Thankful For......

A lot of times, I'm frustrated by the state of affairs in Nigeria:

I'm infuriated by the daily cruelty in the form of extortion being meted out by our police.

Ranked as the 26th in the world in terms of Gross Domestic Product and the largest economy in Africa, I cannot fathom why potholes litter our highways, disrupting our comfort and in worse conditions, posing threats to our safety.

I bemoan the spill of garbage over our gutters and across our streets, and how our habit of emptying garbage containers in flooding gutters and gullies contributes to it.

I cringe at the lack of adequate bunks, well-fitting and fresh bedding in our major hospitals whenever I go visiting.

I am tired of being surcharged every time I need to obtain important documents from virtually every office in the name of PR, or what some of them call "ego fuel" (money for fuel) or "money for lunch", and workers' rude and lackadaisical attitude to work, especially in government departments.

My heart is thick with pity every time I look at our roaming mentally challenged citizens and street side beggars, obviously with no form of welfare.

A lot of other things alarm me-- Ebola, kidnappings,insurgencies, deception, rampant sexual embarrassments, misappropriation of public fund, degradation of our education and so on.

However, today, I take time to rather reflect on the a lot of the awesomely unique things that distinguish us from the rest:

1. Our people-- hardworking, resilient, determined, ambitious and passionate even in the most difficult conditions.

2. Our diverse tribes, languages and popular cultural values:

3. Our colourful traditional outfits that make us stand out at occasions.

4. Our sumptuous, rich foods that have me drooling and licking my fingers every time.

5. Our rich resources-- both human and natural that put us as one of the largest economy in Africa.

6. Our distinguished and notable citizens who have brought great honour to our country.

I choose to celebrate and count all that we have and had, our achievements and endowments, our greatness and uniqueness, our good luck and wealth, because the truth is, no nation, no matter how "great" is without her demons. Nigeria is no exception. We will continue to fight these demons, starting from inherent demons for the sake of a better future for the nation.

Today, my prayer is that God bless Nigeria.

Happy Independence day, friend.