NIGERIA’S HISTORICAL STRIDES

Most times when I listen or read about the history of my country, I feel amazed and speechless. As a country, we have had so many challenges just like every other country and it’s really sad to see that we grew to a point and now it seems like we are stagnant and even doing worst than how we started. Nigeria as a country was once known to be the giant of Africa. We had so many things to pride ourselves about but these days, things are no longer as it used to be.

Since Nigeria became independent, we faced so many challenges and it is mostly as a result of leadership and also because we chose to make enemies of ourselves. In Nigeria, we have over 250 ethnic groups but 3 major ethnic groups which are the Igbo, Hausa-Fulani and the Yoruba. In school, while we were learning about the history of our country, we were made to understand that after Nigeria gained independence, it struggled with disunity. One of the major ethnic groups (Igbo which are the easterners) felt oppressed and not well regarded despite their major contribution to things.

As a result of this, this ethnic group resolved to fight and stand up for what they want and that resulted in the formation of a group called the Biafra. This group was created to fight against the government and this resulted in the Biafra war also called the Nigerian civil war which lasted for three good years. This war was one of the most scariest wars we have experienced in our country and millions of lives were lost. I remember when our parents and uncles that were alive then will tell us stories of how hard life was for them and how they managed to survive.

This war only ended because the Biafra people surrendered and finally accepted the reality that the Nigerian government was stronger and also because of the intervention of some other countries. Till date, people are still worried about the biafra people waking up one day to try to challenge the Nigerian government again or even other rebels ethnic group thereby affecting every citizen of Nigeria. Like we heard, people were traumatized from that experience and that has put fears in the heart of many that something similar might happen again.

All of these things had a really huge negative effect on the citizens of Nigeria and even her economy. Due to the lack of unity amongst us, we lost so many lives and assets. It took the Igbo so much courage and effort to make their voices heard and till tomorrow, most of them still hold grudges against other ethnic groups particularly the Hausa-Fulani and the Yoruba people and vice versa. And this has been a very big problem in different ways. It is a problem because there was a history that wasn’t a good one but then, I also feel that this history should also be the reason why we will learn to do better than our fathers.

There are so many ways I believe my country can make things better and embrace growth. One of them is, we as a citizens and groups should learn to put things behind us. I know I wasn’t there when our ancestors were going through so much torture and pain but then, the deed has been done and if they really care about their descendants, the best thing to do is to let all these pain behind us and seek for better ways to make our voices heard and also to carry everyone along.

Also, we should learn to accept others for who they are and not by where they are from or what their ancestors have done. In earlier centuries, people were very concerned about the ethnic group a person belongs to and this is not so they can foster unity but instead, it is important to them because they want to know who they are so they can avoid them and if possible fight against them. Luckily for us, things are getting a little bit better because more people are becoming enlightened by the day.

Unless we want history to repeat itself, we as Nigerians and all the ethnic groups have to accept one another and work in unity, letting go of the past that is already behind us. We all lost our people during the war so let’s try to make those sacrifices count. I know peace is hard to accept once the war is declared but then, we can do better. If not for anything, let’s think about our children and their children.

This is my response to the Hivelearners topic on ”A LITTLE HISTORY”.

Thanks for reading through. ❤️

_{Images used are mine}