And why?


Well, I can speak for the 1990s. Beautiful music, cleaner politics (cleaner does not mean no corruption), traditional, etc. My heart aches for that Nigeria. In the millennium, Nigeria is just a mistake between underdeveloped and western-mimicry, morphology that went wrong.

Well, back then in the 1990s, I was innocent to politics. Life was much more beautiful. Nigeria should stay more of Nigeria, and less of an international-experiment.

1970-1980 politics was interesting in some sense because it was after the war

alj_harem:

1970-1980 politics was interesting in some sense because it was after the war

I'm guessing you're about 40 yrs old atleast.

90s[img]http://2.s07.flagcounter.com/count/DymW/bg=ffffff/txt=ffffff/border=ffffff/columns=1/maxflags=1/viewers=3/labels=0/[/img]
[img]http://s07.flagcounter.com/count/DymW/bg=ffffff/txt=ffffff/border=ffffff/columns=1/maxflags=1/viewers=3/labels=0/[/img]

The 90s was one the worst periods in Nigeria's political and economic history.  The bad decisions in the mid to late 80s bore fruit in the 90s and people were dirt poor and couldn't afford anything.

I think the 70s were sort of the golden age of Nigeria with basic amenities still present although the country was still very rural so the elite had a swell time then.

We got back on track with the oil boom in the noughties and Nigerians could actually acquire foreign education for example which was possible in the 70s but rare in the 90s. I hope this cycle would not be a boom and burst that we'd expect to see a downturn in this decade. Hoping GEJ manages to steer this ship well and build upon any gains we made in the noughties.

In my young mind, I think it is the Millennium Phase - where baby steps democracy was implemented and the advent of the Blackberry generation.

I think the answer to this question will be subjective. The young ones among us will prolly prefer the 90s except for a few who know a bit about Nigeria's history.

Those who are old enough like our parents will know that Nigeria starting from when Babangida became president till date has gone downhill. That's why I pity people like Wole Soyinka, etc who truly have Nigeria at heart but have seen us totally disintegrate.

Though I wasn't born in the 60s or 70s, what I have seen in videos and pictures and read in history books have shown me that Nigeria in the 90s and beyond can not in any terms be compared with Nigeria in the 60s/80s.

Did we even have politics in the 90s? Were we not under Military dictatorship then?

Maybe I will start a thread with pictures of Nigeria in the early times just after independence for people to see how much we have disintegrated.

watching

The 40s was so good. We could walk down the street and buy kuli kuli from street hawkers. We used to buy egg and tea from me shai, and suya from me suya. And oh how do I remember the kose (akara) from the me kose.

Chei! Walahi talahi, the 40s good weli weli. Damboroba. Sege!

Nothing beats the peace and serenity from 1930-1960, this was a time when there was real dignity in labour as people were able to stand tall regardless of whether you were a mechanic, tailor, farmer et al, the 60's - 70's brought about a time when final year students in colleges of education and universities got real jobs before graduation from school, and the yard was not on stolen wealth but doing something that really made you happy, the era when the meterialistic nature of the feminine gender was at it lowest, From 1985 upwards the yardstick was 'do u have an offshore or foreign account' that led to sharp naira devaluation and looting of foreign treasury was the other of the day.

^^^
In primary school, they used to give us Samco and meatpie!

Aside the brief interlude of the civil war (1967 - 1970). The period of 1950 - 1980 was golden.

[list]
[li]Most of the foundations and structures that Nigeria still survives on today were built then.
Social high life was at its peak. Cases of armed robbery were rare
Rate of unemployment was low
Currency was strong
Economy was strong and diverse
There was dignity of labour
Quality of health and education were better
Many of the musics of this era are evergreen
Fashion was crazy, but not indecent[/li]
[/list]

Has to be the late 80's /early 90's

It has to be late '70s - my hay years.

In the 70-80s period we had tap running all over PHC,
there was constant power,
School was competitive
Graduate grades reflected ability of the students and were employed by MNCs no need of 5yrs post graduate experience,
People left shell job for civil service.
No fuel queues.
No lecturer forced students to purchase handouts (now converted textbooks)
No illegal check points to collection money by any force
crooks were not honoured everywhere (church, community, resident localities, etc).
just can't list all


N1 = 1pound = $2

level 1 salary for First School leavers = N120

1990s

1pound = $2(approximately) = N100 thanks to SAP 1000% increase
Level 1 worker salary = N350 less than = less than 300% increase

Start of poverty and entrenchment of corruption, to make ends meet.

After Babangida took over and implemented SAP and those obnoxious IMF laws. We lost it

OP left out 1981-1989

People voting based on how old they are and what they can remember while growing up.no stress,no struggle,mummy and daddy doing all the thinking and going through the pains .

agitator:

OP left out 1981-1989

1970s/1980s ---> I meant all the 80s.

Ozin:

People voting based on how old they are and what they can remember while growing up.no stress,no struggle,mummy and daddy doing all the thinking and going through the pains .

So why dont [b]you [/b]vote based on what [b]you [/b]know?

