To Be Nigerian

BY KHADIJA SANUSI

I pledge to Nigeria, my country
To be unfaithful,
Disloyal and dishonest.
To curse Nigeria with all my words,
To destroy her unity,
And degrade her honor and glory.
So help me God.

Every Nigerian is required to recite the CORRECT version of the Nigerian national anthem, with their palms on their chests and their bodies rigid. However, this patriotism of Nigerians is completely conditional- perfectly elastic. In Nigeria today, a very large number of citizens have fought their ways into obtaining other country’s passports, some have even moved out and haven’t visited in years, others have never even seen their hometowns. A lot of Nigerians are living illegally in other countries, especially the USA and England, being almost invisible and living under the trepidation of being arrested. Nigerians do not know how to tolerate themselves, bringing every problem down to the difference in their religions and tribes and whatnots. Not associating yourself with our country does not help to improve all the negative things that we complain about.

Why are Nigerians so willing to leave Nigeria? Why are they always the first to criticize the country? As much as I hate to admit it, the Nigerian government has done nothing to deserve the faithfulness, loyalty and honesty of its people. The workers in government schools and hospitals do not get paid, causing teenagers and young adults to leave school and, in the northern part of the country get married off. People are dying in hospitals because the government has failed to supply them with adequate medical equipment. Subjects like Politics, if taught, are learnt in such a restricted, careful manner because teachers are afraid of saying anything that will cost them their jobs on grounds of incitement. The Nigerian currency, naira, has been bastardized- one dollar to 162.98 naira. People are dying each day without having accomplished anything in life, not one significant contribution to the Nigerian economy from them. We grow up hearing “Children are the leaders of tomorrow” while the leaders tomorrow are no different from the leaders of today and yesterday. Were they not children yesterday, or did the quote not exist?

We keep having Presidents and Rulers, who consistently turn a blind eye towards electricity, tribalism, terrorism, and the security issues of Nigerians. People have to rely on generators because the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) are literally holding the electrical power and have refused to share it with others. The less privileged people who cannot afford to pay for the expensive generators have to use lanterns to read in the night. Most leaders and political figures, like the ones before them, are bowing to corruption and have recently shown in their actions their interest in implementing the civilian rule back.

But, here I stand, permanently, unconditionally in love with my country. To be Nigerian, to me, means to spread out a mat outside because there is no electricity inside. My Nigeria means the Biafra war, our civil war, which finally brought peace among the three major tribes. My Nigeria consists of strong Igbo men standing up to the government in protest, to even threaten to break into a new country. My Nigeria is an innocent Hausa girl, whose parents cannot afford to send her to school. Nigeria is a wonderful place that has the potential to provide the same number of opportunities to grow in modern-day society. The many values we have that make us Nigerians were created and adopted by our forefathers, who fought for our independence. If they had the mindset to fight for our right to vote for our leaders, why can’t we have the mindset and the criteria to choose the right leaders?

Ms Sanusi is a student at the African Leadership Academy.