Oh giant of Africa Arise!…

Nigeria is regarded as the most populous black nation in the world and its called the “Giant of Africa”. Oh! Interesting..

I heard that 1 in 4 Africans is a Nigerian. That may no longer be factually correct. Current (2017/2018) estimates are Africa = 1.27bn, Nigeria = 195m. Ratio is 1.27bn/195m = 6:1. Roughly 1 in 6 Africans is Nigerian.


I heard that there is population that is hardworking, fantastic agriculture, unbridled drive to succeed and strong GDP, Nigeria was an economic superpower. In the 1970s and up to 1985, the currency was much stronger than the US dollar at an average of N0.65 kobo to N0.90k for USD 1. In 1986, Nigeria implemented the Structural Adjustment programme which required a reformation of the foreign exchange system as required by the IMF/World Bank et al, and things went downhill from then. In 1986 the FX rate declined to over N2 to USD1. In 1987 the decline doubled as the FX rate fell further to N4 to USD 1. Guess who benefited from this and who lost overall. The discovery of crude oil made Nigeria very rich and we were able to build strong infrastructure, Universities, Telecoms, TV, Arts (Nigeria hosted FESTAC 77), Music, Poetry and other literary works, national airline (Nigeria Airways) that was the best in Africa, sports (Nigeria dominated the All Africa Games for years) military, etc. We helped other countries in terms of food aid to famine ridden countries, resolution of internal conflicts and award of scholarships to Africans. Not so much now! Gone are the glory days of Nigeria. Corruption has brought the country toits knees today. What a Shame!!

I heard that there is still political influence. This is tied to 2 above as the wealth made it possible for Nigeria to exert political influence in the world and at the UN, particularly independence for the rest of Africa through the OAU (now called AU). This enabled Nigeria to engage actively with the pan Africanism movement that swept across the continent. Nigeria was also very directly active in campaigns for the proscription of racism and apartheid in South Africa.


Oh giant of Africa Arise!….
Nigeria is the only African country listed among the “Next Eleven” economies poised to become the biggest economies in the 21st century. The Nigerian economy is the 4th fastest growing economies in the world, Without doubt, Nigeria has the largest university educated population in Africa, Nigeria is the only nation in Africa’s with the most prosperous middle class of about 50 million people, Nigeria is on the list of top 10 strongest and most powerful military forces in Africa. Nigeria holds the record as the first black country in Africa and in the world where cars are manufactured locally. Nigeria is the first black country to launch a space satellite, Nigeria has the fastest growing construction industry in the world. Nigeria is seen as the leader in the centre of Africa’s foreign policy and has been playing a leadership role in Africa’s economy and politics, providing support and assistance where and when needed.

OH giant of Africa arise!
Nigeria has potential, What Makes the difference is bringing that potential to life?
The political leaders do not seem to be taking responsibility for problems in the country as everyone is blaming everyone else. Nigeria’s leaders, it appears, hate to be held accountable for anything. It is also proper to note that the root cause of the present social, political, and economic predicaments in the society is not the making of the leaders alone, but collective selfishness. Everybody in Nigeria, it seems, wants to be in a leadership position whether or not they have the skills and knowledge to stimulate a healthy competition, increase the wealth of the nation, and thus, create economic opportunity for everyone. Leadership is not about revenue sharing but about moving people to action to create wealth. These actions are possible with leaders who are committed to improving the living conditions of the people. The challenges facing Nigeria appear to be deep-rooted in the mind-sets of the leaders and the nation’s extractive political and economic institutions. As a result, there is a serious disconnect between ego-system thinking and eco-system reality It has aptly been noted that the state of our mind-sets or mental models (Senge, 2006) affect what we do our performance, decision-making process, and how we manage ourselves.

I heard a voice asking who is speaking? I am the voice crying in the great crowd!

Arise Oh Giant of Africa!..
To serve our fatherland with love and strength and faith, do not let the labour of our heroes past never be in vain, stand up to serve with heart and might, one nation bound in freedom, peace and unity.

Arise giant of Africa! and take your place
Happy independence giant of Africa..

By Oghenemarho Ebruphiyor Victory