Being Nigerian

Dear Dad

Every time I look back at being a Nigerian, I have mixed feelings. I wonder how I would have fared if I came from some other country. Depending on which part of the world, it may have been fun or furnace! So, I give thanks to God for creating me, and to you and mum for having me here. Thank you.

Each time I look ahead, I am happy being a Nigerian. I have no doubts about that. Never! My love for this country surpasses all the trials and tribulations, treasures and trivialities that we endure today. It is rooted in the certainty of Nigeria's greatness, a point attested to by all the discerning souls that have seen and spoken from before your own time. The reality is a given, and it ripens this year as we head for the real transition: 2007 General Elections.

I wonder at the great many wonders that my compatriots are performing around the globe and I feel good. Oh, isn't there some bad egg doing their damnest worst to tarnish the nation? You bet! But I resist their lot and say, so what? Every country has its share! Just this week, I was savouring the sterling performance of our football stars in the English premiership. So sweet. Oh, those Nigerians! Sweet, Dad, so so sweet. And we have even bigger stars in other sectors and disciplines! Some sung, some unsung. Yes.

All the times that I have surveyed our debts and dues, I have never had a doubt that the net is good and solid gold. In the bosom of our deepest conquests is the slaying of the greed and rising of creed: the crest and crown of democracy. It took a while, its toll, but alas it cometh now! This land has come into its own...its Nigerian own. Alight at last! Believe.

When you were explaining the momentous 1960 Independence to me that year, it registered in my tentative psyche. This year, it blossoms in my marrow and soars in my soul. The future and the past will blend in contest and complement, and the renewal of our destiny shall be manifest in all things small and beautiful. In all things old and new. Yes, in all things far and near.

Thank you, Dad, for making me a NIGERIAN.

Love you
Dayo