In light of today’s 51st Independence Anniversary in Nigeria, I have been tweeting all week starting from Monday (26-09-11) those positive things that I want to celebrate about our country.
While many joined in to mention good things about Nigeria and hash tagged with #OCT1 , I couldn’t help but notice those who decided to gate crash the positive thinker’s party and flooded us with ‘depressing facts’ about our nation and her polity.
Among the many negative rants was one that jumped out at me, it read – "We always do ask ourselves, When will 9ja b Great again? But I ask Again, Again and Again, Has 9ja ever been great?"
This tweet bugged me a lot, maybe for the fact that unlike the person who posted the tweet, I grew up seeing a little of a great Nigeria before things started to really deteriorate mid 80’s. I grew up when we had Kingsway, Leventis, UTC and Masco Stores and a variety of amusement parks around town where our parents took us to shop and have fun as kids.
It was an era where we had Nigerians who measured the success of their businesses and achievements in comparison to international standards, and not just a mere battle for survival. People who understood that “a satisfied customer is the best business strategy”. An era where people like Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Pa Tai Solarin, Pa Anthony Anahoro, Fela Anikulapo to mention a few, were agitating ‘honestly’, trying to avoid our country from plummeting into the state it’s in now.
If you lived in those years, then you’ll understand why I ask “WHERE ARE OUR GREAT MINDS?” not just the profound statesmen, but also the normal day-to-day businessmen and women. Innovators who spotted gaps in our society and filled them up with quality service deliveries that profited them.
It seems no one is dreaming BIG anymore! All we seem to be doing is succumbing to the pressure around us by resorting to blame bad governance for everything.
This is where I want to drill my pen. Oops...keypad, as I feel that’s exactly where we lost it. We’re reduced in the ability to incubate great business ideas, because we’ve chosen to focus on the negatives of our society.
For your information, Nigeria has always been HARD! I remember a very popular song back then in the 80’s “Andrew no check out, Nigeria go survive”....yet in those same years, we had indigenous Airline companies flying international destinations. We had Nigerian Proprietors leading Quality Private Schools; Fast Food Restaurant was a new concept (Chicken George, Big Treat, Mr. Biggs) and many other innovative ideas that brought about development to us.
We need to move away from being sorry for ourselves and begin to think BIG of ourselves! If your dream requires only your own hands to actualize it, then it’s not big enough!
I believe if your dream requires me, and mine requires you too, then in no time we all would be a nation intertwined with a singular objective, which is to live our collective dreams and our nation will be better for it!
As we celebrate today, let us take out time to focus on this spirit of ONESS, which lives in GREAT MINDS; pursuing selfish interests is what has led us where we are now and I can guarantee you it will get us nowhere - Together we will stand, Divided we will Fall.
Happy Independence day! Long live The Federal Republic of Nigeria!! Good People, Great Nation!!!
This tweet bugged me a lot, maybe for the fact that unlike the person who posted the tweet, I grew up seeing a little of a great Nigeria before things started to really deteriorate mid 80’s. I grew up when we had Kingsway, Leventis, UTC and Masco Stores and a variety of amusement parks around town where our parents took us to shop and have fun as kids.
It was an era where we had Nigerians who measured the success of their businesses and achievements in comparison to international standards, and not just a mere battle for survival. People who understood that “a satisfied customer is the best business strategy”. An era where people like Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Pa Tai Solarin, Pa Anthony Anahoro, Fela Anikulapo to mention a few, were agitating ‘honestly’, trying to avoid our country from plummeting into the state it’s in now.
If you lived in those years, then you’ll understand why I ask “WHERE ARE OUR GREAT MINDS?” not just the profound statesmen, but also the normal day-to-day businessmen and women. Innovators who spotted gaps in our society and filled them up with quality service deliveries that profited them.
It seems no one is dreaming BIG anymore! All we seem to be doing is succumbing to the pressure around us by resorting to blame bad governance for everything.
This is where I want to drill my pen. Oops...keypad, as I feel that’s exactly where we lost it. We’re reduced in the ability to incubate great business ideas, because we’ve chosen to focus on the negatives of our society.
For your information, Nigeria has always been HARD! I remember a very popular song back then in the 80’s “Andrew no check out, Nigeria go survive”....yet in those same years, we had indigenous Airline companies flying international destinations. We had Nigerian Proprietors leading Quality Private Schools; Fast Food Restaurant was a new concept (Chicken George, Big Treat, Mr. Biggs) and many other innovative ideas that brought about development to us.
We need to move away from being sorry for ourselves and begin to think BIG of ourselves! If your dream requires only your own hands to actualize it, then it’s not big enough!
I believe if your dream requires me, and mine requires you too, then in no time we all would be a nation intertwined with a singular objective, which is to live our collective dreams and our nation will be better for it!
As we celebrate today, let us take out time to focus on this spirit of ONESS, which lives in GREAT MINDS; pursuing selfish interests is what has led us where we are now and I can guarantee you it will get us nowhere - Together we will stand, Divided we will Fall.
Happy Independence day! Long live The Federal Republic of Nigeria!! Good People, Great Nation!!!
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