill 1998. but now, nothings working but lawlessness, bribery, rioting here and there, indiscipline and crime. in those days, you'd wake up in the morning and find your house burgled, but now, its during the day in open public for all to witness with uncovered faces. now ur not even safe in police station. hope you've heard the news of fighting in bauchi, potiskum, maiduguri and kano. all started yesterday and only police station are being attacked. what hope are you talking about. pls enlighten dear.

I have always believed that we don't value our independence because we didn't shed blood for it. Period!!

Now we're in a sorry state, we need a Jerry Rawlins

I wonder how many Jerry Rawlings you people think you need?

back to the First Republic- a number of top Nigerian leaders were murdered in a bid to start "revolution". After that, the freefall to civil war.

Does anyone have a list of names btw-how many leaders were killed between Jan 15- 17 1966 and who were they?

Nigeria has already gone that route- I dont know why people cant analyze information correctly.

@al-qaede, na woooo e don reach like this? naija don bad like this? where come better now?

ibelab:

@al-qaede, na woooo e don reach like this? naija don bad like this? where come better now?

my bro, don't you hve people in 9ja. ask them or better yet, take a 2 week trip and see for your self. the only place you can MANAGE now is abj. other than that, no place is safe. listen to the news or go to a news website and see the current situation going on in the country.

al-qaeda:

my bro. not even 20 jerry rawlings can repair nigeria. nigeria is irrepairable. its getting worse everyday. its condemned, finished, dead, rotten, or any other name you like. thats the fact.

Bros, no talk like that o, things can still be good in the country. Take a cue from what Fashola is doing in Lagos. Who would have ever thought that Lagos can start the journey towards sanity? But the guy is doing a good job and if he continues - with the right funds and attitude - the sky is the limit.

Now, can the same thing not happen in Nigeria? Once a visionary leader sits in that seat of power, things will move along just well. Once processes and rules of law are put in place and enforced, things will change. Have you not noticed that when Nigerians are in other parts of the world, even in other parts of Africa, they behave themselves? It is because there are laws in place and these laws are no respecter of men. Regardless of who you are, if you break speed limits, you will be fined. If you throw litter, you will be fined. If you do certain things, you will be fined. If they cant fine you (due to diplomatic immunity, etc) they will throw you out of the country. These things can be successfully implemented in Lagos.

On the question of our readiness for independence, how are we in the actual sense to measure that? What are the metrics and performance levels we are to use for the analysis? Some may have reasons to support our readiness for independence while others may not. I think the question is subjective. My own is that we were not ready

The oyibos should have kicked our asses around a little more and then allowed us to go. However, that may not have achieved anything. Take the case of South Africa. They have been ruled by the whites for so long that their infrastructure and economy is one of the best in Africa. However, with the blacks having taking over, the country seems to be spiralling downwards. One of the most violent countries in the world, with one of the highest prevalence of HIV/AIDS, a president (black) that has been tried for corruption and rape, etc etc. Should we say now, that they were not ready for their 'independence' too?

Hey moderator i dont thnk dis qustn was ask in de drt frm it shld be "ARE WE RELLY INDEPENDENT" cmng 2 de qustn askd i dont thnk we are in ayfrm indpndnt cpled wit wat hve been hapng snce 1960 till date i dont thnk dat thr is any chngd not even wit de so called "7 POINT AGENDA" i dont thnk thre is any chng but cntnutn of wat has been hapng.only God will can mke us indpndnt in tms like dis.

Hey moderator i dont thnk dis qustn was ask in de drt frm it shld be "ARE WE RELLY INDEPENDENT" cmng 2 de qustn askd i dont thnk we are in ayfrm indpndnt cpled wit wat hve been hapng snce 1960 till date i dont thnk dat thr is any chngd not even wit de so called "7 POINT AGENDA" i dont thnk thre is any chng but cntnutn of wat has been hapng.only God will can mke us indpndnt in tms like dis.

Hey moderator i dont thnk dis qustn was ask in de drt frm it shld be "ARE WE RELLY INDEPENDENT" cmng 2 de qustn askd i dont thnk we are in ayfrm indpndnt cpled wit wat hve been hapng snce 1960 till date i dont thnk dat thr is any chngd not even wit de so called "7 POINT AGENDA" i dont thnk thre is any chng but cntnutn of wat has been hapng.only God will can mke us indpndnt in tms like dis.

Nigeria, as the stupid first colonialists called it, was born ready for independence but for as long as the same crop of politicians (that we knew when we were in Primary 5) keep sitting tight and decide to keep paying homage to the greed that resides within their hearts,this country will continue on its downward spiral

Epiphany:

Bros, no talk like that o, things can still be good in the country. Take a cue from what Fashola is doing in Lagos. Who would have ever thought that Lagos can start the journey towards sanity? But the guy is doing a good job and if he continues - with the right funds and attitude - the sky is the limit.

