I think there is actually nothing wrong in celebrating it. However let us use the opportunity to thank God ho has led us thus far Our leaders should also use the opportunity the occasion presents to eschew corruption, selfishness, greed and avarice. More dividends of democracy and job opportunities should also be made available to the Nigerians

copho:

If you lived your life through ups and downs, and managed to still be alive in one peice at 50 years old, knowing that things are getting better and you still have a chance of someday being somebody, will you not celebrate?

Nigeria at 50 is definitely worth celebrating and i don't see any reason why i should not be celebrating. Rather than asking what has Nigeria ever done for me, i am asking what can i do for Nigeria.

I hope you all will be celebrating too :-)

I hail you Madam

bidemi12:

the bolded statement was what our forebearers thought too. be realistic do you see any signs that indicates things are or will get better? (please dont say fashola). truth be told it's getting worse by the day. have you been to sudan or somalia? i have. my guy dont you ever compare us to them. you cant really blame them for being the way they are. they pretty much dont have anything to boast of except for maybe sudan's oil which is scanty at best compared to ours. in our own case we have the human and natural resource in excess not to mention the most friendly weather in the world. and what do our leaders do with these blessings? they squander it all for personal gain. until we take up arms and take back what is our God given right na type we go continue to type for NL. it's a start anyway; when enough angry voices come together action is inevitable.

I would like to see you in 50 years time so I can tell you "I told you so".

If you want something done, do something about it. That goes to everyone. Trust me, I want change in my country, and I plan on doing something about it. I hope you can say the same.

NAIJA-50 tees on sale in Lagos!!!

Hey ppl whatever happened to all d NAIJA 4 LYFE, OMO 9JA, slogans and endless proudly Nigerian swagger we see all day on Facebook.
Truth be told Naija has issues and the the punks in power seem not to care; thats not enuff to make us a gloomy bunch.

Apart from remembering our country in our prayers, we should try hard not let our spirits be broken.
Here in England no one is ready to celebrate us, we're the only ones who can celebrate ourselves, yeah u can say we're not worth celebrating; it's just an
opinion.
If you dub urself a worthless piece of crap, dats exactly what the wider world will refer to u as.
***************************************************************************
Dat off my chest we've still got some cool tees on sale in Lagos to celebrate NAIJA.
There are 8 colours and 2 designs to choose from so i bet u'll see one u like.

and @ Ode Remo,  i hear dat (we'll improve our isht)

Pardon me. May I just make two humble suggestions.

1. How about declaring the day a 'A national Day of Prayers'? Though not a believer myself, it occurs to me that I read somewhere that Nigerians are the most religious on earth. So lets have a day when we could get our religion on. Prayer and fasting will not only touch the 'gods', they will also do us well by cleansing our psyche as well as our bowels. Please note, that since this has a spiritual and physiological goal, no thithes or any other donations should be made in the various venues of worship. Keep your money, you need it for survival. My only fear is that this will be sabotaged by politicians of all persuations, ugliness, and immorality. You can bet they will show up in their convoy of the most expensive IMPORTED cars, bought with the peolpes money. They and their hangers-on will show up, clad in the biggest agbada, baba-riga, and the various symbols of ethnic identity. They just have to have a celebraion! It is the opportunity for them to 'feed' the people with the crumbs from their (the leaders) well stocked pantries and dregs from their wine cellars.

