jacobs123:

Nigeria was not ready for independence. Infact I kinda like the fact that people like Pa Enahoro are living witnesses of what they got us into. We should infact still be colonized right now. It is obvious everywhere you go that Nigerians are not good leaders. There is nothing shameful about being weak in some areas as long as you have a plan to manage the weakness. Whatever we thought we wanted to avoid by getting independence have not been avoided.
1. Today, a British man is superior to a Nigerian in this country.
2. There is no resource or advantage that our previous colonial masters want that they can't get even today and for cheap.
3. The foreigners are still the ones who can afford to stay where the colonial masters stayed in Ikoyi.
4. The majority of Nigerians are still enslaved by their own people whether as houseboys, drivers or in jobs where they work for nothing.

My personal opinion is that we still need colonial masters but because it is not fashionable these days, it will make sense to hand over the management of our affiars and the headship of key ministries and Parastatals to competent foreigners while we learn from them.


The statement below by Lord Lugard is probably one of the most racial statements that most of us will have read but I'm ashamed to say that it is true today as it was several years ago when the observation was made. As a black man I am proud of today as Mr. Obama becomes the first black president of the U.S.A. and wish the same can happen in Nigeria or Africa but it is sad to note that we are not even our way. The Obama victory to me is one driven more by whites than black even though Nigerians and Africans are desperate to see it as black victory. It is important to note that it was even whites that believed in him before the blacks supported him and eventually gave him victory.


""In character and temperament" wrote Lord Lugard, "the
typical African of this race-type is a happy,
thriftless, excitable person. Lacking in self control,
discipline, and foresight. Naturally courageous, and
naturally courteous and polite, full of personal vanity, with
little sense of veracity, fond of music and loving
weapons as an oriental loves jewelry. His thoughts are
concentrated on the events and feelings of the moment,
and he suffers little from the apprehension for the
future or grief for the past. His mind is far nearer to
the animal world than that of the European or
Asiatic, and exhibits something of the animals placidity
and want of desire to rise beyond the State he has
reached. Through the ages the African appears to have
evolved no organised religious creed, and though some
tribes appear to believe in a deity, the religious sense
seldom rises above pantheistic animalism and seems more
often to take the form of a vague dread of the
supernatural"

He lacks the power of organisation, and is
conspicuously deficient in the management and control alike of
men or business. He loves the display of power, but
fails to realise its responsibility , he will work
hard with a less incentive than most races. He has the
encourage of the fighting animal -an instinct rather than
a moral virtue, In brief, the virtues and defects
of this race-type are those of attractive children,
whose confidence when it is won is given ungrudgingly as
to an older and wiser superior and without
envy, Perhaps the two traits which have impressed me as
those most characteristic of the African native are his
lack of apprehension and his ability to visualize the
future" Pg 70 of The Dual Mandate by F.D.Lugard 1926

I totally cocur with most posters that we were not ready for independence and to be honest I doubt we had any idea about the implications and responsiblities that went with it.I think that our clamour for independence had more to do with it being a popular phenomenon at the time rather than the advantages the country could have derived from it, especially if we consider that Nigeria had more potentials that the Asian tigers, (comprised of South Korea,Indonesia,Malaysia etc).

I don't think I would blame Enahoro,Awolowo,Azikiwe etc  because they led a campaign that was justified during that period.I also do not share the arguement that Nigeria would have appreciated it more if the struggle had been more bloody, As pointed out by a lot of posters , that wouldn't have translated into anything fruitful if we consider the examples of  some North African countries, perharps the only thing is that it could have unified us more , (but that is still debatable).

As regards the quote from Luggard, that was an idiotic,haughty,atrousious and audacious statement coming from someone who  came to another country for the sole purpose of subjugating and exploiting it's inhabitants.I believe it is very rich coming from someone appointed to lord it over other human beings, and had the priviledge of his wife naming a country at her whimp.

How could he possibly judge or understand a group of people if he hasn't being in their shoes.I totally disagree with his inference and I wouldn't read too much to it considering he was representing the British empire who thought they were invariably better than other people.

The imperial regime did not hand over power to those whom they usurped. Rather they handed over to the Nationalist. This wrongful hand over in 1960 has Made Nigerians to continue handing over to the wrong people.
Please, this is just my personal reasoning.

@viewlekan turns to hurling insults at Lugard. U dont need to walk in a peoples' shoes to know if theyy are planning for the future, etc

A couple of writers have noted that Africans seem incapable of self examination and get defensive when ever an issue is raised screaming racism and imperialism.

When I raised the issue of what Lugard had written a couple of months ago, some people where screaming blue murder. But i was struggling to to comprehend why folks where mad at what Lugard said.

Take a look at our society collectively

Is it full of personal vanity to an extreme level------------------yes
Have we shown any foresight or planning for the future--------------------no
Do we display placidity regarding our pathetic circumstance, yes (siddon dey look, suffer n smile)
Do we display an irrational fear of the supernatural, yes
Have we shown the ability to run one single thing in our country well, no
Do we love the display of power, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes

Am I missing something?
Lugard had a condescending view of Africans, but that does not invalidate points that he made

We were not ready for independence and i still dont think we are ready now.

