Tafawa Balewa
hehehehe....... As
Nigeria marks its 57th Independence anniversary, we present to you the
very first Independence Day address presented by Tafawa Balewa, then
prime minister of the country, on October 1, 1960.
Today is Independence Day. The first of October 1960 is a date to
which for two years every Nigerian 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 15
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 unparallelled 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
labour 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 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
fail 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 have 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 Thank you for your
devoted service, which helped build 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 shared 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 of Kent 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.
-Tafawa Balewa, Nigeria’s first prime minister, delivered this speech on October 1, 1960
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