00:00Nigeria is marking 65 years of independence, and as always, this anniversary stares mixed feelings of pride, nostalgia, and a fair share of questions.
00:22Garden TV took to the street of Lagos to hear Nigerians reflect on the journey so far and share their hopes for a better future.
00:32One thing that shocked me in Nigeria is that since we gained independence, we've enjoyed free education.
00:40But now, there is no free education in Nigeria.
00:43The high of school fees is very stubborn. So, parents are now paying a lot of school fees before they can get their children to school.
00:54So, that is what is lacking in Nigeria now since we have gotten independent.
01:00So, there is no free education. Like me now, I'm a product of free education.
01:06During the time of our World War, Zikwe, we are enjoying free education from primary school to secondary school.
01:15God will help us to change the leadership. If the leadership can have us in their mind, then things will go normal.
01:20Nigerian leaders, yes, Nigerian leaders don't have masses in mind, but it's only their own self alone, selfish interests.
01:28And that's why we are still battling until up to today.
01:31If you say that they have our interests, Nigeria will move forward.
01:35Our government, we don't really have good governance. The government is shaky. Sometimes it will seem good and later, it's not good.
02:00As of now, everything is just not how it's meant to be.
02:04And Nigeria is a great country with different natural resources.
02:09So, I expect us to have better governance and everyone in Nigeria is meant to live a good life.
02:18In Nigeria, we hail our own dear native land. Through tribal tongue made in brotherhood we stand. And that's all I need.
02:33Well, I feel like a whole lot has been going on presently, especially on Twitter.
02:40So, tribalism number one and bigotry. It's quite embarrassing to be honest. We should have moved beyond that.
02:48And I feel like that's, that's like taking one step forward and 50 steps backward. It's quite embarrassing to be honest.
02:55We as a country and nation, we should be thinking beyond that. We should think everybody is a Nigerian first.
03:04Before you think, oh, this person is Yoruba, this person is Igbo, this person is Aousa.
03:09This person is a Nigerian first. And that's all that should matter. But at the moment, unfortunately, that's not it. And it's quite embarrassing to be honest.
03:18One thing I would love the country, my country, Nigeria, to be able to do differently now is the issue of political violence and then election violence.
03:29It's quite embarrassing that anytime there's elections, or there are elections rather, we tend to have some sort of election violence.
03:40And it keeps repeating itself in every election cycle. And it's quite embarrassing. So I feel like it's a thing we should, we should change.
03:49There's a whole lot we need to change. There's a whole lot. But I feel like that should be number one.
03:54Because, you know, um, whatever comes in through our elections determines the, the kind of progress or regress the country faces.
04:04So that should be number one, actually. No, I don't feel like our political leaders have the interest of the people at arts.
04:14A whole lot of policies that has been going on that affects, that has been affecting with the citizens negatively, not even positively.
04:24I don't want to go on camera and say one or two things about our current leadership before something will happen.
04:30So let me just keep mute on that. But there are a whole lot of policies that our leaders come up with.
04:35They tend to affect with the, the normal citizens negatively. So there's that.
04:43No, I cannot sing the first stanza of the new national anthem. I'm sorry. Here we go. Drum rolling.
04:50Arise, O compatriot, Nigeria's Colobe. To serve our father's land with love and strength and faith.
05:05The labor of Hawaii, Rospa shall never be in vain. To serve with heart and might. One nation bound in freedom, peace and unity.
05:21One thing that surprised me is the spirit of entrepreneurship in the country. Well, I mean, the spirit of entrepreneur, the way business is going these days, because I'm an entrepreneur, actually, and far back.
05:34And it's not just going to school. At least now, if you go to school, now you can do your business even right in school. And I've always had this.
05:42And I love nine to five, eight to five job. But these days, you see, before you graduate, a lot of us have our business already. So I think that's one thing for me that I really like.
05:53One thing I would want, I think, security. Security, because, you know, I usually go out late to do some delivery. And if there's security, there's no time I can't go out.
06:05But I think that's for me. Security is just one thing if they can. Because I can't go outside Lagos. Like, I have forbear for leaving Lagos. If it has to be, I want to leave, I have to be scared. So I just feel security for me.
06:17I think one thing that I would want to see in Nigeria that would surprise me is, I think, security. Security for me. Because I think once security is there, I think everybody can do their business. You can go out, come in at any time. So security for me is okay.
06:32As a young Nigerian, one thing that still surprises me is the fact that the country is not improving. For me, they are not making any improvements. At least when a country keeps growing, they are aging. And the fact that you are aging and there's no improvement, things still remain the way they are right from time, right from when I was growing up.
06:54This saying that, don't worry, go better, I go better. And like, there's no changes. Instead, it's getting worse. That's just for me. They are not changing. Even though every four, four years, we change government, we change presidents, we do this, we do that. And nothing still changes.
07:09So even if they are voting, I just feel like people should go and vote. They will do their own later. That's just the fact. And that's to me. And I feel like that's exactly how it works.
07:17If there is one thing I can change in Nigeria, I would have said the rulers, the people that rule the country should be changed. But first of all, before you change people that rule, the people in the country themselves, are they ready to change?
07:33Are they ready to change? And there's this particular thing about Nigerians that no matter what the government or the president or whatever does, they flow easily with it.
07:46They can just tell you, no matter what, if things cost, God will help us, we'll be able to afford it. And trust me, anything, they can fit into anything.
07:56And that's the reason why the government see us like, don't worry, whatever I do, I know my people, they can fit into anything.
08:03And first of all, if anything should be changed, first of all, the people of Nigeria and their mindsets are meant to be changed firstly.
08:10And when their mindsets are being able to change, they can be able to understand the government that, okay, whatever the government is doing, when we don't want to flow with it, I think the government is going to improve.
08:23It is because the government understands that whatever they do, they can flow. So he does whatever he wants to do. And that is for me.
08:3065 years down the line, the Voices of Nigerians reminds us that independence is more than just a date. It's about reflection, humor, and above all, hope for a better future.
08:4565 years down the line...
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