Nigeria's independence: sixty years later, between disillusionment and hope
Ughelli, State of State, September 2020. REUTERS / Afolabi Sotunde
Text by: RFI Follow
4 min
Nigeria's 60th anniversary celebrations will remain very limited, anti-Covid-19 measures require.
Several local governments, including Lagos State, have already announced that they are canceling their military parade.
The ceremonies will therefore be concentrated in Abuja where a parade is planned.
President Muhammadu Buhari will speak early this morning on radio and television, but not in public as originally planned.
But Nigerians' interest in this anniversary date is limited.
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There is therefore nothing flamboyant about this 60th anniversary of independence, in the midst of an economic crisis, for the most populous country in Africa.
And interest in these celebrations remains limited in the country riddled with fractures and facing complex challenges, with its more than 90 million people living in extreme poverty.
Green and white balloons were hung in shops, and Lagos' illuminated signs were adorned with the colors of the national flag.
It was in Lagos, that on October 1, 1960, the independence of Nigeria was proclaimed, in the city's racecourse.
Rachel Awopejo was born three days later.
Like many people her age, she says she has since witnessed the slow decline of her country, whose history has been marked by civil war and a succession of military coups.
“
At that time, the country was doing well,
” she tells our correspondent,
Liza Fabbian
, “
everything was cheap, it was possible to earn money, to save money.
There wasn't all this insecurity, it was possible to go anywhere you wanted.
But today everything is very difficult.
Our leaders have swallowed everything up.
And if you don't know people in high places, you won't get anywhere.
They ruined Nigeria.
"
Same story with Dayo.
Our correspondent
Moïse Gomis
pushed open the studio doors of Nigeria Info, a private radio station that broadcasts from Port Harcourt and Lagos.
He followed a satirical program hosted by journalist Dayo Elusakin.
In sixty years the political discourse has not changed
Alone behind the console, it animates 4 hours a day.
This 30-year-old journalist with a polished look relies on his network of investigators to comment on local and national news.
For Dayo, the current political class is far from living up to Nigeria's 60 years of independence.
“
Politicians don't bother to deal with problems, they always talk about roads, talk about street lighting, electricity for everyone, access to water ... If you watch or listen to archives of 10, 20 years ago, ... 50 years ago, the politicians of the time were already promising roads, public lighting, electricity and running water.
Are we where we were 60 years ago?
Definitely not.
We have made progress.
But are we where we should be?
Obviously not.
"
In the tone of satire, Dayo takes risks on the air, not hesitating to denounce without filter the shortcomings of Nigerian society.
He believes that despite the imperfections of the democratic system, Nigerian public opinion is more and more aware and demanding.
“
Many more Nigerians are fed up with the old-fashioned corrupt system, so to some extent we are making progress,”
Dayo continues
. “I believe it is only a matter of time before something drastic does happen, a revolution if you will ... I'm not talking about a bloody revolution.
But more of a mentality revolution, I think that's what Nigerians need the most
.
"
First economic power of the African continent thanks to its oil, Nigeria is a demographic giant eaten up by extreme poverty and plagued by corruption.
But the country is also plagued by widespread insecurity.
In the North, in particular, attacks by jihadist groups have left more than 36,000 people and nearly two and a half million displaced since 2009.
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