Nigeria In Focus

SOME People find fault in the name Nigeria because they perceived that we were given the name by the whites, but that is not true. Some people would say its derived from Niger Area, but what is the meaning of Niger?
Example of the meaning of Niger can be said to be a Yoruba Lady bearing the name Wura which means “Gold”, upon coming in contact with the white the white ask what her name is and she says Wura, but a little inquiry by the white, about what Wura means revealed that it means gold. Instead of calling her Wura which is little difficult for him, he decided to call her gold. With time, she became popular with the name gold that her real name Wura was not known.
The Niger is called Jeliba or Joliba which means “great river” in manding, Orimiri or “Orimili” “great water” water” in Igbo, Egerew-Igerwen  “river of rivers” in Tuaregi, Isa Ber “big river” in Sanghay, Kwara in Hausa, and Oya in Yoruba. The origin of the name Niger, which originally applied only to the middle reaches of the river, is uncertain.
The likeliest possibility is an alteration, by influence of Latin Niger “black” of the Taureg name egerew n-igerewen, which is used along the middle reaches of the river around Timbuktu. As Timbuktu was the southern end of the principal Trans –Sahara trade route to the Western mediterranean, it was the source of most European knowledge of the region.
Medieval European maps applied the name Niger to the middle reaches of the river, in modern mall, but Quorro (Kworra), to the lower reaches in modern Nigerian, as these were not recognized as being the same river. When European colonial powers began to send ships along the west coast of Africa in the 16th and 17th centuries, the Senegal river was often postulated to be seaward end of the Niger. The Niger Delta, pouring into the Atlantic through mangrove swamps and thousands of distributaries along more than a hundred miles, was thought to be no more than coastal wetlands. It was only with the 18th century visits of Mungo part, who traveled down the Niger River and visited the great sahelian empires of his day, but Europeans correctly identified the course of the Niger and extending the name to its entire course.
The modern nations of Nigeria and Niger take their names it from the river, making contesting national claims by colonial powers of the “upper” “lower” and “middle” Niger River basin during the seramble for Africa at the end of the 19th century. In the entirety, the name Niger can simply be said to mean, the great black river.
The British colonialisation and our eventual emergence as a nation is a design by the creator. According to the Quronic teaching some actions may be carried out by your oppressor for their benefit, event if it hurts you, they would not care provided it is to their benefit, but God made it possible because it’s a design to comfort you at the end, when it manifests, you would then realize it is indeed a blessing.
To relate this to our situation, ladies and gentlemen, I would like us to reason historically, the fruits man eats grows naturally. Man eats the fruit and dumps the seeds. After sometimes, environment is seen as unbefitting, it litters the surrounding. Man then decided to hide the seed in a places were it would be hidden. It is in the quest of comforting man that the idea of burying the seed under the ground emerges. Man didn’t bury the seed because he wanted it to grow and produce more fruits, he did to suit himself at the expense of destroying and killing the seed. But after some while, the same seed buried to rot, rose from the ground and brought out fresh flowers and with time, produces more beautiful fruits.
The buried seed is Nigeria which was buried to hide its glory. It was buried for the comfort of its oppressors but not the master can prevent it from regerminating and producing beautiful offspring’s.
Nigeria is like a seed crop, not one seed can germinate from the ground, two or more seeds is to be sowed to germinate and grow abundant harvest, our oppressors were used by God to sow the upcoming great nation, comprising the Yoruba, Hauas’s, Igbo, Ijaw, Idoma’s Nupe’s, and so on. Before these seeds were made into a nation, they have stood individually comfortable, but after being sowed together to grow, none can stand alone ever again. If any part is removed after it has been buried, the whole of the seed would be destroyed. Until we realized this, we shall continue to struggle.
If the seed burial is not allowed to germinate for the betterment of all, it would be destroyed for the benefit of none. The present day Nigeria had witnessed so many clisruptions and distractions from the indigenes of Nigeria who wouldn’t want any better seeds to germinate. Nigeria is like a seed planted by the River side, and it is suppose to grow and produce fruits all round the year. But because of the thorns around the seed, it has made speed growth very slow while sometimes impossible.
Throughout the centuries, Nigeria has staggered through different stages of improvement and development. Though these development had not been smooth as it is supposed to be. One thing or the other, has always stands as barriess and impediment to cultural, political, religious development.
Among all, one has thrived and at to same time caused problems and several challenges to the oneness and development of the country. It was this year, 2014 Nigeria marked 100years of amalgamation, that is bringing the southern protectorate and the Northern protectorate together to form Nigeria. This process was not quite easy and smooth but saw good light at the end of the day. The light is what is still on till this moment, though many darkness had shown face and the light is still burning bright and shine.
The political turmoils that had ravaged Nigeria has reduced the integrity and pride of the great Nation.
Nigeria has survived political riots and wars, she has witnessed military insurgency and battering. She had been fortuned by her children who she single handle ding born and nurtured. She has turned to a home without peace and love. Her children preached about her often but none loves her progress and smiles.
But the moment she purge away her dirts and  remnants, she will be clean from political rebellion, religions intolerance, bribery and corruption, terrorism, cultural imperialism. Her seed look fine and sweet but to climb her free is hard and sour.