NIGERIA : Revisiting The Purpose Of a Nation in Distress

At Present, Nigerian is in distress; we are at the lowest we have ever been in this nation, security wise. And security of lives and property is the primary responsibility of any government.?

This is because lack of security affects every other sector in the nation. And the worst of it all, Nigeria's?security challenges are self - inflicted, Nigeria is at war with herself. Nothing kills a nation faster than self inflicted security challenges. It is easier for a nation to destroy herself than for her to be destroyed by another nation.

Nations that destroy themselves are nations who have either deviated from their original purpose or a nation that do not have a purpose at all.

What has been Nigeria's purpose from the time of its creation?

It's in Nigeria's history that in 1914, the British colonialists amalgamated the Northern and Southern Protectorates?for administrative purposes. The reason why the British did this was to use the surplus budget from the south to the offset the budget deficit from the north. 107 years later, nothing much has changed on this purpose even though Nigeria is now a sovereign?nation.

Post colonialism, what has Nigeria adopted as her national purpose?

I personally do not know of any. Oh you might say it's in the national anthem. For those who would want to know the lyrics of the anthem, here is it;

1.????Arise, O compatriots, Nigeria's call obey

To serve our fatherland

With love and strength and faith

The labour of our heroes past

Shall never be in vain

To serve with heart and might

One nation bound in freedom, peace and unity.

?

2.????Oh God of creation, direct our noble cause

Guide our leader’s right

Help our youth the truth to know

In love and honesty to grow

And living just and true

Great lofty heights attain

To build a nation where peace and justice shall reign.

The Nigerian national Anthem is more like a prayer both to fellow Nigerians (First Stanza), and God (Second Stanza). This is great; it is great to acknowledge the supremacy of God in the affairs of our nation. Every nation needs an entity of reference and God is perfect for that. But we have disregarded the laws of nationhood from God and stuck with just our prayers.

How good have we fared with all these prayers without being a purposeful nation backed by vision? We have not fared well. The reason is because prayers do not build nations; they edify the mind of the citizens in order to act on the right purpose. But then we keep rejecting those edification in order to follow our own ways. ?This is why having too many worship centers in Nigeria have not helped in nation building.

So where is the purpose? People do not know the purpose of Nigeria as a nation, that's why they want to break away.

In the absence of vision borne out of purpose, Nigeria has been driven all these years like a rickety vehicle without a definite destination. The early rulers of the nation for some reason didn't agree on?a particular vision and purpose for Nigeria, because of the infighting and squabbles Nigeria's history is riddled with.

The present crop of Nigerians, instead of forging a front to put up a formidable force that can stand decisively among the comity of nations, have failed to liberate themselves from rancor, struggle for control and dominating more lands, bigotry; everybody wants to maneuver in the scheme of things, occupy higher positions for the sake of ego and oppression, share national resources among friends, colleagues and families, promise infrastructure (but fails to deliver) and repeat the cycle. It seems the purpose of government is self aggrandizement.

Without purpose, abuse is inevitable. This is the case of Nigeria; Nigeria both as a people and as a location keep being abused because it?is purposeless.

On a second thought, are we truly a nation?

Maybe we are, maybe we are not yet. But the characteristics of a nation seem not to be upheld or solid with us yet. A nation comprises of a people who are committed to a common language.

?Common Language binds people together but you find out that in some government parastatals, some people communicate in vernacular. A nation shares same values, same ideals, same jurisprudence, same heritage.

When you read the preceding lines again, you will see that our nationhood is under threat because at different sections of the country, people are not buying the same ideals again, they don't want to share the same jurisprudence again, they don't want to share the same values again. What they are saying in essence is that they want to form their own nation and live under a separate government. And this is causing serious national imbalance.

The British created 'Nigeria' for their self purpose and once Nigeria got her independence, she is not bound to remain under the purpose of the British.

Nigeria and Nigerians?must create her unique purpose, else this journey will keep leading us to nowhere.

Today's Nigerians and Generations unborn should be able to identify the purpose and vision of Nigeria without blinking an eye.

Once a purpose is adopted for Nigerians and by Nigerians, it will be the focal point of all actions carried out in Nigeria starting from those in government down the nuclear family.

Purpose will give every citizen a sense of direction, ownership, responsibility. Purpose will build confidence and zeal to keep fighting for the nation.

The summary of these is that all the laws that guide a nation: their formulation, their adoption,?their regulation and their administration should be focused on the purpose and vision of that particular nation.

ES