2. Why not just shut Nigeria down for that day? Yes, shut it down as in a self imposed curfew that will last 24 hours. Spend the time with your family, friends and neighbors. Please do not celebrate as it is customary with you to celebrate even those who steal your property, and thank the God of Israel for those who make Nigerians', Africans', and the black race's lives so unlivable. Do not thank God for having blessed those, ask for God's wrath on them! Whatever God you worship must be quite unfair and inconsiderate that those thieves are still roaming free. Not even a million 'shaloms', nor a billion 'aslaa m alaiwhatever' will stop them. Considering what they have done, are still doing, and will certainly continue to do, despite all your prayers, your worship, your faithfullness; Nigerians probably need to reconsider their relationship with God. As the Yorubas see it, a relationship based on faith is reciprocal : I worship you, make sacrifices to you, and obey your injunctions; the least you can do is help me, 'Orisa bo l'e gbemi, fimi sile bose b'ami'. If our leaders are not ready to stop 'leading' us to ruination, the least we can do is protest. But do we? Oh no! As far as we are concerned their worldly 'success' is 'just' a blessing from God, and who are we to go against 'Yahweh'. We follow them to give thanks for keeping to themselves what was meant for the commonwealth. We follow them to Mecca, Medina, Jerusalem, River Jordan, Lourdes, Rome etc., etc,. God must have a great sense of humor. This is what comes to my mind when I see them, piously reading the Bible by the River Jordan, or hitting their forehead on the ground in Mecca. Meanwhile nothing works: no electricity, no water, the roads are not motorable, the kids dont go to school; teachers, professors, doctors are not paid, many die in an attempt to collect their pension, and all our leaders want to do is celebrate 50 years of independence? Forgive me if I say there should be no celebtration of failure even if it is a failure of one day, talk less of 50 years. Yes, SHUT NIGERIA DOWN! Nigerians should meet and discuss how to bring profound change in all aspects of life, private and public, or if you want, how to get rid of these vampires that pretend to lead us.

Just wondering.

Nigeria has numerous issues at 50, Its only a big fools like our present leaders that fancy a chance of another spree at the nations expense

bidemi12:

you are not helping. can you ever imagine getting to 50 years of age and not achieve anything? no car, no place to live, no job, no husband and no children, would you be celebrating? i can bet my life that you would be crawled up in a corner pondering what happened? not throwing owambe party with borrowed money to celebrate being alive.

Are you saying Nigeria has not acheived anything at all in 50 years? and that you cannot see that we continue to acheive? Look to yourself and answer me this, are you not able to read and write because of Nigeria? Ok, fine you may have been more fortunate than others with a better education but the fact of the matter is every Nigerian who was born in Nigeria and continues to live in Nigeria or is now in the diaspora has been influenced positively in one way or another by Nigeria. We may not want to admit it, but it is the truth. And if you can look at yourself and find just one good thing Nigeria has done for you, then i am sure Nigeria has acheived in your life. If you cannot, then i say its a damn shame and pity, which makes my heart bleed for you. But all the same, i would urge you to do something in Nigeria that will have a positive effect on another's life, so that in another 50yrs they can be proud to say i am Nigerian because of what you did and you can be proud to be Nigerian becausde of the positive effect you have had on your country.

I am starting to sound like a politician :-). I will celebrate Nigeria at 50!

copho:

Are you saying Nigeria has not acheived anything at all in 50 years? and that you cannot see that we continue to acheive? Look to yourself and answer me this, are you not able to read and write because of Nigeria? Ok, fine you may have been more fortunate than others with a better education but the fact of the matter is every Nigerian who was born in Nigeria and continues to live in Nigeria or is now in the diaspora has been influenced positively in one way or another by Nigeria. We may not want to admit it, but it is the truth. And if you can look at yourself and find just one good thing Nigeria has done for you, then i am sure Nigeria has acheived in your life. If you cannot, then i say its a damn shame and pity, which makes my heart bleed for you. But all the same, i would urge you to do something in Nigeria that will have a positive effect on another's life, so that in another 50yrs they can be proud to say i am Nigerian because of what you did and you can be proud to be Nigerian becausde of the positive effect you have had on your country.

I am starting to sound like a politician :-). I will celebrate Nigeria at 50!

Well in a way I did learn a thing or two from Nigeria.  The most important being the ambition to get the hell out of there in order to achieve my full potential. Yeah. I hope you are not one of those who find nothing wrong with naija because they have dollars/pound to throw around and oppress.

bidemi12:

Well in a way I did learn a thing or two from Nigeria.  The most important being the ambition to get the hell out of there in order to achieve my full potential. Yeah. I hope you are not one of those who find nothing wrong with naija because they have dollars/pound to throw around and oppress.

Well Mr. Oga, you don comot na. So, leave Naija bizness for us wey still get stakes for Naija. Leave us make we celebrate our thing. At least you dey celebrate ya own for the place wey u dey.

ziga:

Well Mr. Oga, you don comot na. So, leave Naija bizness for us wey still get stakes for Naija. Leave us make we celebrate our thing. At least you dey celebrate ya own for the place wey u dey.

