Nigeria: Is there not a curse?

I am Nigerian with a green passport FACT1
I do not apologise for it. FACT2
It makes immigration officers hair stand. FACT3
For the love of me does not care. FACT4



THE NATIONAL PLEDGE

I pledge to Nigeria my country

To be faithful, loyal and honest

To serve Nigeria with all my strength

To defend her unity and uphold her honor and glory

So help me God.

For those of us who studied in Nigeria we must have recited the pledge at least a million times through primary and secondary school. Apparently, it meant nothing if anything to us.
First it was district 9. The SA/Hollywood film that portrays Nigerians as 419’s prostitutes etc. I have not seen the movie but the reviews have told me all I need to know.

Now it’s the Sony advert. I think this is extremely cheap and irresponsible of SONY. For a whole team to come up with that, pass it through several people and still decide that the advert was perfect, then it’s a big big shame. Nigeria, a country where the product is sold in mass. But my grouse is not necessarily with SONY, it is more with Nigerians who don’t see anything wrong with it, and those who think that Dora has no right to ask that the advert be retraced and Sony offer a public apology.

When I read some of the comments on the issue, I almost gave up on Nigerians. How dare we say that it is okay for people to insult us? Yes, Nigeria has corrupt leaders, Yes Nigeria has yahoo, yahoo boys, Yes, Some Nigerians are stupid and foolish and docile and cowardly and just empty barrels but that does not justify another national calling us these names to our faces. If the security guy falls asleep on his post, does that justify the thief? Is a drunk driver justified because a pub was left open?

I don’t care that almost all our leaders are thieves giving us a bad name. Whenever I travel, I travel with my head held high. Yes, they scan and scan and rescan my passport but I don’t care, I will not apologise for being a Nigerian, they can’t never intimidate me. When they are done with their scanning, they hand me back my passport and I walk away, sometimes I can’t resist adding if they are sure they don’t want to scan some more. Being Nigerian is not a crime and one day, I swear, my child will stand proud that he is one.

My brother was initially refused a British study visa, they claimed that my mother, who sponsored him ,had forged her statement of account. My brother was livid. Being a journalist, he replied them immediately threatening fire and brimstone and demanding an apology. How dare them call his mother-who had served his fatherland in the civil service for thirty five years- a fraudster? If the embassy staff were not diligent enough to decipher what statement was false and which wasn’t, should he be made to pay for their irresponsibility. He raved and ranted and they called him up, apologised and granted him the visa.

What is my point?That it don’t matter that Nigeria is more bad than good(and that is debatable)It don’t give no one no right to insult us. And we have to learn to stand up for this country. If not for us, for our children. I believe that the older generation is lost and there is no saving them. Only us, the younger people can save this country, but how can we save a country, we have no passion for, we hold no respect for?

I don’t think anyone would pat another on the back for insulting our parents, our tribe or our religion, so why do we let them insult Nigeria?
It doesn’t matter if we become the best country in the world, if we have no self respect as a nation, no other nation will respect us.

Finally, to all those thieving leaders who have contributed in bringing shame upon our nation. MAY THE FULL WRATH OF GOD DESCEND UPON THEM!