Celebrating Nigeria's independence amidst all sorts of setbacks was really a joke in a serious situation. The national anthem with the line "the labour of our hero's past shall never be in vain..." Kept coming to my mind and I can't help but ask the question is it a prayer or a hopeful statement? Nigeria at 59 shows that we have misused the opportunities our forefathers fought to save us from the slavery of colonization. In 1960 there was high hopes and beautiful predictions that in 10years Nigeria will be a great nation because of the potentials and natural resources we are blessed with but years down the line Nigeria has become a nation full of uncertainties, failed dreams and an expectation of a great Nigeria is far from the reality.

Nigeria at 59 saddled with high insecurities, terrorism, kidnapping and killings in all the states, high records of crimes and to worsen it all Nigeria has been listed among the most dangerous place to live in. It's no longer news that the independence day formerly celebrated with high hopes and prayers was celebrated with little or no hope, less enthusiasm, and sighs.

Nigeria is the second African exporter of crude oil and yet people in the Niger Delta live in abject poverty, the African giant is reducing to a level where the nation's development and standard of living is in the worst state caused by weak management and corruption. Politics is now seen as a job to amass wealth no longer a service to the people, those in control continues to get richer while the poor get poorer. Nigeria is ranked 101st out of 125 countries in the global economic ranking and 159th out of 177 countries in the human development ranking.

There's no unity, love nor peace in the country, the people are fighting each other, ethnoreligious difference problems, our leaders have decided to work individually, finding faults in each other leading to abandoned or uncompleted projects. What is the cure to the cancer of corruption? What's do we do to have a healthy educational system? Inflation is on the rise and the currency is losing value. At 59, are we growing, yet to grow or falling apart? We are living in a dysfunctional environment where even the tiniest hope is lost in the darkness, the labor of our hero's past are laying in ruins. Do we celebrate or mourn Nigeria?