Infact the root cause of our problems is too much to list. dont know where to start

Andre Uweh:

The imperial regime did not hand over power to those whom they usurped. Rather they handed over to the Nationalist. This wrongful hand over in 1960 has  Made Nigerians to continue handing over to the wrong people.
Please, this is just my personal reasoning.

I believe that Southern Nigeria was ready for independence in 1960. The North was not ready then and would never have been ready. Having said that, I think the quote below from Chidichris captures some of my sentiments.

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.

That apart, the first "nationalists" like Zik and Enahoro did us an immense disservice by demanding independence for a poorly constituted country. No one should blame the British. They were not in Nigeria as "father christmas". They were there to exploit and maximize the opportunities of colonization. If they saw an opportunity to plant people who were friends to the British interests, they would be fools not to exploit it to the fullest! That is what they did and that is why when the coup of January 1966 happened -which was a patriotic coup, the type being demanded by some commentators here-(as an Igbo with hindsight, I wish that coup never happened!), the British were quick to ensure a return to the  status quo ante (an order they left behind) and also provided maximum support for Nigeria against Biafra.
So Nigeria's current problems are deep. We were let down by our so called "founding fathers". I suspect they could have negotiated and extracted fairer and more sensible terms of independence from the British. If that happened, there would not have been a 1966 coup nor a civil war. In fact there would not have been a "Nigeria" as we have today. We could have created something workable. How sad!

to sum up our current problems

No roads, no light, no sanitation, no security of lives n property

but We use almost 50% of our budget to pay salary to thieves posing as politicians in the name of democracy

Between 1-1.5 trillion Naira used to pay legal and official salary to big men

if corruption went down to 0%, i mean 0% we would still be using half of our money to pay bigmen


How are we ever going to develop or make progress?

[quote]@viewlekan turns to hurling insults at Lugard. U dont need to walk in a peoples' shoes to know if theyy are planning for the future, etc

A couple of writers have noted that Africans seem incapable of self examination and get defensive when ever an issue is raised screaming racism and imperialism.

When I raised the issue of what Lugard had written a couple of months ago, some people where screaming blue murder. But i was struggling to to comprehend why folks where mad at what Lugard said.

Take a look at our society collectively

Is it full of personal vanity to an extreme level------------------yes
Have we shown any foresight or planning for the future--------------------no
Do we display placidity regarding our pathetic circumstance, yes (siddon dey look, suffer n smile)

Do we display an irrational fear of the supernatural, yes
Have we shown the ability to run one single thing in our country well, no
Do we love the display of power, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes

Am I missing something?
Lugard had a condescending view of Africans, but that does not invalidate points that he made

[/quote]


I concur.You know the only time an individual makes any change in his/her life is when they have the maturity to look inward and see where they are going wrong.It always amazes me the way people get necessarily defensive without taking a minute or two to examine the facts.As much as Lugard's statements ruffles some feathers, it's the TRUTH.His statement defines the nature of the average black man.You'll see part of the traits of what he said when some posters start replying.

"we need jerry rawlings, we need jerry rawlings"

Just who do you people think Jerry Rawlings is?

Becareful what you wish for. The grass always seems greener on the other side. For example, Do you know most Ghanaians think of Obasanjo as the greatest Nigerian leader ever? true. It was not until i came here that i found out he is reviled by majority of nigerians.

Rawlings was pressured by both the UN and the West to return Ghana to democratic rule. Otherwise he would never have done so. He has said several times he does not believe in democracy. His government introduced Tribalism into Ghanaian politics. And has the worst human rights record in Ghana's history. Is that the kind of person you need? Men like him think they are the only ones capable of running the country.

I once heard an interview by Obasanjo where he said something like "if i didn't take up the mantle, who would have run the country", He was talking about in the aftermath of Abacha's death. You see, they think they are the only capable ones.

LIke Obama said "Africa needs strong institutions, NOT strong men"

@ Topic

Ofcourse you were ready. To argue anything else would be to argue that there was anarchy before the europeans came. Infact the question itself it rubbish. How were you governing yourselves before the europeans came.

Don't attribute the failure of a few individuals to a failure of the entire population. If there has been any failure, it has been the failure of self appointed leaders you have had who can't do the job and refuse to hand over capable hands. I say self appointed because it is obvious these are not leaders chose by nigerians themselves.

a gradual transition to independence could have being better.

the british did a poor job of integrating the North and South

bawomolo:

a gradual transition to independence could have being better.

the british did a poor job of integrating the North and South

The amalgamation of North and South in 1914 was an error. Mr Milverton spread the disease that killed Nigeria.

FBS:

The amalgamation of North and South in 1914 was an error. Mr Milverton spread the disease that killed Nigeria.

Nigeria is basically two distinct regions like sudan. Dangerous mixture.

bawomolo:

Nigeria is basically two distinct regions like sudan. Dangerous mixture.

and a time bomb waiting to explode.

like I said before,  the Brits and other Europeans had worn themselves out after the devastation of WWII.

