Like we said yesterday, as part of our last respect to this amiable woman, in the comming days, various inspiring articles she wrote would be featured on this blog.
A Note to the good people of Nigeria
My Dear Good People of Nigeria,
I greet you all in the name of our great country, Nigeria, in the name of our founding fathers, national heroes and icons, both living and dead and in the name of everything we hold dear as a people.
I have the pleasure, most respectfully, to share with you my undiluted gratitude to God for creating me and making me a Nigerian. I want to let you know that I love this country with a passion and a fierceness that brook no compromise. I want to let you know that being born a Nigerian, an African and a Black person, in that order, is the best thing that ever happened to me. I want to let you know that, notwithstanding what may be perceived as the shortcomings of this great country, I would choose to come back as a Nigerian, if I have the opportunity and the choice.
You see, my fear fellow compatriots, you may not have noticed, but this country, Nigeria, is the most blessed corner of God’s earth. In terms of the people, the natural resources, the climate, the strategic positioning and even the cultural and spiritual heritage, few countries of the world can compare with Nigeria. The challenge of our time is only how to convert and translate this formidable potential into vast national prosperity and true, irreversible greatness.
Now, first, let’s take the people; the Nigerian people. I want to declare to you that our vast population is not an accident. Actually, not minding the motivation of our colonial masters, the fact remains that the British amalgamation of 1914 is a blessing; because, perhaps by default, they made us the biggest and the most populous black nation on earth!
I want to declare, to you that our ethno-lingual diversity is also a divine blessing, not a curse. Subsequently, I shall prove to you that the cultural, social, tourist and economic advantages and possibilities of this demo-diversity is enormous. For now, let me just point out to you that the Nigerian people are the most resourceful, the most hardworking, the most accommodating, the most peace-loving, the most reasonable and yes, the most governable set of people in the world!
Has it ever occurred to you, my friend, that most countries in the world would have since disintegrated if they had experienced just five percent of what Nigeria has been through in the last 44 years? Our sheer staying power is legendary. In spite of the occasional bouts of internecine strife, our people are really very loving and tolerant across the ethnic divide. Again the challenge is in promoting consistently those factors that unify us and diligently sorting out those sticking points that tend to divide us. That, I say, is the essence of nation-building.
Please permit me to defer a full discourse on nation-building, except to define it in advance as the process of achieving true nation-hood. Let me also point out that the key, and the most import building-block of nation-hood is patriotism. Thus, the twin-brother challenge of patriotism and nation-building defines the road-map for meaningful development and enduring national prosperity. And this factor, or twin-brother challenge, is the core, the bottom-line and the true essence of the Re-branding Nigeria Project which yours sincerely has committed her tenure and her life to promote and to foster.
I am aware that the Nigerian people, especially the citizens, tend to be rather skeptical, and even cynical, about government policies, projects and programmes which make demands on attitude change or re-orientation. This is especially the case when our citizens believe that these demands are only bottom-heavy and do not affect those they see as being ‘on top’, privileged or authority-figures. Thus they feel that it is do-as-I-say-not as-I-do, or that the preacher hardly practices what he or she teaches. I admit that some of these perceptions of the masses are often well- founded or justified; and that some of these campaigns of ethical re-orientation and social mobilization have sometimes been undermined and scuttled by this factor.
Some people also believe that the Nigerian people will only fall in line under the use of force, or the threat of force, as in the success achieved during the War Against Indiscipline initiated by the Buhari-Idiagbon military regime in 1984/1985. I believe that this is being unfair to the Nigerian people. I reiterate that we are a most reasonable and accommodating people. I believe that our people respond to force only because they have experienced little else since the military coup d’etat of 1966.
However, I have a lot of faith in the Nigerian people. I believe strongly and fervently that our people will respond positively to government and people-oriented programmes which they perceive to be in their interest and where they perceive the leaders or promoters of such programmes to have integrity and credibility. Thus I know that the Nigerian people can be effectively mobilized if they can be truly motivated. And I know that people anywhere in the world are motivated when they feel a real stake in the programme or the cause. The Nigerian people are great and enthusiastic followers and participants when and once they feel a true sense of belonging.
I can testify here that I have been overwhelmed by the positive response of ordinary Nigerians to the rebranding campaign. I assure you all that this campaign is in the overriding national interest. I therefore invite you to buy into it. So, please come, let us reason together!
Happy 50th Anniversary and God bless you.
Dora Nkem Akunyili
September 28, 2010 at 10:25pm
Dora Letter to Good People in Nigeria
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