I have no choice but to get in your ''bizness'' because apparently you dont know what's good for you even if it bit you in the arse. there are problems and you are celebrating instead of reflecting.

There are problems in the US too. That has never stopped any American from celebrating the 4th of July. Instead they stand together and become more patriotic and grateful as each year passes by. Just saying.

ogugua88:

There are problems in the US too. That has never stopped any American from celebrating the 4th of July. Instead they stand together and become more patriotic and grateful as each year passes by. Just saying.

God Bless you o!

ogugua88:

There are problems in the US too. That has never stopped any American from celebrating the 4th of July. Instead they stand together and become more patriotic and grateful as each year passes by. Just saying.

I'm not an expert or anything but i think you either have stayed too long outside of nigeria or dont really care much about whats going on around you to make that kind of comparism. The problem they face here mostly is fine-tuning the mechanics of bettering their lives. In nigeria we are still talking of having chairs for students to sit in in school. haven't you heard? there was mass failure in the last NECO exam. do you know what that means? a generation of retards are been groomed for the future. And that my dear is the least of our problems. just saying.

ogugua88:

There are problems in the US too. That has never stopped any American from celebrating the 4th of July. Instead they stand together and become more patriotic and grateful as each year passes by. Just saying.

good to hear that,but nigeria is a not america

enomakos:

good to hear that,but nigeria is a not america

bidemi12:

I'm not an expert or anything but i think you either have stayed too long outside of nigeria or dont really care much about whats going on around you to make that kind of comparism. The problem they face here mostly is fine-tuning the mechanics of bettering their lives. In nigeria we are still talking of having chairs for students to sit in in school. haven't you heard? there was mass failure in the last NECO exam. do you know what that means? a generation of retards are been groomed for the future. And that my dear is the least of our problems. just saying.

Was I referring to the present? Keep in mind that the US saw slavery, World War II, the civil rights movement, etc. I can even talk about South Africa. Was it not just 20 years ago that Nigeria and other nations were assisting them through terrible Apartheid? And look at what they pulled off in June-July. A flawless World Cup tournament. Did all this occur overnight? Was it magic that made them overcome? Or maybe it was a bunch of Americans and South Africans that sat in their chairs, frustrated and not willing to celebrate with their growing nations.

Tough times exist, we all get that. HOWEVER, a nation only goes backwards when unity and pride lack. If you, a Nigerian, are not celebrating or proud of your homeland and heritage, then na wa o. Maybe you're expecting Koreans to step up and be proud on your behalf.

The problem with Nigerians is that we fear too much.
Comparing Nigeria with Countries like afganistan is a shame. Nigeria has the manpower and  the resources to be a better a nation but a few corrupt individuals hold the nation to ransome with threats of civil war and mayhem if their biddings are not adhered to.
It`s time to wipe them all out n let new crop of leaders take over.!
And there is absolutely nothing to celebrate in 50 years of Nigeria`s existence absolutely NOTHING!

ogugua88:

Was I referring to the present? Keep in mind that the US saw slavery, World War II, the civil rights movement, etc. I can even talk about South Africa. Was it not just 20 years ago that Nigeria and other nations were assisting them through terrible Apartheid? And look at what they pulled off in June-July. A flawless World Cup tournament. Did all this occur overnight? Was it magic that made them overcome? Or maybe it was a bunch of Americans and South Africans that sat in their chairs, frustrated and not willing to celebrate with their growing nations.

Tough times exist, we all get that. HOWEVER, a nation only goes backwards when unity and pride lack. If you, a Nigerian, are not celebrating or proud of your homeland and heritage, then na wa o. Maybe you're expecting Koreans to step up and be proud on your behalf.

Thank God you brought this up. What is history there for? Is it not to learn from the mistake of others. I really hate it when people use the mistakes of others to justify our own s.tupidity. If you see a man fall in a hole will you open your eyes and fall in the same hole?

ogugua88:

Was I referring to the present? Keep in mind that the US saw slavery, World War II, the civil rights movement, etc. I can even talk about South Africa. Was it not just 20 years ago that Nigeria and other nations were assisting them through terrible Apartheid? And look at what they pulled off in June-July. A flawless World Cup tournament. Did all this occur overnight? Was it magic that made them overcome? Or maybe it was a bunch of Americans and South Africans that sat in their chairs, frustrated and not willing to celebrate with their growing nations.

