By Adadareporters
Chief Wole Olanikpekun, SAN, Friday, called for the renaming of Nigeria as the current appellation is ‘demeaning’.
The senior lawyer, who is the immediate past chairman of the Nigerian Body of Benchers, spoke at a colloquium in Abuja to mark the 25th anniversary of Chief Joe-Kyari Gadzama as a SAN.
In his paper entitled: ‘The Nigeria Of Our Dreams: A Call To The Patriots’, Olanikpekun said, “My position is that we should stop mocking ourselves by the retention of the name Nigeria, a hypocritical and demeaning appellation given to us by Lugard’s mistress.
“It is intriguing that, to date, we have not mustered sufficient courage to drop this denigrating appellation. Come to think of this, the French named their French colony Niger, who the British gave us the ridiculous appellation Nigeria.
“What is the difference between Niger as pronounced in French and Nigeria as pronounced in English? A citizen of Niger is called a Nigerien, while a citizen of Nigeria is called a Nigerian.
“Have we bothered to ask ourselves what the difference is between these names? It is a difference without a distinction, and the recent development in the Republic of Niger has brought to the fore this stark reality.
“As a person, I keep asking myself why I am described and addressed as a Nigerian, a name imposed on us/me by the imperial masters?
“Thus, the first takeaway from this colloquium is a challenge to all of us, to offload this appellation or nickname, and decide to give ourselves a name that is indigenous to us; that is arrived at through a consensus, and that evokes in us a strong sense of belonging and ownership because it will carry meaning that proclaims a destiny or actualization of a dream, worth being proud of.”
He also called on President Bola Tinubu to probe past administrations. In his words, “The president has to ask questions, and sordid questions indeed, about how we have come to this sorry pass. Why we are in a big mess? Why the economy is grounded? What has happened to the previous budgets and the trillions of naira allocated to road rehabilitation, healthcare delivery, security, infrastructural rehabilitation, institutional restoration?
“Why have our airports, particularly the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, which is our gateway to the outside world, plunged into such a shambolic state, constituting an eyesore to any rational human being- despite the billions of naira purportedly earmarked and expended towards rehabilitating them? Why our youths and professionals of all cadres, at their prime, exiting the country in droves (JAPA) in search of golden fleece which does/do not even exist in several instances?
“For example, it is now common knowledge that many Nigerians are left destitute without jobs, after travelling to the United Kingdom.
“The government must also interrogate a very profound question as to why the national currency, naira, has fallen so abysmally, almost from grace to grass, and virtually becoming valueless with N900 exchanging for just one USD.
“The present administration must examine and audit all books and records as well as past expenditures, whether real or otherwise.”
