Nigeria: My Beloved Country
(57 years independence anniversary)
PART 1

Built upon the sweat of our founding fathers
With a lasting hope of a foreseen but non-reliant future
The Nation came into existence amidst much fanfare and anticipation from its diverse ethnicity and people
Then came 1966, January 15; and
The turbulent times began
Military junta; the military regime; Ironsi – The unitary system
National Military Government....... Central Government.....

July 29, 1966 followed
And the waters boiled high (on point)
Northern anger; Pogrom; Ethnic outcry
The vulture called out to his people
Internal migration; Immigrants and Emigrants
Everyone swapping to their right places
Pogrom; Blood; Nothing is done on it
Secession announced
Tension everywhere; Aburi accord; Civil war

1967 – 1970
A people bent on secession; and
A people bent on unity (as claimed); 'to keep Nigeria one is a task that must be done'
The secessionist nation (Biafra) and the one nation (twelve states Nigeria)
Both led by men,
One of them pushed by his ego and heartfelt responsibilities;
The other, subservient to his people; aided by his colonial masters and the west, and everybody else who had what to gain

Biafra,
Children – humans, starved and malnourished
Women, assaulted and subjected to indignity
Men, spirited by the dead hope they hang onto
People, killed without account

PART 2

1970
The war then ends; the vulture goes on exile
“No victor No vanquished” the General announced
The 3Rs; Rehabilitation, Reconciliation and Restructure
Re-integration
A battered people restored; against their wild hopes
Their hope quieted; their spirits crushed, but not killed

Then the times came
From ‘71
The cankerworm, corruption, crept in; much as the years passed
A subsequent rescind on the promise to civil transition
The general remained; until the O.A.U summit
’76,
A bloodless coup d’etat
One of its kind; the general was exiled
And the tranquil one comes
Massive re-organization of the system
Retrenchment; Dismissal; Sack letters
Tranquility; Relative stability; but it is short-lived

Two years on; another coup on the rails
The fourth; the third bloody experience
The tranquil one was assassinated; on a Friday; Radio announcement; martial music; little fighting
Radio announcement; the take-over fails; the second-in-command appointed leader
Investigations; Trials; Executions; Bullet riddled bodies
The country is tense; the exiled General denounced – for alleged involvement
The second-in-command settles
Civil transition promised; but on a strict basis

Time came; Elections conducted
And the ‘First executive’ emerged; hands high aloft in the air
The results are challenged; Rigged, was the charged
The ‘First executive’ remained; as president
A yellow period; the sun seemed bright; everyone quite eased
But the cankerworm, Corruption; it never rests; it came back
The officials; corrupt; a perfect excuse; the green fatigues returned

PART 3

This time, it is the martinet; ‘83
The strict one; once a petroleum minister under a regime
Implementations; war against indiscipline; anti-corruption charades; citizens up and doing
Hunger strikes; the people complain; but no ease; Hunger has no ears
Infrastructural reforms; the people learn duty; to queue
All not fond memories; as they lasted their while

And then ’85; the martinet is toppled; a palace coup
The president comes in; Maradona; political Maradona
The situation worsens
Oil boom,
Corruption; even more from the top; loot; OIC; scandals; Vatsa; Gloria Okon; Dele Giwa
Corruption heightens; incoherent crimes; all from Maradona
And he seeks to please, promising a return to civil government (’89)
1990; the failed coup; Orkar
’93;
Moshood Abiola; annulment
August; Shonekan; interim government; until December ’94

Abacha
The terror; the tyrant
Military junta in true form
Corruption; arrests; even the second-in-command and his ally were not spared
The Nation cries; Hunger; closed borders; sanctions; unchecked powers; the people suffer; human rights violated; campus strikes; student protests
The rise of activists; Ogoni; Ken Saro Wiwa, falsely accused; executed
More sanctions; commonwealth suspension
Unaccounted loot (still being recovered); the cankerworm represented, in human form; and so it was
Until the infamous apple and the famed Indian woman
The tyrant dies; the Nation breathes again

The quiet one is appointed
The prisons are opened; the prisoners flood out; civil rule is promised
The Nation gains some stability; Hunger reduced; Garri aplenty, bounty commodity

PART 4

And then May 29th (’99)
The day vested with democracy powers
A blue era begins; the fourth republic
The second-in-command, its first president
A bright future anticipated
But as the years passed, our hopes dwindled; it was what we saw then that we now see
The cankerworm again; ethnic divisions gaining weight; corrupt officials; Ibori: alameighsia; EFCC records, and much amongst others

All through until 2007,
Money laundering; looting; corrupt ministers
And the second-in-command still wanted a third term
But for once the Nation was wise; vehement protestation; the ambition was thrashed

Then the elections ’07
And the good one, the excellent one surfaced;
Incorruptible, Accountable, Understanding; vision-naire extraordinaire; seven-point agenda;
Declared his assets, announced his election as rigged, and worked for Nigeria
The economy became stable; fuel prices dropped; money flowed; everywhere was green, for the first time; relative peace and tranquility; amnesty – the Niger Delta militants; dialogue prevails; full surrender
But as usual the good ones don’t last
He stayed his welcome and was taken;

2010;
The excellent one died; the Nation mourned
His vice took over; and the high hopes remained; the work would continue, so we thought and believed; and so it was until the vice was elected into office – his own tenure

2011,
The era of the timid one
Boko Haram (more pronounced); the fight against Ebola; corruption, the cankerworm regained its foothold; transformation agenda; all in their different spheres;
As they remained over the years,
Corruption became the system; money was loose; the dollar rose; fuel subsidy removed; the prices plummeted; tribal differences
The corrupt ones reigned; the timid one was bottled; the sensible ones spoke out; but no one listened; the going was good, so it seemed; the nation got poor with its riches; the foreign reserve depleted

2015,
Criticisms; the nation is divided; the South for one, the north for another; as the elections came high; a coalition of other parties formed; the political party holding the reins must be deposed; the flag-bearer for the coalition is 'the martinet'
The elections generated tensions,
The martinet must not fail, the north threatened; the elections would be considered rigged if he fails
The timid one must not be deposed, the South conditioned; the South would wreak havoc if he is
Tension increases; Elections postponed

March 28 - 29; elections conducted; the nation divided in its unity, in brotherhood

Results announced; 'the martinet' wins, at the umpteenth time of asking; congratulated by his opponent; Good signs; No strife
But the people are divided, on opinion(s); it is the martinet again; some are apprehensive, the nation would go hungry again; some are optimistic, corruption would be stamped out - new times ahead.
And then,
Political tensions; political parties divided; as the era begins.
Landmark; 100 days with no ministers (cabinet); the martinet embarks on a semi-world tour, U.S.A, Germany, UK......; Corrupt officials (on one side) rounded up; party defections rampant
Borders closed; Recession announced in this era; Inflation
The people shout; hunger; the people cry
Instability; appointments and shuffles; Anti-corruption campaigns; political strifes and rows
PART 5
So we are now as the years go by; the Martinet falls ill time and time again; the President's seat remains vacant; the worthy vice fills in, but not without disturbances from the presidential brothers;
The martinet continues to be construed by his illness, His purported visions, unachieved
Hidden corruption still on; the people suffer; state government versus workers; Bailout; Kogi, Delta, Benue.......
And so we remain, a nation with an Ill man; while Aso rock vacant; unseen Presidents ruling; the people hungry; We, suffering; with little or no bright fate foreseen

PostScript:
This is not the Nigeria our fathers intended
I speak as a Nigerian - For Nigeria.
AUTHOR: ALKALI AMANA ATTA