I wonder
(and I have a right to wonder)
(by all means a more viable alternative to the Alhaji)
is saying about the 66th birthday anniversary
of his Nigeria….
Axiomatic:
They say that
With the 2026 Nigerian Independence Celebrations in Stockholm
as a given
we can well imagine
what the scene
must have been
in places like Lagos,
Abuja, Kano and Kaduna
whilst Alhaji Atiku (Mr Miserable)
only had this kind of song to croak :
Buddy Miles : That's The way life is - from his epic album A Message to the People
Some people may be wondering about the very close affinity
that some people have with Nigeria and Nigerians 👍
The historic ties that bind Sierra Leone with Nigeria
It’s sometimes difficult with these phonetic transcriptions,
often depending on how you hear and what you hear or
think that you hear or heard, but as far as I can remember,
The Saro people used to break into joyous chants - especially
at weddings - when the yawo (the Krio word for bride) appeared
“ ibi ibi, huree !” (hip hip Hip hurray !) followed by the women guests,
mostly clad in their ashobi, hooting and throwing rice in the air
with raucous shouts of “God-mammy haybi (heavy) so ! ”
Coming to think of it ( those good old days) and speaking
about “God-mammy” and “God-Mammies”, just as the
contentious idea that Chinua Achebe is the
“ Father of African Literature “ inevitably
promotes questions and curiosity as to - no bastard -
even in another language - verily, who then is the Mother,
grandmother and grandfather of that indisputable genre
known as “African “ Literature - so too I suppose that
in the current Nigerian national context, and this is
entirely a personal Diaspora perspective, that in terms
of age, seniority and accomplishments, with all due respect,
Elder Statesman Bola Ahmed Tinubu may be properly regarded
as a “Father of the Nation”, even if the likes of wannabe arch-enemy
Alhaji Atiku ,perhaps as what deep psychology labels “ projection”
would love to cast JAGABAN as having traits in common with the main
protagonist in Mario Puzo’s novel ”The Godfather”
After all, “Father of the nation” is not such a nebulous idea:
Blyden Jenkins-Johnston, my erstwhile classmate (1963-1969)
wrote a letter to the then president of Sierra Leone, the late
Ahmad Tejan Kabbah in which he appalled to him as some kind of
“father of the nation” - of course not in that more exalted sense
in which the Israelis et al chant “Avinu Malkeinu”
With the matter at hand, I’m quoting verbatim from this document 👍
A transcript of President Tinubu's Independence Message 2026
On the whole, my impression, what I garner from President Tinubu's address
is that the farmers - those who sow and reap , are probably the happiest people
in Nigeria and it’s kudos to Agriculture in Nigeria
I for one ( ignoramus) am anxiously awaiting John Onyeukwu’s analysis and commentary on the economic aspects of President Tinubu’s celebratory ( and self-congratulatory) address to the nation, just as I’m awaiting some elucidation on the rationale for Dangote’s oil refinery project in Kenya, a country that does not produce oil…
“ Three and a half years later, the evidence that Nigeria’s economic outlook has improved is undeniable. Our economy has grown by over 4 per cent this year. Both oil and non-oil sectors have contributed to the renewed period of stable growth.
Oil theft is down. Inflation has fallen substantially from its peak. Our foreign reserves have been rebuilt, our foreign exchange market has stabilised, and in 2025 this country recorded its highest revenue from non-oil exports in its history, exceeding $6 billion. This is real money being made by real Nigerian businesses.
These are not idle claims. International observers, journalists, NGOs and multilateral institutions can see the change. Each has concluded that our reforms have strengthened Nigeria’s economic stability and resilience. The private sector has long since delivered its verdict, and foreign direct investment continues to rise each year.”
It’s noteworthy that not once does Mr. President mention that terrible word corruption , pernicious corruption
On Friday, 2 October 2026 at 20:23:36 UTC+2 Cornelius Hamelberg wrote:
This day in history : 1st September, 1939 ,
No year in particular, in mind :
so begins a song by The Temptations
Yesterday, it was the 1st of October
the birthday of the sleeping giant
and as the Saro people in Salone used to chant
It was always
a day that all of the elders remember
as Nigeria’s 66th Independence birthday
Normally, i.e., if you are normal
or a normal Nigerian for that matter,
you would think that the 1st of October
would be more than enough cause for celebration -
just as for Donald J Trump
& his Americanos
is a day
of great
joy
a day of
national pride
human rights
equality
and dignity
in Trump’s USA,
it’s The Star-Spangled Banner,
trumpets,
fireworks,
gunpowder
military parades.
Power?
Ditto China at the Red Square
Ditto La France on my birthday, the 14th of July
And Nigeria?
Where is all the celebratory music?
I was expecting an avalanche
of happy anniversary greetings
to inundate the USA-Africa Dialogue Series
As half-explanation, I can only proffer
not so long ago old man blues
got the better of a very grumpy
Brer Chinua Achebe
the alleged
“father of African Literature"
calling into question ,
who the heck is the mother
got him ventilating about
Oh yes, the times have changed, but the song,
one happy independence anniversary pep talk after the other,
it happens every year one pep talks after the other,
let us thank Almighty God O
“just see how far we have come”,
forward-looking pep talks laden
with the obligatory state of the art hyperbolic rhetoric
the years roll by, the years roll on, but the song, the song
remains the same, ups and downs, this government goes in
that government goes out or is booted out, things do change
but so much remains the same
Yesterday, as I listened to Jagaban ,
I found myself mostly agreeing with him
occasionally talking back at him
(at some point I told him point blank,
I told him that he was poor at giving
concrete figures, about the glorious progress
and I couldn’t help thinking that Johnny Onyeukwu
will soon put it to him straight or respectfully
(respect for elders) diplomatically/ obliquely
take him to task for the missing figures,
the figures that he does not give
in his independence anniversary poetry
And Atiku of all people had the gumption
to criticize
Perhaps mollified by Pa Obasanjo listening to Rabbi Mizrachi
expatiating on “The one sin that Hashem would never agree to forgive”
On the up and upside I was still humming
"Your mama's working
Your mama's moaning
She's crying you know
She's trying you know
You better go now."
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