Tough times exist, we all get that. HOWEVER, a nation only goes backwards when unity and pride lack. If you, a Nigerian, are not celebrating or proud of your homeland and heritage, then na wa o. Maybe you're expecting Koreans to step up and be proud on your behalf.

ok i see ur point

if there is nothing worth celebrating at least lets celebrate our greatest export, our ever expanding 419

77ken:

The problem with Nigerians is that we fear too much.
Comparing Nigeria with Countries like afganistan is a shame. Nigeria has the manpower and  the resources to be a better a nation but a few corrupt individuals hold the nation to ransome with threats of civil war and mayhem if their biddings are not adhered to.
It`s time to wipe them all out n let new crop of leaders take over.!
And there is absolutely nothing to celebrate in 50 years of Nigeria`s existence absolutely NOTHING!

Statements like these make me cringe. Too many Nigerians think too highly of themselves. In what way will you say that we are better than Afghans.

And this kind of arrogance is displayed by the average Nigerian. You hear them say why should Nigeria be poor. You seem to believe that riches is a God-given gift to Nigeria and you don't need to do anything to get it.

You don't have to celebrate, my brother. Leave the celebration to the few of us who appreciate, and know that the future of Nigeria is in our attitude towards our country.

ziga:

Statements like these make me cringe. Too many Nigerians think too highly of themselves. In what way will you say that we are better than Afghans.

And this kind of arrogance is displayed by the average Nigerian. You hear them say why should Nigeria be poor. You seem to believe that riches is a God-given gift to Nigeria and you don't need to do anything to get it.

You don't have to celebrate, my brother. Leave the celebration to the few of us who appreciate, and know that the future of Nigeria is in our attitude towards our country.

You must have gone crazy. What the hell are you talking about? Have been to Afghanistan? I have. Do you even know what you are talking about? Trust me if Nigeria was anything close to that country you would not even have mouth to talk. How in God’s name would you even make that comparism. That has always been our problem. We look for the most depraved nations to emulate and never copy from the once that have the semblance of normalcy. MY GOD.

bidemi12:

You must have gone crazy. What the hell are you talking about? Have been to Afghanistan? I have. Do you even know what you are talking about? Trust me if Nigeria was anything close to that country you would not even have mouth to talk. How in God’s name would you even make that comparism. That has always been our problem. We look for the most depraved nations to emulate and never copy from the once that have the semblance of normalcy. MY GOD.

And you must have gone mad for thinking that Afghans are lesser beings than we are. slowpoke. . . If not for people who still believe in Nigeria, how long will it take to have complete anarchy in Nigeria.

So, you think we have nothing to celebrate. Well, i believe the situation in Nigeria should not be of concern to you at all. Bloody pessimist.

ziga:

And you must have gone mad for thinking that Afghans are lesser beings than we are. slowpoke. . . If not for people who still believe in Nigeria, how long will it take to have complete anarchy in Nigeria.

So, you think we have nothing to celebrate. Well, i believe the situation in Nigeria should not be of concern to you at all. Bloody pessimist.

i'm getting tired of your insane logic. you dare compare nigeria to people who's main export is opium, whose men sleep with young boys openly and are terrorist and you say you love nigeria. i give up. you are insane and there's no cure. you win.

bidemi12:

i'm getting tired of your insane logic. you dare compare nigeria to people who's main export is opium, whose men sleep with young boys openly and are terrorist and you say you love nigeria. i give up. you are insane and there's no cure. you win.

And i'm tired of your hypocrisy. . . Nigerians don't deal drugs abi, men don't sleep with men, Armed robbers don't terrorize, Ritualists, Kidnappers, Corrupt public officers. . . The list is endless.

So, please remind me again of why Afghans are less human.

I know my Nigeria, and i accept it for what it is, while i still have hopes that things will get better.

that is why i choose to celebrate. Naija is 50.

i think you are just a big hypocrite. You have been preaching all day that Nigeria is not worth celebrating, and now you want to die to defend your theory that Nigeria is better than Afghanistan.

