Why are we Nigerians not vociferously proud of our nationality?
I suppose patriotism is not the sort of thing that excites a lot of us. In fact any talk of patriotism is likely to induce a yawn or suspicion about the motive of the person raising it.
But that is not the same as saying that Nigerians have no sense of pride.
To understand patriotism's uneasy place in Nigeria, you have to go back to 1914 when the Southern and Northern protectorates and Lagos Colony were brought together to form a single country.
But I am always proud as a Nigerian when at a gathering, everyone joins in rendering the national anthem without the aid of a recording. And when you go abroad you can always tell the Nigerian from other Africans judging by his self-confident, some would say cocky, way.
The biggest mistake a non-Nigerian can make is to try to criticise the country or to even innocently join the Nigerian pastime of self-condemnation. That is when you see that, in spite of all the negativity, Nigerians care for their country and still believe that one day its much talked about potential will be realised.
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