BY STEVEN KEFASON
In America, an average citizen does his or her business with the consciousness of the American Dream. The American Dream, as it were, guides the citizens in their daily endeavours. Their founding fathers dreamt dreams which they built their nation upon – the American Dream. Such dreams are taught in schools and at worship centres for familiarity purposes. These dreams have been the secret behind the rise of America into becoming a world super power. Virtually all past and present leaders of America have always led by the contents of the American Dream.
The American Dream is rooted in the declaration of Independence, which proclaims that “all men are created equal” with the “right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
What then is the American Dream?
According to Wikipedia, by James Truslow Adams’ definition of the American Dream in 1931; “life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement” regardless of social class or circumstances of birth. What a dream for a nation that means business!
To the crux of the matter. Growing up as a little boy in Nigeria, my father used to buy me beautiful current affairs literatures, reading which was mandatory because the old man would always ask me questions to be sure I read every page of the books. I learnt a lot about the Nigerian history both pre and post Independence. Prior to the Nigerian Independence in October 1960, Britain subjected us to colonialism where they set up colonies to rule and monitor our existence as though we were some purchased slaves. This continued until 1953 when a brave young man by name Anthony Eromosele Enahoro moved the motion for Nigeria’s Independence. The motion suffered setback but eventually scaled through in 1959 when the late Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa proposed another motion for independence and as a result of the ever recurring Enahoro’s motion, the colonialists had no option but to succumb to the sustained pressure and granted Nigeria her Independence on 1st of October 1960.
The nation was thrown into festive mood as different ethnic groups went into celebration of what they believed to be freedom fro colonial subjugation.
The new nation began to operate and fend for herself with little manipulation as was the case before 1st October 1960. Less than a decade into Independence, however, the new nation went into a needless civil war, a war many believed was avoidable if there were genuine dreams to guide the operation of the nation. Millions of people including women and children were sent to their early graves in tragic circumstances. The War which began in 1967 eventually ended 30 months later in 1970, but the scars it created still live with the nation till date, sometimes even very fresh. One would have expected that after the war, our founding fathers – some of whom were still alive then, would have sat down and written a workable document like the famous and ever relevant American Dream, to guide the citizens in their daily endeavors with sincere systems of checks and balances in place to ensure compliance. Sadly, only a few attempted to proffer truly patriotic and far-reaching practical answers to the many questions that followed the war-the majority only paid lip service to the issue then as they have continued to do ever since. Less than a decade after the civil war, precisely on 1st October 1979, democratic rule returned to Nigeria with renewed hope for better things, the young democracy was later truncated by yet another military coup headed by General Muhammadu Buhari, another vacuum was thus created in the country’s political space. Just like every other coup prior to the 1979 coup, the coupists always gave corruption and bad governance as yardsticks for such coups, what baffles Nigerians most is the fact that all incoming regimes proved to be worse than the ones ousted.
The search for the Nigerian Dream continued to die slowly with incessant military coups knifing their way through its very heart. It makes one wonder if independence was a blessing or a curse. Our education system is on nose-dive to constant deterioration, with more and more graduates having a difficult time gaining employment into establishments – private or government. The existing industries lack consolidation while the few surviving ones are forced into extinction by harsh government policies on the one hand and lack of them on the other. Entrepreneurs lack the capital to realize their ideas. And our youths have resorted to anti-social behaviours such as kidnapping, armed robbery, terrorism, child trafficking, drugs…you name it. Most recently the long-planted seeds of hate have begun to bear catastrophic fruits thereby dividing people along tribal and ethnic cleavages, with their attendant devastating consequences. Considerations for appointment have now become limited to regional separations and the rise of individualism has reached an all-time high. Yet again, I wonder if the efforts of our founding fathers were worth the try.
Corruption has been growing like unchecked cancer crops and greedy leaders who never meant well for the nation, who never had an iota of concern for the not-so-clear dream of the people of a nation, resorted to looting and squandering of our common patrimony which provokes the question: Is the Nigerian dream a façade??? Going by physical manifestations, it so seems but in our hearts resides a strong belief of hope, a seed of mustard faith, a sincere longing for the better – a glimmer of positive enthusiasm that Nigeria will be GREAT!!!
But then, respectable leaders – the corrupt and incorruptible, Youths and Women groups, stakeholders of the Nigerian cause, MUST come together, putting aside their differences and vices and put heads and hands together to build a Nigeria that works. As a task, they MUST come up with a MANUSCRIPT containing clear pictures put in words, characterised by selflessness and commitment to the cause – the building of the Nigerian Dream . It should serve like a code of conduct for all irrespective of class, tribe, region, ethnicity or religion. This is achievable! One Nation under God. God bless Nigeria.
Happy 57th Independence anniversary to Nigeria!
Kefason is an activist and environmentalist and writes from Kaduna, Nigeria
