Today is Independence Day. Sixty-six years ago, Nigeria broke free from British colonial rule.
But our story did not begin in 1960.
Let us note that our civilization did not even begin with slavery, but was significantly altered by it. The transatlantic slave trade has been described by the United Nations as the greatest crime against humanity.
Then came economic conquest through the Royal Niger Company, followed quickly by a foreign religion and formal colonial rule and the imposition of foreign systems that disrupted our way of life.
What followed was plunder. Our natural resources were extracted to sustain an empire that produced almost nothing. Our political structures were dismantled, our cultures diminished, and our priceless works of art looted many of which remain abroad, sustaining their museums and economy by raking in millions of dollars.
Yet, long before colonialism, we were great.
We built remarkable civilizations: the ancient Benin Kingdom with its paved roads, street lights, and sophisticated drainage at a time when European cities wrestled with filth; the Oyo Empire, the Sokoto Caliphate, Kanem-Bornu, and the great trading communities along the Niger. Our history did not start with colonialism.
It is a paradox that a small island nation with a population today comparable to Kano and Lagos combined once ruled over us. That era is over.
So, 66 years after independence, the question is no longer what Britain did to us.
The question is: _What will we now do for ourselves?_
It is time to move from potential to greatness.
We are too richly endowed in natural resources, in creativity, in intelligence, enterprise, and a young, energetic population to remain trapped in underdevelopment.
Nigeria must not merely dream of greatness. Nigeria must build it.
Let us build institutions that work.
Let us educate and empower our people.
Let us convert our resources into industries and prosperity.
Let us preserve our culture and unleash our ingenuity upon the world.
If Nigeria rises, the Black race will rise and lead the world into what is to come.
A prosperous, confident Nigeria will strengthen Africa and show people of African descent everywhere what is possible when our enormous human potential is finally unleashed.
Nigeria, Rise!
Unleash the dragon within!
Let the world see what we are made of.
Happy 66th Independence Day, Nigeria. 🇳🇬
Momoh Omokhigho
Writes from Kaduna
