Nigeria @61: Our Motherland
By Hawwah Abdullahi Gambo
POLITICS DIGEST – Our motherland Nigeria is 61 years old today. We have come a long way with 6 decades of sovereignty, yet we remain static. I do know that many Nigerians may think there is nothing to celebrate about our 61 years journey, because today, we; the most populous black country in the world also is the most complicated and chaotic in the continent.

I am certain we all know that even though we have made some considerable progress in 6 decades, we still have a long way to go in building this nation for which all hands must be on deck for the responsibility of nation building does not lie with the leadership alone; it is everyone’s responsibility. It is your responsibility. It is my responsibility.
We all are positioned to contribute positively to the growth of this nation in whatever little capacity we can. It is hard I know, but we must not despair, we must keep hope alive and continued to trudge on. Because we cannot afford to quit on this nation nor ourselves.
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We must continue to seek for solutions and dedicate ourselves to finding them, all of us, both the leaders and the led.

We often say Nigeria is God’s own country, and I have come to believe this overtime. It is a country richly blessed beyond measure in so many ways through its abundant mineral and human resources regardless of the facts that we seem to be stuck in time and are unable to move forward.
Why is this so? I do not know. But what I do know is it is about time Nigeria gets a responsive and actionable leadership that will
· Enhance interaction between the leadership and the led because the existing communication gap is extremely wide.
· Nigeria deserves a corrupt free leadership that will ensure the plucking out the corruption bedevilling us; root stem and all.
· Nigeria deserves a leadership that will dedicate itself to growing the macroeconomy; empowering grassroot businesses and its people.
· Nigeria deserves a society that gives priority to investing in its human capital and ensure that it is developed.
· Nigeria deserves a society where everyone is safe, free of crime and terrorism.
· Nigeria deserves a society that is capable to putting all its work force into productive use.
· Nigeria deserves a society that makes education and health of its people top priory.
This is the responsivity of the leadership, both appointed and elected.
What then is our own responsibility; we the people as the leadership cannot obviously achieve all these by themselves. We the citizenry MUST rise to our own responsibilities as citizens and individuals. We all have a very important role to play in the Nigerian project.
A good place to start would be for us to be a responsible and responsive citizenry. Nigeria is desperately in need of good and responsible citizens.
A lot of people seem to be clueless about the fact that THEY have a responsibility to Nigeria by being good citizens. Yes, I daresay Nigeria is bereft of good citizenry just as much as it is bereft of good leadership.
How do you know a responsive and responsible citizen?
He is someone who obeys the rules of the land (traffic rules which Nigerian are good at breaking), helping others, be politically active, vote in elections, being their neighbours and brothers’ keepers, be a willing volunteer in the community, be compassionate and take responsibility for their actions, respect other people’s rights.
If you want to be a good citizen, the first place to start is to be a productive member of the society. DO NOT DO nothing. Do something positively no matter how little it is.
Be a mentor for children and young people, engage in community development even if it is something as significant as supporting just one person in their time of need. Be active a volunteer and participant in your nation’s social and political life.
Responsible leadership and citizens are an integral requirement for a functional and progressive society, none can function without the other, and no nation can develop without either of them.
As we begin the onward journey into our 61 years of nationhood, we need to remind ourselves of the fact that we; Nigerians are the ones responsible for the growth of our country. Everything we do either builds it or pulls it down. All of us have a duty to change Nigeria for good.
We need to each determine within ourselves, both individually and collectively the Nigeria we want in 10, 20, 30, 40 or 50 years from now, and work towards getting there, and we shall get there. Because the land is Green, all we need to do is nurture it.
Hawwah Abdullahi Gambo
Writes from Abuja
