Saturday, October 2, 2010

Nigeria at 50

Yesterday was Nigeria's 50th year as an independent nation and while I get that it was a big deal, some people got really melodramatic about it. Mainly on Twitter of course cause I don't read the news. LOL.

People were tweeting lots of crap about being proud of Nigeria, bla bla bla. Then there was the very annoying "F*** that, we have this". I think the worst one was someone tweeting "F*** Beyonce, we have Omawunmi". I mean REALLY??? :o I got so mad yo! And then I started to put people on blast. LOL! Twitter was sure entertaining yesterday!

Anyways, while I am not necessarily proud of my country, I do acknowledge that we have the potential to be a great nation. But it's the same thing as having a son who keeps bringing home poor grades even though he is smart and could do better. Would you then say "well even though you got an F, I know you have the potential to get an A, so I am proud of you son!"? I don't know about you all but I would punish my kid, remind him that he can do better and until he improves, he won't get my praise!

So not to chat and go off point, all I am saying is Nigeria is a great country but we are not projecting just how great we can be. From corruption, to power failure, to mass poverty in the country, we are not trying at all! And I refuse to be one of the people to say "Well although I haven't had light since yesterday, I am still proud of Nigeria". That's a load of crap!

As one of my followers on Twitter said yesterday to calm me down, at least we have life. Yes, where there is life, there is hope. So I will keep hoping for this great nation to start showing just how great it is. But till then, I won't get excited about independence day.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

You have made very valid points. I especially love the son-with-bad-grades analogy.
However, Nigeria is a microcosm of diversity and should not be approached in the same manner as your metaphor suggests.
For years now, Nigerians have mumbled and grumbled on end about the state of the nation. The ramifications of the negativity is minuscule progress in the past few years.
Having said this, I am of the opinion that change will come alongside attitudinal change amongst the country's citizen. To be more specific, Nigerians need to try out a positive attitude towards Nigeria.

LeTronique said...

I don't agree with Cyndee at all. We've been positive about Nigeria for years. Didn't CNN broadcast a study saying Nigerians were the happiest people in the world? Its true. Complacency, is the word. What diversity? Are you kidding me? There is culture, but what's the point? When every Nigerian who leaves the country turns into a huge arrogant prick? Its easy to spot a Nigerian overseas and believe me, its not from their traditional dress. Its usually from their attempt to over-assimilate into Western society and hence giving us Nigerians a bad rap.
So what am I getting at? Well, its simple. We need to get mad. We need to be angry. We need more posts from Nigerians like Tara. Quit being so fucking arrogant Nigeria. Take action or move the fuck out. lol If all else fails, fuck it, i'll marry my girlfriend and grab me a Polish passport. Its whatever

Anonymous said...

@KidKaimera,
Yes we do need more posts from Nigerians like Tara. For one thing, its shows that youth are concerned about the country's situation. For another thing it helps for mental stimulation. It makes us think, and provokes debate and an avenue for dissemination of ideas. I am only trying to point out the fact that word of mouth should be reinforced by action through an optimistic outlook.
I totally agree with what you say about Nigerians in diaspora, and that is exactly the type of attitude that needs change. However, I wouldn't call national pride, arrogance.
Basically, We are well aware of our problems in Nigeria and continuous complaints are getting annoyingly redundant. As you have rightly said, we need action. Our passion should be redirected towards tangible effort.

Tara said...

Wow. I am so honored to have such smart people commenting on my blog! Lol. Well yes, I agree with KidKaimera. Nigerians need to get mad and stop with the "let's be positive". We have done that for a while now and it's still not working!