The Nigeria of My Dreams

A dream is the exposition of the subconscious human mind. It symbolises the perfection of aims, ideals and aspirations of the human mind. Nigeria of my dreams would be prototype of all that is true, beautiful and egalitarian. The splendour that was Nigeria and the potential that is Nigeria will fuse together to make my dreams of Nigeria come true. Nigeria of my dreams will be identifiable with the philosophy of our founding fathers. It will be perfect, happy blend of old and the new, spiritual and material, urban and rural, the religious and cultural and the scientific and technological.

From the birth of Nigeria, to Nigeria today, the driving force and the heart of Nigeria has always been the “Nigerian Unity." The unity of our country is a goal for the majority of people who live in the west Africa oil rich Nigeria. My wonderful people had already branded themselves Naija, taking the initiative where the leadership lacked. And we’ve tried to bring about some cohesion in this contraption; trudging and hoping things would sort themselves. Then came the government, again! We must re-brand Nigeria! I believe that the “Nigerian Unity " is controlling my own destiny, becoming successful, and living free. The “Nigerian Unity “are success, freedom, and being able to control your own destiny.


The ability to be free made this country what it is today and that ability still brings excitement to many people who believe in the "Nigerian Unity". Today freedom is often overlooked because all of us are use to it, but in many countries freedom of life and worship is just a mirage. The ability to say what we feel and protest injustice is imperative and should not be overlooked. Freedom is a reality because people believe in the "Nigerian Unity". Controlling one's own destiny is essential, this significant part is often disregarded as not being part of the dream, but it should be recognized because it is rare in the world. In most countries a person is told by the government what they will become or are born into a cast system where they are stuck there till death. In Nigeria we could be born into a low-income family and excel to greater heights. Obviously, without characters there would be no story and no superstition, so, the characters must play a vital role in the establishment of superstition in the story. Many westerns, who have seen Nigeria, call it a continent, we are the most populous black race.

There is not a single country in this world with so much diversity as we have. I am still aware of many mysteries and I am sure my whole life won’t be sufficient to know everything about Nigeria. Nigeria is my country, I love my country. While walking in the streets of Nigerian cities, I feel a unique sensation, which cannot be felt in any part of the world. It is very painful to see the miserable state of my motherland. Nigeria, today, is ridden with many problems. My beautiful country has the potential to become the most beautiful country of the world and I dream of that. Nigeria is made of diverse traditions. It is fusion of various regions, different religions and many cultures. Our strength is in unity. But we do not understand this simple thing. We continuously fight with one another. For some people, their faith in religion is above their faith in nation. They do not think as a nation, but in terms of their community, caste or religion. This is worrisome.

I dream of united Nigeria, a stage where people will only think about their nation and will work towards the common goal – development of nation. Every time when someone is faced with a question, what our country has given to me, that person should again think what he has given back to his country. Country starts giving us something or the other from the time we are born, first thing our country has given us is the identity i.e. Nigerian. After that is education, food, job, happiness and everything. Now my other questions what I have given back to country, as of now my answer nothing great. Now one more question which haunts me is “what is the satisfaction others get showing India in a poor taste”. I watched many documentaries about Nigeria, but most are a bit over critical about the conditions in Nigeria which tries to project only the slums and slum dwellers. After watching those documentaries one more question that comes to my mind is “Why only showing one face of coin”. There is so much of natural beauty, lavish and luxury things in Nigeria, who will sing or songs to tell our stories? Cleanliness is something, which is considered Godly. We, Nigerians do not worship this God. Our dirty cities, dirty rivers tell the reality. We spit where we live. We enjoy throwing empty Carton and Coke cans out of our cars. I wonder when we will stop doing these things. I dream of neat and clean Nigeria.

Three things are omnipresent in Nigeria, first is corruption, second is poverty and the third is attitude. The net of corruption is spread all over in the public sector, as well as in the private sector. Public sector or the government sector is the two worst affected. Besides, the government and some private organisations, common public are also indulged in the game of corruption. They evade taxes, inflate contracts, kicks backs and sundry. Poverty can be found in every nook and corner of the country. This doesn’t mean Nigeria is a very poor country. In fact, many poor people are very lazy and do not want to work. Begging is the easy way to make money, sans any effort. Our attitude is at the very low now, we do have forgotten everything Nigerian, and things that would have been our pride and strength have become our undoing and weakness. We care of the now and the present. No one worries about the future of the young ones the born and the unborn.

I dream of Nigeria free from the above three – Attitude, poverty and corruption. I also dream of the day when Nigeria will win sizable number of medals in Olympics. This can happen only if we spend money on sports. And no country can spend money on sports, when its citizens die of starvation or survive on garri. A time will come, when every Nigerians will get a balanced diet, I am waiting for that day. I love my country so much. Just the thought of being there gives me a little bit of happiness. Everytime I get there I feel peace and forget my worries and problems at home. I love the smell, the trees, the grounds, the lakes, the animals. I really wish to live there and hope my dream will come true. Nigerians resides in villages. Villages are the most neglected part of our country. They lack basic necessities of life --- electricity, water, roads, proper sanitation etc.

