By SUNNY IKHIOYA
In one month, Nigeria will be 66 years old. The question we must ask ourselves is simple: What have we done with our independence, and what are we doing with our minds? Is this really how we want to continue as a nation? If we keep going this way, what future do we leave for the next generation? The apathy toward the destruction of our common patrimony should frighten all of us. Power cables pulled down. Railway sleepers stolen. Street manholes and bridge reinforcements removed to extract steel pipes. I have never seen this anywhere in the world except in nations at war.
How long will the state allow this to continue? We watch them operate under different names — “iron scrappers,” “bowlar” — and we do nothing. That was how insurgency began. First, it came wrapped in religion and false promises. People tolerated it. Today, it is strong enough to challenge the authority of the state. So I ask again: How do we reset the minds of those who have been misled? Are our institutions strong enough to withstand these assaults? Does the present leadership have the will to drive real change, when many of our top leaders cannot even trust our hospitals and fly abroad for medical care? Will Nigeria ever be truly free?
