By Nightengale Ben-Onyeukwu
On October 1st, 1960, Nigeria became independent. That is
66 years ago today. Before that day we were under the British, and on that day
we were told that from now on we will rule ourselves. To mark that new life we
needed a new flag, and the government then called for people to design it.
A 23 year old student named Michael Taiwo Akinkunmi was
in London at that time studying Electrical Engineering at Norwood Technical
College. He saw the advert in the library, he went to buy paper and crayons,
and he drew something simple. He drew three vertical lines, Green White Green,
and inside the white he put a red sun with rays. He sent it to Lagos from
London and out of over two thousand entries, his own was chosen as the winner.
The judges removed the red sun and left it as just Green White Green, and that
is the flag we have been using since 1960.
When they asked him what it meant, he said Green means
our forests, our agriculture, our natural wealth, the land that feeds us, and
White means peace and unity. That was his explanation in 1959 when he was just
23 years old.
Now it is 2026, 66 years later, and when we look at that
same Green White Green today, what do we really see?
We see Green, because the land is still there and it
still grows food. Nigeria is still one of the most fertile places in Africa, we
still have good rain and good sun and rivers, but the truth is that many
farmers cannot go to farm freely today because there are killings and
insecurity on the farmland. Many have lost their lives on the farm. Because of
that, many young people have left the village for the city because farming is
now hard and risky and expensive. Many of those who still farm are complaining
about fertilizer and transport cost, so we have green land all around us but
the food from that green land is still very expensive in the market.
We also see White, and White was supposed to be peace and
unity. In 1960 the dream was that all tribes would live together as one
Nigeria, and yes we are still one country after 66 years, we have not broken,
but the truth is that many people are not feeling that peace and unity in their
daily life. Many people are not sleeping with peace because money is not enough
and many people travel with fear and many are just worried about what tomorrow
will bring. We have seen too much blood in different parts of the country and
families are still crying. Unity too is not easy now, there is too much
suspicion and too much anger, many feel they are not carried along and many
feel they are shouting but nobody is hearing them.
Then we see the second Green again, and that Green was
supposed to mean hope and future, that Nigeria will grow and become better.
Many people are still hoping, that is why shops are still opening every morning
and that is why parents are still sending children to school and that is why
people still wake up by 4am to go and hustle. But many people are also tired of
hoping, they have been hoping since they were small children and now they are
grown adults and they are still hoping for the same basic things like light and
good road and good work.
So why do we still celebrate October 1st? This day is not
about government. Government will come and go. This day is about the promise
that was made to us in 1960. That we can rule ourselves and build our land with
our own hands. We have not kept that promise well, that is the truth, but the
promise itself has not expired.
Green White Green is still our flag. Since 1960 till now,
it has never changed. It is still there, waving.
So I will leave you with this: when you look at it today,
what do you really see? Do you still see wealth in the green? Do you still see
peace in the white? And that last green that was meant to be our future, do you
still see hope inside it?
Happy Independence Day.
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