If there were to be a Nigerian dream, would its story have been one of a faulty start and a clumsy run? Right from the time of independence, Nigeria has been seen more as a geographical entity than a nation. The sectional crisis and tribal jingoism that have ravaged the country from the early years have succeeded in painting an image of a divided house. That was the reason the Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, said Nigeria should break into separate sections of Christian and Muslim nations. Some of our leaders called him ‘mad" in response.

With the Boko Haram crisis, ceaseless Niger Delta militants’ attacks, epidemic outbreaks, electoral violence, unending abductions and kidnaps; one may be forced to agree that we are yet to truly convince the world of our sanity.

What will it cost us to have a dream of our own? A dream nurtured and powered by our own reasoning and the intellects of the various tribes occupying the geographical entity called Nigeria?

Even if it will take the form and shape of the American dream - we can still have one.

If there were to be a Nigerian dream, it should be one fuelled with passion, grace and vigour. A dream in which people are recognised not by their birth or fortuitous circumstances but by dint of hardwork.

If there were to be a Nigerian dream, its substance must be that of a land in which life will be better and fuller for everyone. A place where opportunities abound for those who are wise enough to know and bold enough to take daring steps. What efforts will it take to build a society where men and women would be able to attain the fullest stature of that which they are innately capable of? Nigeria is indeed a land of extreme and remarkable contrasts.

The Nigerian dream should not be that of big machines, big cars or Nollywood red carpets alone. We need a vision and strategic plan that will be all encompassing, a place where education is not neglected for ephemeral things. Constantly trying to find answers to questions like "what will become of our future should the West finally find an alternative to oil?"

Let’s dream a dream where womanhood holds virtues and femininity is a pride. A dream where girls won’t bow to economic pressures by becoming dominatrices, draining their fathers of energy that would have been put to good use for the sake of posterity.

To achieve this dream, we the youth must purge ourselves of the infirmities which present circumstances have lured us to. We must be ready to make sacrifice by depriving ourselves of some needs so as to save the future of a country that hasn’t offered us much.

So let us begin anew with democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope as ideals. At 50, our level of development reveals that we are still a giant on mosquito legs, but it is not too late to make changes. In the words of JF Kennedy, "civility is not a sign of weakness and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate." Let us always bear in mind Mahatma Gandhi’s words: "The things that will destroy us are: politics without principle; pleasure without conscience; wealth without work; knowledge without character; business without morality; science without humanity; and worship without sacrifice."

With gut and God, we can create the Nigeria of our dream. So shall we rise!

http://thenationonlineng.net/web3/education/campus-life/15360.html

Last night I dreamt that 33 Nigerian miners were trapped underground and the government decided to send a capsule down to rescue them one after the other.

When the miners knew of the rescue plan, they began to argue amongst themselves on who goes first. Zoning was suggested but they could not agree on which zone will go first. Eventually in a struggle to determine who goes first, several of them got injured and MEND issued a threat message warning that they would set off a bomb if any South-south miner was critically injured.


Meanwhile, the FEC had awarded the capsule contract to JB and we are still awaiting delivery three months later. There is a probe going on to unravel this and retrieve the award sum before we get to the issue of what formula to adopt for the rescue and which miner comes out first.


In the mean time, traditional rulers from the miners' towns are paying solidarity visits to the president to thank him for his efforts to rescue the miners.

And the first lady had just invited the wives of the Nigerian miners to Abuja for dinner at the Hilton! The first ladies from the 36 states will also be in attendance. All including the wives of the miners will wear the Goodluck for President ankara.


CNN reported early this morning that after 10 months underground all the 33 Nigerian miners have died and the Nigerian government has declared seven days of mourning during which the Nigerian flag will be flown at half mast to honour the dead. Meanwhile, JB has sued the FGN for the balance of the contract sum.