^^ ok, noted

Late70-80s, Were the best in Lagos State. Things worked eg LMTS, Nepa, School Picnics at the Ikoyi Park, Onikan Swimming Pool, Tinubu Fountain.

Are you are a Nigerian born between 1930-1980? Congratulations!!!

No matter what the new Nigerian generation thinks about us,

WE ARE AWESOME!

OUR LIFE IS LIVING PROOF !

Our Nigerian mothers took aspirin, ate garri and fufu, geisha from a
can and didn't get tested for diabetes. Then we were put to sleep on
our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-base
paints. We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, locks on doors or
cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets on our heads.
As infants & children, we would ride in family cars with no car seats,
no booster seats, no seat belts, no air bags, no shock absorber, bald
tires and sometimes no brakes. We drank water from the mouth of public
taps and not from a bottle. We shared one bottle of coke with four friends and no one actually died from this. (We also learnt the virtue of sharing which seems to be going extinct right now).We ate cake made with Fat and Agege bread, with real butter. We drank TreeTop made with real white sugar. And, we weren't overweight. WHY? Because we were always outside playing, that' s why!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we
were back when the evening lights came on. No one was able to reach us
all day. We had no mobile phones. And, we were OKAY!! (Those were
peaceful days!) We did not have Play stations, Nintendo's and X-boxes. There were no video games, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD's, no surround-sound or CD's,no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet and no chat rooms.WE ONLY HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them there! (where we could actually verify who they were unlike the case with the
internet) We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents. (These accidents actually made us
strong) We would get spankings with belts, roots, twigs, or just the raw bare
hand with five fingers and no one would call child services to report abuse. Those spankings have made us what we are today, with a healthy
respect for authority) We ate crickets, bush rats, grass cutters, squirrels and those insects that come after the rains . Mama always knew how to deal with them with a nice cup of Phillip Milk of Magnesia.We wore Bata shoes. We made up our games with sticks, scraps and pebbles or just the bare sand.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or
rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them, shared their
lunch or their mama would prepare our lunch. Imagine that!!
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard
of. They actually sided with the law! And will even punish us for
breaking the law. (I shudder to think what my father would have said
if I had even suggested that he gives me money to pay for scores,
what?) These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem
solvers and inventors ever. The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. What can kids today do besides push buttons. (We spoilt them, so we are to blame !) We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with them. If YOU are one of them, CONGRATULATIONS!

1970s - 1980s. Remember d time. So much peace and fun.
I'm actually looking forward to re-live those times, hence my next visit to motherland is in d remote suburbs / village.

The 90s sucked, no? 70s were proly the best

ekt_bear:

[b]The 90s sucked, no? [/b]70s were proly the best

Yes, the 90s really sucked. A decade of dictators, abuse of human rights, large scale corruption, free fall of the naira, gagging of the press, use of police to harrass innocent citizens and worse still formation of various quangos to rob us blind.

The best years were 70 - 80

Low unemployment, strong naira, free education, corruption was actually frowned upon and people took pride in being civil servants not because of how much they could steal but because they were happy to serve their fatherland

I give it to the 60s up til mid-80s.

Nigeria 'holds' a promise then. I remember the type of Nigeria I hope for, thinking all those opportunities will just be expanding. BUT now everything is rather choked up!!! Kai!

Remember, Walter Carrington wept during the June 12 crisis on a podium at a public event and asked "what is the problem with Nigeria? Nigeria is supposed to have risen to be a world, that was what we foresaw!!"

I can only answer him, Two things made the difference between now and 'the then'

1. Then there was CONTENTMENT. - Not that everybody was actually comfortable, they work hard, but were contented.
2. ALL was respected whether rich or poor, educated or illiterate, even the rich respected the poor more because he dares not take anybody for a ride, the society will scorn him. You can't boast of money you do not earn.

If these things comes back into our orientation, whether east or west, North or south, Nigeria will be home where there is DIGNITY OF LABOUR and we would discover what a Synergy our diversity would have produced.

I remember going to my Dads office, where you see the Ijaw, Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, Kanuri or Benue men all working and laughing together, even their boss was jovial with every one, work was moving swiftly that day. That was when you know your promotion comes when it is due, you don't need to push buttons, favouritism was scarce; YOU KNOW AND EVERY ONE KNOWS WHEN YOU QUALIFY FOR SOMETHING!!

Hmn (exhaled)heeeeeeeehehehehehehehehe I can't stop crying

I HONESTLY ENJOYED THE EARLY 90s, 1990-1995, IT WAS FUN, BUT HOPEFULLY, IT WILL GET BETTER YET

The 70s were the best:
All African Games opened in Nigeria and Nigeria shined
Festac opened with plays
Udoji arrears for govt workers, people's purchasing power improved
The music was fantastic (Obey, Sunny Ade, Victor Uwaifor, Osadebe, Rex, Fela etc)
Public water works
Goods were available (Kingsway, Leventis, UAC)
NEPA was ok
Two types of police forces worked the people (Local (khaki) and National (blue)
Excellent schools (both govt and religious)
There was religious tolerance
Independence day was something else
Excellent literature-Books/novel (Achebe/Shoyinka)
Television (Village Headmaster)