NIGERIA IS 50

So i feel like Truth Don Die should have a Nigeria is 50 post. Everyone is doing it. You might expect us to have a cynical post about how bad Nigeria is (well maybe another contributor would have) but i wont. Sometimes it is good to just be happy. And my flag i got from ebay made it in yesterday...yay!!!

We can lament about how bad it is, how unfulfilled our potential is, how Ghana has surpassed us, or some other BS. But umm i wont do that. We are 50 years old. At 50 yrs old, America still had slavery, at 50 years old America was killing Indians for fun. So if we are going to compare countries, Nigeria is not too bad for 50 yrs.

Of course, we have our problems, there are major problems like MEND kindly reminded us today. Me being from Delta state, i have mixed reactions to the act. But i dont feel like upsetting people today so i will not say my opinions...lol I am happy to be Nigerian even though i havent been home in about 9-10 yrs. Even though i was Born in America, i do not call Washington D.C. home. I am a Lagos boy from Asaba, Delta State. I dont even care to celebrate July 4th here. But on October 1st!!! it is on. I dont live in a city with a lot of Nigerians. But today the few of us at school are coming together to celebrate in style. So I wish everyone of you luck in your celebrations.

Hip Hip Hip...hooray!!!

P.S. I am especially thankful that Azazel's party is on the horizon, he will no longer infest my facebook and twitter with it...lol Goodluck with the party bro, i wish my location was closer to California so i can attend.

ARE YOU PROUD TO BE NIGERIAN?

I've been on a facebook fast for a while. So it was by word of mouth I got to hear about the huge fb furor over the district 9 movie. The "iRep naija" crowd, as EDJ would call them, ran amok because of the portrayal of Nigerians in the film. Well, I guess it would not be a bad idea to explore a related issue.



Are you proud to be Nigerian?

If you are, Have you got reasons? (btw, if you have to think up your reasons then Houston we have a problem)



In my experience, you are likely to fall into one of four categories.

Category A: I am proud to be Nigerian. My reasons are emotional. It is my home and that's sufficient. My friends and family may be all over the world but they are green white green in spirit. The culture runs in my veins and for that reason I perceive expressions of my culture in movies, music and life as having superior value to anything foreign. Nigeria is not perfect but it is my home. That's the only reason I need to be proud of my country.

Category B: Abeg free my soul. I am not Nigerian. I am a world citizen. I am free spirited. Nigeria is an onyibo idea. Besides, it is symbolic of dysfunction, corruption and retrogression. How can I be proud of failure? I am not proud of 'that' country and I have even more contempt for those that have pride in Nigeria. When someone asks me where I'm from, I am more comfortable saying West Africa or Ghana.

Category C: I am proud of Nigeria because I am obligated to be proud of my country of origin. An undeserved devotion as far as Nigeria is concerned, but necessary all the same.

Category D: I am proud of naija parties. Have you seen the latest episode of 'Desperate house wives'?



Please Choose your category and feel free to carve your own niche.

Having stated your category, how is your kind expected to react to the District 9 issue? Do you think Nigerian pride is unconnected with the D9 wahala? Do you think freedom of expression should be limited to only that which is of good taste?



PS: For those that are living in a deep cave on the dark side of Europa, Jupiter's moon. District 9 was a movie about extraterrestrials getting stuck on earth. It was modeled as a metaphor for apartheid South Africa with the marginalized aliens playing a role equivalent to SA blacks. For those that were prone to miss the metaphor, the aliens happened to get stuck in SA.

PPS:The movie depicted Nigerians as cannibals, warlords and cool with extraterrestrial prostitution. And the baddest naija guy in the movie was named Obasanjo. te he he he.