That's why so many African countries got their "independence" within few years of each other.

It wasnt about if you were "ready" or not. More like the whites got tired of running the colonies and needed time to recuperate, imo.

FBS:

The amalgamation of North and South in 1914 was an error. Mr Milverton spread the disease that killed Nigeria.

Nigeria is a failed nation even before independence and i think the way forward is to revert back to where we started. DISINTEGRATION

A couple of writers have noted that Africans seem incapable of self examination and get defensive when ever an issue is raised screaming racism and imperialism.

cant argue with that.

maybe we will be by 2020!!!!!!!

There's no way we were ready for independence in 1960.

How you know is : Look at us now !!
We are still unable to govern ourselves.
Squabbling over personal selfish interests at every level.
Recycling old farts ever since.

pek:

maybe we will be by 2020!!!!!!!

I don't think we will have something like Nigeria beyond 2015.

@Topic

We were ready for independece but not as Nigeria. Their shouldn't have been anything Nigeria in the first place that is why Nigeria will never work irrespective of how we try. The only solution to Nigerian problem now is going back to regional govt or out-right seperation.

pek:

maybe we will be by 2020!!!!!!!

I don't think we will be ready even then. Nigeria is a failed state.

ofcourse the origin of Nigeria has issues plus when person mistress name us what do you expect "we were like born out of wedlock"
Make God save us sha

It is suicidal to live in the past, and simply saying that Nigeria was not ready for independence amounts to living in the past.

As a matter of fact I would prefer a Nigeria built by Nigerians that a Nigeria built for Nigerians

no, we are not ready, but since the britons can't come to help us again, like someone suggested, we should ask for the help of our Ghanaian brothers, I am presently doing a thesis for my dissertation of a study comparing some works in Nigeria and Ghana, I felt like crying for Nigeria(the Educational sector has spoilt more than I thought of), from the look of things Ghana is like 15 years ahead of us in terms of Education and research, I was getting good data from Ghana, but the their Nigerian counterpart had scanty useless data, a whole Giant of Africa,

I think the problem with Nigeria is not whether we are ready for independence or not. The problem really lies in us as a people. The problem with Nigeria is not only about her leaders but also with us the followers. Our attitude determines the type and kind of leaders we have. We generally are so docile and will prefer to run to another man's country to act as servants and second class citizens rather than hold our leaders accountable and take mass action when situations calls for it. If truth must be told, this our leaders live in our midst and most of us are still the ones encouraging them in their nefarious activities by keeping quiet and condoning their excesses believing that God will come down from heaven to come and install Jesus as the president of Nigeria. If we are truly playing our part as true followers and not accomplices, i believe we would have been a better nation and not where we are today. We are always quick to carry placards in other countries to protest any injustice done to others for the world to see and NEVER RAISE A HAND TO PROTEST INJUSTICES DONE TO US, OUR FAMILIES AND OUR LAND. We always want to be more American than the Americans or more British than the English forgetting they fought tooth and nail to get to where they are today. We neglect our root and our committment to save, build and make her better. All that is happening is a blessing in disguise as it is pointing out our collective failure both as leaders and followers and it doesn't come as a surprise for some to call on the British to come and take their birthright instead of standing up, fight and defend their land and what they will die for; which is their FREEDOM

Uhm! What changes would this topic bring to Nigeria or Nigerians anywiays? Whether we were ready or not.

I strongly 2nd Jacob123's number 4 point

"Independence"

I will always be in contention with this notion called "Independence"

Independent from what?
Is it the Political, Economical, Social, Religious  ideologies brought by the imperalist which main intension was/is to destroy the frabic of what we are "Human beings"  A way of life that is and will  always be alien to us.
Look at where we are today. We are still trying to implement a constitution that was copied from the Britons. I feel ashamed when we say we are
celebrating the our independence day. We should move on from this slavery mentality and start thinking of how we can be independent of the
the ideologies that the colonist established in our mist. We should probably start being independent inwardly where the North, West  and East and
Others will  acknowledge our differences. Learn to be independent of those things that is causing strife between us hence working together
for the common good of our great Nation.
Let's purge the back dated notion to the river of forgetfullness. I plead.

Nigeria was not ready for independance and i don't believe Nigeria will ever progress

I think the British take some blame for not properly preparing Nigerians in the areas of Administration.

The British didn't build a properly disciplined army either.

bawomolo:

I think the British take some blame for not properly preparing Nigerians in the areas of Administration.

The British didn't build a properly disciplined army either.

I disagree.

bawomolo:

I think the British take some blame for not properly preparing Nigerians in the areas of Administration. 

The British didn't build a properly disciplined army either. 

Even if they never did, you mean, Nigeria couldn't build one in 40 years?

asha 80:

I disagree.

why do you say so? Nigerian officers had to be quickly promoted to fill a vacuum. African armies are highly politicized and undisciplined for a reason.

Fhemmmy:

Even if they never did, you mean, Nigeria couldn't build one in 40 years?

of course it could and has had many chances to.