Communicating Nigeria: October 2011

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Imagine Nigeria...

"Imagine a country where the Hausa, Ibo,

Yoruba, Isoko, Itsekiri, Nupe and all Nigerians

See themselves as Nigerian first before their tribe."

Imagine Nigeria...

By Arukaino Umukoro

Imagine those American kids on Youtube

Really meant it when they sang

'I want to be a Nigerian so freaking bad'

Cos Bruno Mars now lives in Yola.

Imagine those bomb blasts were actually scenes from a Nollywood set.

Imagine Nollywood movies winning Oscars every other year.

Imagine Super Eagles winning the World Cup.

Imagine Nigeria finishing among the top five

On the Olympics medals table.

Imagine food baskets all over the country

Enough to feed 200 million people

Yet have enough left for export.

Imagine the UN asking Third World countries

To learn from the rapid 'development of the West;

Only this time, the 'West'

Actually means South-West Nigeria.

A global model for socio-economic development.

Imagine the rise of groundnut pyramids

Like sphinx in the Northern deserts.

Imagine those cattle

On a thousand Northern hills & valleys,

Whose dairy products are sold in Europe.

Imagine 'almajiri' is an ancient word.

Imagine Harvard in Jigawa

And MIT in Kebbi.

Imagine that the best resorts

In Africa are in the Niger Delta

Imagine that those children could

Actually swim in clean waters flowing from the creeks.

Imagine Hawaii in Akwa Ibom or Bayelsa

Imagine Disneyland in Warri.

Imagine those architectural masterpieces.

Imagine a boat cruise in the Niger Delta.

Imagine those exotic landscapes in the South.

Imagine the lush vegetation and fertile lands,

Beautiful landscapes

And techies in West Africa's first Silicon Valley in the East.

Imagine an original car model called Utomibile. Maybe Aba-car or Zik-ari,

Designed & manufactured in Aba

But competing with others made in Europe & Asia.

Imagine Japanese CEOs driving made-in-Nigeria cars.

Imagine one Naira to a dollar.

Imagine nine functional refineries.

Imagine nuclear power plants in Ajaokuta.

Imagine 24 hour electricity in every city or village

Without the interruption of generators

Bleating like stray goats in the marketplace.

Imagine you telling your children PHCN stories and everyone laughing about it,

Like they were fairy tales or Alice in Wonderland.

Imagine the first Nigerian astronaut

Taking off from Abuja Space Agency.

Imagine the Nigerian police truly being your friends.

Imagine a well-equipped police force

Without the everyday drama of corruption.

Imagine thirty seven world class international airports.

Imagine Justin Bieber & Selena Gomez

Travelling to Nigeria on Nigeria Airways.

Yes, 'Nigeria' Airways.

Imagine Sasha & Malia Obama

Begging for a Nigerian vacation.

Imagine the beauty of traffic at night.

And the joy of inter-state road trips.

Imagine a country bonded by its diverse cultures,

Cemented with the right values system.

Imagine a country where the Hausa, Ibo,

Yoruba, Isoko, Itsekiri, Nupe and all Nigerians

See themselves as Nigerian first before their tribe.

Imagine Tuwo sinkafa, amala, and banga,

On the regular menu list in Waldorf Astoria.

Imagine that the 350 ethnic groups

Understand their differences.

Imagine that the people,

Rather than fight,

Harness her diversity into strength.

Imagine a truly indivisible country.

Imagine how great Nigeria would be

If every tribe & group unite as one.

Imagine 180 million beautiful people

In a beautiful country,

One nation under God,

Living together,

For the love of country & humanity.

Imagine a country with focused,

Selfless leaders. And strong institutions.

Imagine a country where Boko Haram,

Kidnapping, Niger Delta militancy et al

Would be forgotten tales by moonlight

When we sit under the shades of history,

Sipping the palmwine of true nationhood.

Imagine a country where the rule of law prevails.

Imagine a country where there is dignity in labour.

Imagine a country where justice

Is a meal both the rich & poor can afford.

Imagine your imagination running wild.

Like truly seeing Eko Atlantic City

On Victoria Island Beach,

Imagine Nigeria's own Manhattan.

Imagine Ajegunle, Mushin and Agege

With VGC architecture, infrastructure and design.

Imagine you living the Nigerian dream.

Imagine 'that' is possible.

Forget Nigeria today.

Imagine the new Nigeria tomorrow.

Imagine that beautiful country

Called NIGERIA.

Imagine.

But don't stop there.

Together, we can make it better!

God bless Nigeria.

The Book: "Preserve My Saltiness"

Review of "In Days to Come"

Jennifer is a remarkable young lady. Living in a country that she truly loves, yet recognizing the many problems as well. From her young mind she reaches out through her poetry hoping that her messages will reach out to educate, but even more so, to offer hope.

Jennifer does not write in rhyming verse or strict form, preferring the freedom to express her innermost thoughts without restriction. Yet poetry it undoubtedly is.

