LEAVE THEM ALONE!

Please listen. I want it to end now. I don't wanna hear it anymore. Let's stop it immediately, right this minute. If you haven't guessed what I mean, I'm talking about the grumblings by many Nigerians that it was the British that created the problems we face today. It is nothing short of a lie and a myopic one at that. As matter of fact, I believe that Nigeria was one of those colonies that saw the best side of colonialism. I may go into the proof some other time, but certainly not now. Now is the time I have chosen to remind you about something:  

 

The British were big colonialists with so many colonies in hand, many of which obtained relatively easy independence under the lovely Queen Elizabeth II. (You just cannot hold a grudge against the old girl). Some of those colonies include what is now known today as India, the US, The Bahamas, Israel, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Qatar, UAE, Pakistan, etc. All these nations were once under British rule, protection, ownership, etc. Some gained independence before us and others after us, but one thing they all did was that they grew while we retrogressed. They are all from different parts of the world, different climates, timezones, races, possess unequal resources and many other distinguishing factors, but the fact remains that they are all better than we are and yet, we are all former British colonies. So I'm asking those of you who say Britain is the source of our problems: What special curse did they place on our country that they forgot to place on other of their colonies? I remember that the Brits brought education and religion, two beautiful things that we have managed to use against our own selves to the extent that some of us are even going abroad to convert those that originally converted us. 

 

When a child drops out from school and goes on to become a failure in life, can you blame his teacher? Or when a group of students in the same class write a regional examination and one fails woefully while the rest do very well, is the fault with the teacher or the student? What made Qatar and UAE what they are today, 48 years after independence from the same British that colonized us? Are they smarter than we are or did the Brits leave them with magical powers? I admit that the British were and are still not saints, but they did quite well for us. What they did in India, if they had done it here in Nigeria, would we have continued to exist till today? Despite everything, India are moving forward and they are far ahead of us to the extent that we import rice and even garri from them. It's the British that told us to do so, abi? No matter what anyone has done to you in the past, it falls on you to pick your life up and move the hell forward! The Jews survived a genocide and went on to form a country. They fought many wars with their neighbors and conflict with Palestine is still very active, yet they are doing extremely well for themselves. What about the Rwandans, Serbs, Croats, Ukrainians, Vietnamese? The worst we had was slave trade and Civil War. The first, we were actively involved in it and the second, it was within us. After the trouble with the British at their arrival and before Independence, we came out stronger and better, but instead of building on it, we killed it. If things had turned out differently, would we have had anything to blame the British for? 

 

All our existing infrastructure is from the British. Yes, because the military that built them were British-trained. Show me one sensible infrastructure (physical or not) that doesn't have links with the Brits. Are there any? When the Brits were here, we said 'Go!' Now that they're gone, we're saying 'they are the cause of our problems'. Doesn't that sound like a mentally unstable adult or a spoilt child? All those who have gained independence have made the best out of it, so what's stopping us from doing the same? It's simple. We're irresponsible and wicked! There's no love, no sense of responsibility and no unity. The perfect recipe for continuous failure. Leave the Brits alone, it's been 59 years since they left you alone! Rwanda's genocide was just 25 years ago. Look at them today. Are we not ashamed? Ah ah, for what na?! The person wey swear for us, how him take arrange the swear? Military did this, British did that... Na only you dem do?? Get up and fight your way forward!