Today is Independence
Day. The first of October 1960 is a date to which for two years, Nigeria
has been eagerly looking forward. At last, our great day has arrived,
and Nigeria is now indeed an independent Sovereign nation.
Words cannot adequately
express my joy and pride at being the Nigerian citizen privileged to
accept from Her Royal Highness these Constitutional Instruments which
are the symbols of Nigeria’s Independence. It is a unique privilege
which I shall remember forever, and it gives me strength and courage as I
dedicate my life to the service of our country. This
is a wonderful day, and it is all the more wonderful because we have
awaited it with increasing impatience, compelled to watch one country
after another overtaking us on the road when we had so nearly reached
our goal. But now, we have acquired our rightful status, and I feel sure
that history will show that the building of our nation proceeded at the
wisest pace: it has been thorough, and Nigeria now stands well-built
upon firm foundations.
Today’s ceremony marks the
culmination of a process which began fifteen years ago and has now
reached a happy and successful conclusion. It is with justifiable pride
that we claim the achievement of our Independence to be unparalleled in
the annals of history. Each step of our constitutional advance has been
purposefully and peacefully planned with full and open consultation, not
only between representatives of all the various interests in Nigeria
but in harmonious cooperation with the administering power which has
today relinquished its authority. At
the time when our constitutional development entered upon its final
phase, the emphasis was largely upon self-government: We, the elected
representatives of the people of Nigeria, concentrated on proving that
we were fully capable of managing our own affairs both internally and as
a nation. However, we were not to be allowed the selfish luxury of
focusing our interest on our own homes.
In these days of rapid
communications, we cannot live in isolation, apart from the rest of the
world, even if we wished to do so. All too soon it has become evident
that for us, independence implies a great deal more than
self-government. This great country, which has now emerged without
bitterness or bloodshed, finds that she must at once be ready to deal
with grave international issues. This
fact has of recent months been unhappily emphasised by the startling
events which have occurred in this continent. I shall not belabour the
point but it would be unrealistic not to draw attention first to the
awe-inspiring task confronting us at the very start of our nationhood.
When this day in October 1960 was chosen for our Independence, it seemed
that we were destined to move with quiet dignity to our place on the
world stage. Recent
events have changed the scene beyond recognition, so that we find
ourselves today being tested to the utmost. We are called upon
immediately to show that our claims to responsible government are
well-founded, and having been accepted as an independent state, we must
at once play an active part in maintaining the peace of the world and in
preserving civilisation.
I promise you, we shall not fall for want of determination. And
we come to this task better-equipped than many. For this, I pay tribute
to the manner in which successive British governments have gradually
transferred the burden of responsibility to our shoulders. The
assistance and unfailing encouragement which we received from each
Secretary of State for the Colonies and their intense personal interest
in our development has immeasurably lightened that burden. All
our friends in the Colonial Office must today be proud of their
handiwork and in the knowledge that they have helped to lay the
foundations of a lasting friendship between our two nations. I
have indeed every confidence that, based on the happy experience of a
successful partnership, our future relations with the United Kingdom
will be more cordial than ever, bound together, as we shall be in the
Commonwealth, by a common allegiance to Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth,
whom today we proudly acclaim as Queen of Nigeria and Head of the
Commonwealth. Time
will not permit the individual mention of all those friends, many of
them Nigerians, whose selfless labours have contributed to our
Independence. Some have not lived to see the fulfilment of their hopes –
on them be peace – but nevertheless they are remembered here, and the
names of buildings and streets and roads and bridges throughout the
country recall to our minds their achievements, some of them on a
national scale. Others confined, perhaps, to a small area in one Division, are more humble but of equal value in the sum-total.
Today, we have with us
representatives of those who have made Nigeria: Representatives of the
Regional Governments, of former Central Governments, of the Missionary
Societies, and of the Banking and Commercial enterprises, and members,
both past and present, of the Public Service. We welcome you, and we
rejoice that you have been able to come and share in our celebrations.
We wish that it could have been possible for all of those whom you
represent to be here today. Many,
I know, will be disappointed to be absent, but if they are listening to
me now, I say to them: ‘Thank you on behalf of my countrymen. Thank you
for your devoted service which helped to build up Nigeria into a
nation. Today, we are reaping the harvest which you sowed, and the
quality of the harvest is equalled only by our gratitude to you. May God
bless you all. This
is an occasion when our hearts are filled with conflicting emotions: we
are, indeed, proud to have achieved our independence, and proud that
our efforts should have contributed to this happy event. But do not
mistake our pride for arrogance. It is tempered by feelings of sincere
gratitude to all who have shored in the task of developing Nigeria
politically, socially and economically.
We are grateful to the
British officers whom we have known, first as masters, and then as
leaders, and finally as partners, but always as friends. And there have
been countless missionaries who have laboured unceasingly in the cause
of education and to whom we owe many of our medical services. We are
grateful also to those who have brought modern methods of banking and of
commerce, and new industries. I wish to pay tribute to all of these
people and to declare our everlasting admiration of their devotion to
duty. And
finally, I must express our gratitude to Her Royal Highness, the
Princess Alexandra for personally bringing to us these symbols of our
freedom and especially for delivering the gracious message from Her
Majesty, The Queen. And so, with the words ‘God Save Our Queen’, I open a
new chapter in the history of Nigeria and of the Commonwealth, and
indeed, of the world.
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