Editorial Suite
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THE much awaited 2014 is here with us. It is a year of great expectation. It is also a year starting with the celebration of the unification of the different regions of the country. It all started in 1914, when the mistress of Governor-general Fredrick Lugard coined the name Nigeria. The journey started without much hitch until the struggle for independence of the country. Prior to independence, Britain, the colonial master, sowed the seed of future discord in the country when it introduced everything ugly into the body politic of the country – the rigging culture. The election that ushered in the independence was rigged just as the census figures were also rigged. It was not so obvious when they all took place. But down the line, history has been unravelled and people who were involved in the whole saga spoke out. And the hitherto hidden agenda became an open secret. But Nigeria has wobbled and fumbled since then. The country has moved on, flip-flopping all the way in all the spheres of life. It has not really recovered from the rude shocks that it got before and after the independence. It all led to resentment, disaffection and suspicion among all the ethnic nationalities, with the minorities fearing that the majority want to dominate and dictate the affairs of the country. Hundred years down the line, the seed of discord has germinated, grown and is entrenched threatening to swallow a country that has once been through a civil war and is now witnessing internal insurrection in the North.
This notwithstanding, Nigeria and Nigerians will surely roll out the drums to mark its 100 years anniversary this new year, with pump and pageantry. It is worthy of celebration because most of the people who will mark this centenary will certainly not live to see another 100 years. That is, if Nigeria remains one beyond the 2015 when it has been predicted that the country will disintegrate. Until that happens, it is better to look on the better side of the things that the New Year would bring. It is a year with the magic wand, when the unimaginable is expected to happen in the political and socio-economic spheres of the country. There is no doubt that there will be a lot of politicking this year with the election year 2015 by the corner and two governorship elections to be held in Osun and Ekiti States. This will, undoubtably, heat up the nation as politicians jostle to outsmart each another. With a bird’s eye view of what happened in Anambra State governorship election, politicians in the two western states must surely shine their eyes as Nigerians would say, and monitor every antics the election umpire is bound to spring on them.
Politics apart, 2014 is still a year of great expectation because the newly privatised power sector will be stablising its operations and Nigerians, expect to have better stable power supply. The manufacturing sector will not have much woe to count because inadequate power supply, majorly its problem, is expected to be a thing of the past in 2014. Expectedly, those who usually indulge in the ritual of New Year resolution are busy doing so. At Realnews, we have also resolved to serve you better. And what a better way to start the year than to give you a special package on the centenary to enable you know how far we have come since 1914 in major areas – politics, military rule which dominated much of our journey after independence, economy, and how our culture has emerged during this period. The segmented cover story for this week is entitled: Nigeria: 100 Years of Delinquency. It is a must read. Also in this issue, we have kept to our tradition of chronicling the events of the past year just to keep you abreast of the major things that happened in our polity and the world in general. You must not miss it. Enjoy every bit of the special issue.
Maureen Chigbo
Editor
Email: mechigbo@yahoo.com mechigbo@realnewsmagazine.net
— Jan. 6, 2014 @ 01:00 GMT
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