There seem to be divided views amongst Nigerians on Twitter following an opinion by a journalist, Julius Oweh published on Vanguard’s website on October 3.
In the opinion titled “Is Nigeria a mistake?” Oweh argues that the country is a mistake, reason being that after sixty years of independence, despite the abundant human and material resources, Nigeria is still the butt of dirty diplomatic jokes around the globe.
According to Oweh, the pains, lack of development and turning around like a barber‘s chair is self-inflicted.
He said “The 1966 coup that destroyed the fine grains of fiscal federalism and replaced it with the most undemocratic unitary system of government is the root cause of our problems. And unless the political elites have the courage to address this issue frontally, the image of a man-child will continue to haunt the nation.”
Oweh concluded by saying that Nigeria is beyond a mistake. “Nigeria is sick and needs urgent medical attention, and in the lingo of born-again Christians, needs deliverance. If the disease is not cured, we shall continue to hear agitation for balkanization- a la Indigenous People of Biafra, the Oduduwa Republic, the splinter group of Arewa Consultative Forum (North Central Peoples Forum) and the many groups claiming to speak for the Niger Delta People.”
Reacting to this via Vanguard’s comment section on Twitter, some Nigerians supported Oweh, agreeing that Nigeria is a mistake, while some disagreed, saying that the leaders are the mistakes.
Below are some comments gathered on Twitter:
@PRESTIGE_KTS “No, Nigeria is Not a mistake but we are under the siege of cruel leadership with nuisance followers. Our Dreams are always murdered by this so called our stone hearted leaders. No joy, no love, fade of hope, & twist of faith all day, yet we silent and smiles. God bless Nigeria”
@SmexFidelis “Nigeria is not a mistake, we Nigerians just need to change our way and do the right thing, we will all Enjoy this Country”
@adeologo_dire “Mistake is misguided judgement.The decision is wrong because the elements/variables were not properly considered. No matter your efforts the Judgement(Country) can’t unite because the variables wouldn’t gel.Nigeria is a misguided verdict.”
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@am_nimf “A big mistake by the British there. You can’t bring different ethnic groups with different beliefs on how to interact with people, and you pack them together and expect them to live peacefully together.”
@brightersonic “It’s that a trick question? Because you and I know the truth. It’s not just a MISTAKE but a HORRENDOUS one”
@AyeniTB “Yep, Africans should’ve determined their borders by historic link. To imagine the ignorance I had growing up, to imagine parts of Warri are cousin’s to Yoruba, all the way to Togo. To imagine the tales and history we lost just in the name of being 1, sickening”
@BENEFITDECORAT1 “It’s not a mistake….it was an intentional injustice by the British and some of our so called “Nigerian heroes” to inflict pain and discord among the people. This is exactly what they wanted by creating Nigeria.”
@Comic_Sams7 “We will push on to blindly accept something that was forced on us, like forcing an artist to become a scientist. The Truth is, Nigeria wasn’t born out of truth, honesty, love or unity. Nigeria is a fraud for all we have achieved are great but there never really was a better 9ja.”
@YoucancallmeVi1 “At this stage, that’s no more a question. In the face of this blatant tribalism where the major ethnic groups are seeking to destroy each other, I struggle to understand the ‘golden wisdom’ of the people who feel we must continue with an obviously failed state.”
@sho_me_2000 “Nigeria is a very big mistake from birth by Lord Frederick Lugard, but God didn’t make mistake by creating us as different nations and tongues.”
@balooo_ay “Nigeria was never a mistake but our old, present and future leaders are the mistakes and problems of the nation. From Military to civilian rule no different .commodities are increasing and we don’t have hope it will stop”
@doublengineer “Nigeria is not a mistake, just that for any policy, ideology or even implementation, the personal interest often override national benefits.”
@iamlexy_01 “Nigeria isn’t a mistake,d only problem we have is dat we have greedy mediocre leaders who care only for deir own pockets and not for d masses”
@idyke6 “Big mistake! Built on false foundation.A section of the country has capitalized on it to propagate tribalism,religious bigotry,nepotism,injustice etc.With all those the country can’t stand.”
@BellaPatra2 “No Nigeria as a country is NOT a mistake. But our insincere leaders are the mistake. Sometimes people who we think are the solution to our problems are actually the problem.”
@dolutuyi “Nigeria is not a mistake but Nigerians make the mistake of electing ethnic & religious bigots/champions as rulers for primordial reasons & not on the basis of competence. We’ve been paying for such indiscretions & misadventures. This may continue until we reverse our priorities.”
@DNajombong “A mistake is an act done in ignorance, either willing or otherwise. Nigeria was brought together by knowledgeable men supported by their individual constituents or so to say. It can be negotiated with the same diplomatic discuss. We await that season”
