Happy independence day, Nigeria! A country with much potential; the best moi moi, beautiful women and the worst jollof rice. I’ve always felt a deep connection to Omo Naija(the beloved name for the country). A good amount of friends I have are from Nigeria. I grew up in PG county too, where they constitute a large amount of the immigrant population. Hell, my grandfather on my father’s side even lived in Nigeria during the 80’s and 90’s.
So, Nigeria is nothing new to me and it’s always been on my radar since I care about progress of mankind, especially on the continent of Africa. Unfortunately, the leadership of the country isn’t ready for the people to be great and is scared of the masses. As we also see in my own country of ethnicity, Ghana. Today, we’ll take lessons from past kingdoms who ruled poorly to see how we can learn from their mistakes and progress today.
The 18th century gave rise to multiple African kingdoms around the coast of Nigeria and the northern part of Nigeria too. But, as we know, Nigeria was made by the British to satisfy their need for raw materials. There was no Nigeria. There were multiple nation states, empires, and loose communities who only came together if need be. The leadership and obsession over fucking succession was appalling when I read about the government systems of these kingdoms and their desire for exploitation and greed. The oracle of Ibini Ukpabi sent thousands of people to their demise as slaves in the Americas and Caribbean after being found guilty of very petty crimes. Many people were falsely accused to appease their British business partners who needed the labor. The indirect result of this was an obvious mistrust of people in the community and unrest in communities, not allowing for the growth and advancement of society.
The revolutionary leader Usman dan Fodio was busy up north leading jihads and making Islam “pure” while decimating different populations nearby. He was upset at the Hausa leadership being pagan and taxing the people heavily but as we see, he didn’t put good energy out there either by damaging societies in his proximity. In the southwest, the succession battles of the Oyo empire didn’t do it any good either and led to its collapse after being invaded by Northern factions looking to spread their through jihad.
All this is to say that poor leadership by previous administrations of the country drained communities and destroyed lives. Nigeria is set to be the second largest country by population by 2100. SECOND ONLY TO INDIA. We are all aware that Nigeria was the UK’s dream, not it’s inhabitants. However, it doesn’t make an excuse to attack others due to their differences in beliefs and to advance your selfish agenda as a sovereign. This only comes back to bite you in the ass as seen by the impoverished state that led to the colonization of all three kingdoms mentioned. There are several industries in Nigeria set to take off, especially in tech and film. Please, Nigeria, focus on building what ya’ll have and be the beacon of light for the continent. Or this time the brain drain will be very voluntary. Bless.