Many have struggled to define poetry, in the same way that many struggle to define art. Poetry paints with words and expressions and as such can be both art and craft.

I believe that if Jennifer’s words move you, then she has expressed both her art and her craft.

Finally, we have tried to avoid making changes to her writing, except perhaps for a few proof reading corrections. We hope by this you will capture not only the words, but (also) the essence of Jennifer’s culture that shines through her poetry.

Philip G. Bell

Editor,

Young Poet Society

Some Random quotes about Nigeria

"Nigeria has no business with poverty. With our human and material resources, we shall strive to eradicate poverty from our country."

"Let me make a solemn pledge before all of you, before the whole world and before God, that I will devote all my energy and all I possess in my power to serve the people of Nigeria and humanity." -Olusegun Obasanjo

"You see, I was told stories, we were all told stories as kids in Nigeria. We had to tell stories that would keep one another interested, and you weren't allowed to tell stories that everybody else knew. You had to dream up new ones." Ben Okri

"Each one of us, and, indeed, all those who aspire to national leadership must bring their own visions, views and styles to the business of reforming Nigeria, and the search for solutions." Ibrahim Babaginda.

“Nigeria is what it is because its leaders are not what they should be.” – Chinua Achebe
“Looking at faces of people, one gets the feeling there’s a lot of work to be done.” – Wole Soyinka
“The magician and the politician have much in common: they both have to draw our attention away from what they are really doing.” – Ben Okri
“They have not always elected the best leaders, particularly after a long period in which they have not used this facility of free election. You tend to lose the habit.” – Chinua Achebe
Many politicians are in the habit of laying it down as a self-evident proposition that no people ought to be free till they are fit to use their freedom. The maxim is worthy of the fool in the old story who resolved not to go into the water till he had learned to swim. Thomas Macaulay
We are free, truly free, when we don’t need to rent our arms to anybody in order to be able to lift a piece of bread to our mouths. Ricardo Flores Magon
It is the love of country that has lighted and that keeps glowing the holy fire of patriotism. J. Horace McFarland
Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and success of liberty. John F. Kennedy
“I have one advice to give to our politicians. If they have decided to destroy our national unity, then they should summon a round-table conference to decide how our national assets should be divided before they seal their doom by satisfying their lust for office. I make this suggestion because it is better for us and many admirers abroad that we should disintegrate in peace and not in pieces. Should the politicians fail to heed this warning, then I will venture the prediction that the experience of the Democratic Republic of the Congo will be a child’s play if ever it comes to our turn to play such a tragic role.” — Nnamdi Azikiwe, December 1964, “A Dawn Address” As reported in Kirk Greene’s book (page 21]
Nnamdi Azikiwe
“People go to Africa and confirm what they already have in their heads and so they fail to see what is there in front of them. This is what people have come to expect. It’s not viewed as a serious continent. It’s a place of strange, bizarre and illogical things, where people don’t do what common sense demands.” – Chinua Achebe
“Nigeria is not a nation. It is a mere geographical expression. There are no ‘Nigerians’ in the same sense as there are ‘English,’ ‘Welsh,’ or ‘French.’ The word ‘Nigerian’ is merely a distinctive appellation to distinguish those who live within the boundaries of Nigeria and those who do not.” [From Path to Nigerian Freedomby Obafemi Awolowo]
Obafemi Awolowo
“We plan our lives according to a dream that came to us in our childhood, and we find that life alters our plans. And yet, at the end, from a rare height, we also see that our dream was our fate. It’s just that providence had other ideas as to how we would get there. Destiny plans a different route, or turns the dream around, as if it were a riddle, and fulfills the dream in ways we couldn’t have expected.” – Ben Okri
“The worst realities of our age are manufactured realities. It is therefore our task, as creative participants in the universe, to re dream our world. The fact of possessing imagination means that everything can be re dreamed. Each reality can have it” – Ben Okri
Ben Okri
“One of the truest tests of integrity is its blunt refusal to be compromised.” – Chinua Achebe
“Democracy is not something you put away for ten years, and then in the 11th year you wake up and start practicing again. We have to begin to learn to rule ourselves again.” – Chinua Achebe
“The only thing we have learnt from experience is that we learn nothing from experience.” – Chinua Achebe
“Let’s say there are prospects for a new Nigeria, but I don’t think we have a new Nigeria yet.” – Wole Soyinka
Wole Soyinka
“Nigeria can no longer remain a potential” – Jide Salu

Source: babajidesalu.wordpress.com

“I dream of an Africa which is in peace with itself” Nelson Mandela.

“For Africa to me... is more than a glamorous fact. It is a historical truth. No man can know where he is going unless he knows exactly where he has been and exactly how he arrived at his present place.”Maya Angelou.

“God bless Africa, Guard her people, Guide her leaders, And give her peace.” Trevor Huddleston.

Communicating Nigeria

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Saturday, October 1, 2011

Imagine Nigeria...

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