A modern Nigerian village which has all modern facilities is a dream for me. One-thirds of our population is still illiterate. But we should soon achieve 100 per cent literacy target. Majority of Nigerians are still superstitious. They ought to be provided modern, scientific education. Media has to play an important role in this regard. Women are still treated as an object of desire. They should be given their due weight. A girl child should be given an equal opportunity to prove herself. About ninety percent of young capable people are still unemployed. I dream of Nigeria, where every Nigerian has an opportunity to work.

At the same time, I also want every Nigerian to adopt family planning measures to check the population growth. Our population is on the raise everyday, and it is still growing at a very fast speed. We should control our population; otherwise it has the potential to swipe all development. I dream of Nigeria where good traditions would be patronised and different cultures would be fused. Some popular festivals like EYO, NEW YAM and others should be declared national festivals. Inter-State and Inter-Religious marriages should be encouraged.

I dream of such a Nigeria, where transparency is the buzzword for governance. Police should improve their work ethics. It should become people-friendly, technology driven and intelligence based. Teachers and teaching profession should be respected and well-paid. Every citizen should do something constructive for the nation. The old war against indiscipline will be rejuvenated. Student’s unrest will be unknown. Useless degrees and examinations will be done away with and only those students with an aptitude and talent for higher education will go in for higher learning. Educational institutions will no longer be a playground for dirt politics, corruption, nepotism, cliques and international rivalries.

Life is full of twists and turns. Everyone has to struggle here in this world to overcome every obstacle in the way to success. For this hard work is necessary. Without working hard and just by sitting idle it will be hard for one to get success. Since from childhood and till now I always remember the sentence that my parents used to tell me "To be a better person in life and to get success you have to work hard, The result of hard work is always fruitful, so we must work hard". There is a well known proverb "NO pain, NO gain" hard work never goes wasted .Although it may be later or sooner success comes to your feet. we can have a look towards the life of great we have people that struggled hard throughout their life .They had made the right use of every second and finally everyone got success in their works.

Nigeria of my dreams will be based on the system of an egalitarian society. All will have the basic amenities of the life with adequate foods, clothing and shelter. The society will be based on a just and equitable order of no exploitation of the poor by the rich. There will be no barriers of class, State, region, religion, creed, faith, tribe or sex. There will be only human beings without their tags of Muslim, Christian, North, South, Local government and State of origin who will live for the cause of humanity. All the social evils that plague the society, today, will be banished from Nigeria of my dreams. Her people will be self-reliant and will have utmost faith in action, labour and toil.

The Nigeria of my dreams will not be guided by stars and fate but by dynamic men, who will write their own fate and destiny will only be their factotum. Truth, non-violence, virtue, high moral values of life and above all, the integrity of character will be the hallmarks of the Nigerian society. An all-round development of the human personality for the achievement of perfection of the human body, mind and soul will be the foremost ideal. Where the mind will be without fear, where the people will be virtuous and prosperous, where there will be no distinction between people and people, where mankind and humanity will be on and live in a spirit of friendship, fraternity and peaceful co-existence that would be Nigeria of my dreams.

The political system of our country will be cleansed of all its dirt and its maladies will be cured. The field of politics will only be a platform for social service and welfare of people and the country. The politics of defection will be a forgotten nightmare. Films and other audio-visual media of mass communication will entertain and educate the people and will no more vulgarise life. Crime, criminals and anti-social elements will be unknown to society.

In Nigeria of my dreams, her cultural heritage and its excellence will be the most cherished treasures. Her fine arts, handicrafts, sculpture, architecture, dance, drama, literature, poetry, music – all will have a nimiety of perfect models. Her vast expanses of knowledge, the history, the culture, scriptures and many other books will be thrown open to the world. Besides, science and technology and the modern sanctuaries of knowledge and learning will guide and satisfy the human quest for further knowledge and for the betterment, welfare and service of mankind.

Over the years Nigeria has evolved into a great nation despite our different tongues. From being ruled by Britain to the independence, Nigeria has become a symbol of love, peace and smiles. One question however still remains unanswered: what is the “Nigeria Dream”? Some say there is no dream, while others might believe it is the same as the illusive “American Dream”. I assure you that the “Nigerian Dream” reflects a prosperous family lifestyle, our communal strengths, brotherly love and togetherness. With such prosperity surrounding this nation, it creates unification through all and produces a country with a solid foundation.

Nigeria of my dreams is built upon the fundamental processes at work, within the Nigerian society and for whose realisation, many like me, are committed to the last drop of their blood and I dream of Nigeria when I will be proud to say “In Unity We Stand” to one and all, where Nigeria would be an example of peace, calm, prosperity, progress and brotherly co-existence to the whole world.

This is the Nigeria I dream. A place I love to call my home.

WHAT IS THE NIGERIA OF YOUR DREAM?