GREEN BLOOD IN MY VEINS.

I wrote an article for AFRICA, St Patrick's Missions Magazine sometime ago. The Sports article was on Fredi Kanoute, the Fench born captain of Mali's national football team. I started the piece with a quote which goes thus- '' You can take the boy out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the boy ''. Though Kanoute's parents went to France to seek greener pastures, and eventually gave birth to him there, Fredi knew that he was Malian by origin. I am sure racism in France must have contributed to his decision to don Malian colours after playing for the French junior teams. This is apart from the fact that he spent his holidays in Mali when he was young. I have since come to the conclusion that no matter where one goes to live, we can never deny our countries of origin. There is no place like home.

I have green blood in my veins. I'm proud to be Nigerian. I have this deep belief that Nigeria will attain her manifest destiny. Nigerians have been through a lot. They have suffered from the bad policies of military adventurers who found or blasted their way into the corridors of power. They have sometimes been under the siege of armed robbers who operative as if there is no Police Force in the land. Nigerians have also been denied the use of basic infrastructure which would have made life easier for them. Many leaders in the country have been visionless for a long time, and the citizens have been impoverished in a land with many resources. I make bold to say that Nigeria has all what it takes to become a rich and industrialized nation. Our leaders just need to start thinking deeply. The time has come for Nigeria to put the Western nations to shame. Since the western media delights in reporting negative news about Nigeria [ I know Nigeria has corrupt leaders and a small number of fraudulent citizens, but does that mean people in Europe and America are saints? ], I feel it is time our leaders start the reconstruction of the country.

I will be very happy when I live in a country with electricity 24 hours daily. I want to live in a country with smooth roads and a functional railway system. I want Nigerian universities to start competing with universities in the USA and Britain. I desire a country where food crops are processed into finished products. All our oranges, mangoes, pine apples, carrots, bananas, plantains etc etc can be used to produce all kinds of finished food products that can be exported to other parts of the world and also consumed locally. I have found out that many Nigerians in the diaspora are really concerned about the development of their country. There is a lot of discussion going on over the internet daily about what could be done to make Nigeria great again. I believe Nigeria needs her children who are abroad. The exposure gained by Nigerians abroad could prove very vital in the reconstruction of the country. Nigerians are really contributing to the development of other countries. They need to be invited back home by President Umaru Yar'Adua and given resources to build cottage industries and contribute to research in our universities. I have green blood running in my veins. I am a descendant of great men and women. I am proud to be an african, but I am also grateful to Britain in many ways. It is time to rebuild Nigeria. Please start thinking about the reconstruction of Nigeria today. God bless Nigeria. And how was your day?