Abeg, i too tire for una Nigerians. .  Instead of facing your own problems you are obsessed with looking at who is better or who is worse than you are. Today na ghana, tomorrow liberia, next na SA to USA.

If you no want celebrate, no be by force. nigeria sef no send you.

ziga:

And i'm tired of your hypocrisy. . . Nigerians don't deal drugs abi, men don't sleep with men, Armed robbers don't terrorize, Ritualists, Kidnappers, Corrupt public officers. . . The list is endless.

So, please remind me again of why Afghans are less human.

I know my Nigeria, and i accept it for what it is, while i still have hopes that things will get better.

that is why i choose to celebrate. Naija is 50.

i think you are just a big hypocrite. You have been preaching all day that Nigeria is not worth celebrating, and now you want to die to defend your theory that Nigeria is better than Afghanistan.

Abeg, i too tire for una Nigerians. .  Instead of facing your own problems you are obsessed with looking at who is better or who is worse than you are. Today na ghana, tomorrow liberia, next na SA to USA.

If you no want celebrate, no be by force. nigeria sef no send you.

Like I said before: compare us to the worst of the worst and never to the ones we should emulate positively.

bidemi12:

Like I said before: compare us to the worst of the worst and never to the ones we should emulate positively.

Abeg if u no get anoda thing to say make we hear word.

You hear me compare. I only said that as for me and my family, we will celebrate Naija.

In your eyes, Nigeria hasn't measured up to the countries you compare her with, so don't say i compare, because, i no get time to dey look another pesin face whether e get pimple or not.

Shior, such pettiness. No wonder we haven't been progressing.

ziga:

Abeg if u no get anoda thing to say make we hear word.

You hear me compare. I only said that as for me and my family, we will celebrate Naija.

In your eyes, Nigeria hasn't measured up to the countries you compare her with, so don't say i compare, because, i no get time to dey look another pesin face whether e get pimple or not.

Shior, such pettiness. No wonder we haven't been progressing.

Where in all my post have I compared us to places like Iraq or Afghanistan? I do not care about those depraved nation but ours. You seem to be high on something other than drugs. Can I have some? You logic is warped and disjointed to say the least. Obviously passing NECO was a no no for you. So because we say Nigeria is bad has given you the license to go hay wire when it comes to countries to emulate? I see greatness in your future. In the caliber of IBB, OBJ and co. mad mentality. Nigeria will surely prosper with people like you as the backbone.

bidemi12:

Where in all my post have I compared us to places like Iraq or Afghanistan? I do not care about those depraved nation but ours. You seem to be high on something other than drugs. Can I have some? You logic is warped and disjointed to say the least. Obviously passing NECO was a no no for you. So because we say Nigeria is bad has given you the license to go hay wire when it comes to countries to emulate? I see greatness in your future. In the caliber of IBB, OBJ and co. mad mentality. Nigeria will surely prosper with people like you as the backbone.

I don tire for all of una small small pikin wey come don full everywhere.

Just continue in your misery. . . Whether u like am or not, we go celebrate our Naija at 50!!!

ziga:

I don tire for all of una small small pikin wey come don full everywhere.

Just continue in your misery. . . Whether u like am or not, we go celebrate our Naija at 50!!!

Take my advice; it is a time to reflect. there is absolutely nothing to celebrate. slowpoke.

Celebrate what?

Celebrating our shame , i dnt thinks its worth celebrating , Atleast ppl who achieve can celebrate , A fool @ 50 ,

77ken:

The problem with Nigerians is that we fear too much.
Comparing Nigeria with Countries like afganistan is a shame. Nigeria has the manpower and  the resources to be a better a nation but a few corrupt individuals hold the nation to ransome with threats of civil war and mayhem if their biddings are not adhered to.
It`s time to wipe them all out n let new crop of leaders take over.!

Really boy, you need to to read your post again and see puffed-up arrogance, pride and self-importance!
That has nothing to do with patriotism but a rather nasty nationalism of the kind leaders like Adolf Hitler espoused.
There is no country on earth that has developed by relying on mere natural resources rather than discipline, hard-work, skills,education and selfless service.
But if you are waiting for a messiah to transform Nigeria, rather than the citizens taking personal responsibility for that, you really must be living in cloud cuckoo land!