Now, can the same thing not happen in Nigeria? Once a visionary leader sits in that seat of power, things will move along just well. Once processes and rules of law are put in place and enforced, things will change. Have you not noticed that when Nigerians are in other parts of the world, even in other parts of Africa, they behave themselves? It is because there are laws in place and these laws are no respecter of men. Regardless of who you are, if you break speed limits, you will be fined. If you throw litter, you will be fined. If you do certain things, you will be fined. If they cant fine you (due to diplomatic immunity, etc) they will throw you out of the country. These things can be successfully implemented in Lagos.

On the question of our readiness for independence, how are we in the actual sense to measure that? What are the metrics and performance levels we are to use for the analysis? Some may have reasons to support our readiness for independence while others may not. I think the question is subjective. My own is that we were not ready

You said it well. It's the leaders not the people of Nigeria.
Asking for independence was like a prodigal son asking for his inheritance too early, and not knowing that it comes with lots of responsibilities. Public corruption in Nigeria began as a resistance movement to overthrow the British. While some people advocated boycotting all boycottables, others played truancy at work, because na goverment job, others simply stole and damaged government properties. All these were targeted and documented as passive aggressive tacticts used to fight the Brits. Guess what , when they Brits left, we continued the same practices, because nobody understood who be this government self
It's even worse now, because we have mixed tribalism with the very bad habits we learnt fighting the Brits.

I dont thnk we were in any form ready cos Nigeria dont know wat is meant 2 be indpndt not even wit de so called Mr President's "7 POINT AGENDA" i stil dont thnk we were ready 4 indpndce cos we dont even hve any thing 2 prove it.

I dont thnk we were in any form ready cos Nigeria dont know wat is meant 2 be indpndt not even wit de so called Mr President's "7 POINT AGENDA" i stil dont thnk we were ready 4 indpndce cos we dont even hve any thing 2 prove it.

nope and nope.
Even till now, we are not ready, cos the dumb leaders are just simply foolish and selfish

Epiphany:

Bros, no talk like that o, things can still be good in the country. Take a cue from what Fashola is doing in Lagos. Who would have ever thought that Lagos can start the journey towards sanity? But the guy is doing a good job and if he continues - with the right funds and attitude - the sky is the limit.

Now, can the same thing not happen in Nigeria? Once a visionary leader sits in that seat of power, things will move along just well. Once processes and rules of law are put in place and enforced, things will change. Have you not noticed that when Nigerians are in other parts of the world, even in other parts of Africa, they behave themselves? It is because there are laws in place and these laws are no respecter of men. Regardless of who you are, if you break speed limits, you will be fined. If you throw litter, you will be fined. If you do certain things, you will be fined. If they cant fine you (due to diplomatic immunity, etc) they will throw you out of the country. These things can be successfully implemented in Lagos.

On the question of our readiness for independence, how are we in the actual sense to measure that? What are the metrics and performance levels we are to use for the analysis? Some may have reasons to support our readiness for independence while others may not. I think the question is subjective. My own is that we were not ready  

The oyibos should have kicked our asses around a little more and then allowed us to go. However, that may not have achieved anything. Take the case of South Africa. They have been ruled by the whites for so long that their infrastructure and economy is one of the best in Africa. However, with the blacks having taking over, the country seems to be spiralling downwards. One of the most violent countries in the world, with one of the highest prevalence of HIV/AIDS, a president (black) that has been tried for corruption and rape, etc etc. Should we say now, that they were not ready for their 'independence' too?

you say fashola is doing a good job, agreed. how long has it taken for a fashola like person to come on scene and how long is it going to take for another to come. this is 1 person out of 36 guvs and not even  a pres. tomorrow he will not be available, and next person will only neglect all the good job his predecessor has done. then wait for another 50 years for a fashola to come again. take the case of marwa. no person will justifiably say marwa was a bad governor. but all the cleansing he tried to do was put aside by the next gov. its a case of 1 step forward and 50 backwards. what we need is change everywhere, not only lagos. and i honestly don't see that coming. when its about to rain you'll see clouds. right now, nothing good is visible in 9ja.

to me, this question does not exist.
if the question is wether we are ready for independence now, my answer will be no.
from the kind of mentality we all as nigerians have, we do not only need colonization, we equally need aperthied.
we are very very unready.
look at a president like yar adua - an unprepared aboki.
look at that fat idiot that left - mentaly disabled old man
buhari, ibb, abacha, atiku, bode george, borrishade, tonny annenih etc all sick in the head.
the british govt must plan a coup and come back to power and destroy this name - nigeria and form something reasonable. the coming together of Igbos, hausas and yorubas is like a marriage between terrorists.

It is a difficult question to answer. We dey make progress especially in the private sector, commerce and business. Na our government wey no get long term vision on developing our society. Nigeria is not a unique basket case however the sad thing in our case is that the smart people either work in the private sector/commerce or emigrate abroad and na  thieving ex soldiers, political crooks, thugs and dimwits who are left to rule. It should therefore not surprise anyone of us that the result we are left with is a dysfunctional crazy society. Fela Anikulapo Kuti's songs, many of which were recorded in the 60's and 70's are accurate characterizations of the deep seated wretchedness, crookedness, roguery and wickedness of our so called "leaders". Fela's analysis still holds true 49 years after our independence. Everybody say yeah yeah.

We were very ready but awo and zik let their egos get in the way by not agreeing a power sharing arrangement.