At 50, Nigeria Has Not Done Too Badly, Say Gowon, Shonekan


AS the nation counts down to its 50th independence anniversary, two of the country’s past leaders have declared that looking back, the nation has indeed not fared too badly and can only get better.
Speaking with The Guardian during the formal public presentation of former governor of Lagos State, Brigadier General Mobolaji Johnson’s (rtd) book, ‘Lagos State –My Life of Service With Integrity’, General Yakubu Gowon, the civil war Head of State who governed the country from 1966 to 75, said if for nothing, Nigerians should thank God for the peace in the country.
His words: “Well, at least there is peace and the nation is still one and together. Whatever may be the deficiencies, these are the things we have”.
He said the country also has to ensure it works tirelessly to do away with its deficiencies. “But the important thing is that the nation must remain one and united. So I wish Nigeria well at 50, and I am delighted that one was able to keep this nation together as one, and that we are able to celebrate 50 years, ” he added.
On his part, Shonekan, the former Head of the 88-day Interim National Government put in place by former military President Ibrahim Babangida after the crisis generated by the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, remains positive that the next 50 years of the nation will bring much joy to Nigerians.
He said: “I believe we have achieved quite a lot within these 50 years. We have had quite a lot of challenges, but we have been able to surmount all of those challenges without any third party trying to resolve them for us. We thank God for that. I think what we need to do is to try as much as possible to learn from the mistakes of the past and prepare ahead for the challenges of the future”.
Sonekan said he believes very strongly that “the almighty God will see us through. This is our time, and the almighty God has blessed us; we are 50 percent of the total population of the ECOWAS sub-region. We have 50 percent of the GDP; God has given us a lot of potentials with which we should develop and lead the whole of Africa.
I think this is the time we must endeavour to make it happen.”

http://ww2.guardiannewsngr.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=23444:at-50-nigeria-has-not-done-too-badly-say-gowon-shonekan-&catid=1:national&Itemid=559#comments

In the early days of independence, Nigeria and South Korea were at per in Economic development, since then, the duo can not be weighed in the same scale.
Nevertheless, Nigeria has not done too badly.
Opinions please.

I was going to say that they are delusional, but reading things like this,

Andre Uweh:

“Well, at least there is peace and the nation is still one and together. Whatever may be the deficiencies, these are the things we have”. -Gowon

"we are 50 percent of the total population of the ECOWAS sub-region. We have 50 percent of the GDP"-Shonekan

it becomes clear that the real problem is that these people have extremely low standards and are not aware of the rapid pace at which the rest of developed and developing world is passing us by; they are not even deceiving themselves, they are just mediocre and ignorant,

PhysicsQED:

I was going to say that they are delusional, but reading things like this,

it becomes clear that the real problem is that these people have extremely low standards and are not aware of the rapid pace at which the rest of developed and developing world is passing us by; they are not even deceiving themselves, they are just mediocre and ignorant,

Growth rate may be sloppy, but that does not mean Nigeria has not made any progress since independence.

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thread i wish i can poo on your bed

no wonder ugly ghana is having a go at yall

@50, Nigeria Has Not Done Too Badly. - Then you must be an ALIEN

denitro:

@50, Nigeria Has Not Done Too Badly. - Then you must be an ALIEN

God bless you.

In the early days of independence, Nigeria and South Korea were at per in Economic development, since then, the duo can not be weighed in the same scale.
Nevertheless, Nigeria has not done too badly.
Opinions please.

these countries you people compare nigeria to 24/7 are tiny and easy to govern.

compare nigeria to india at most, but south korea with 1 ethnicity, 1 religion, and the entire west working for its development so to counter communist n.korea?


nigeria is nowhere near where it should be, but ppl comparing NIGERIA to a city like Singapore and what in nigeria would be called a tribe like South Korea is getting annoying. even the living standard in the United States can't be compared to that of Dubai cause the two are not the same type of nation.


i dont think nigeria has done well at 50 but its miraculous that we've survived so much and still remain together with our unity growing stronger and stronger. Its now time to meet our potential by any means necessary.