I pledge to Nigeria...

I pledge to Nigeria my country,

To be faithful, loyal and honest,

To serve Nigeria with all my strength,

To defend her unity,

And uphold her honor and glory.

So help me God.

Almost everyone who grew up in post-independence Nigeria can remember saying this pledge every morning at school. Morning assembly was not complete until pupils said the pledge. Looking back, I think we should have taken it more seriously than just being for primary school pupils.

What really does a pledge mean? It is a solemn vow that one promises to keep and fulfill. It is a pledge to …Nigeria my country. Meaning that, the nation Nigeria is supposed to be personalized by every citizen. You can`t ever take anything about Nigeria too personal because it is ‘your Nigeria and my Nigeria. Do you ever think that you have a personal stake in Nigeria? You sure do. See Nigeria as your personal possession.

You and I pledged to be faithful, loyal and honest. If you really consider it, it is such a lofty vow that we all made to Nigeria, howbeit unconsciously. Faithfulness is simply a measure of how dependable a person is, especially when things are bad. Being faithful to Nigeria means you can still be trusted to do what is right, even when it is not convenient to do so.

A wise man once said, “depending on an unfaithful friend in times of crisis is like chewing with a broken tooth or walking with a crippled foot”. Simply, an unfaithful person is a source of handicap rather than an asset. Can Nigeria have faith in you to do things right? We seem to have had a difficult time understanding the concept of “the rule of law”. This is so because we have not learnt to always do things right, no matter the situation and circumstance. Simply, faithfulness is the reason why a married man will not take a very good opportunity to have a fling with a colleague when they both travel abroad on an official trip. At least, they are both far away from home and no one will know. He does not take such opportunity because being far away from where anyone will know still does not make it right. We seem to have come to perceive being right as relative, but I am sorry to say, it is rather absolute.

Our perception of right and wrong seem to have been dulled by several years of not finding any benchmark about right and wrong to which we can refer to as a nation. What seems to define right from wrong is that whatever benefits you is right and whatever does not benefit you is not right. This faulty perception is clearly against the vow we took in the primary school to be faithful, loyal and honest to Nigeria.

Anyway, notwithstanding how bad things may seem for us as a country, I see hope (not referring to the book written by a former head of state). I see hope in a new crop of Nigerians. Men and women who are renewing the pledge they took in primary school. Men and women who live by the values that will eventually create a new Nigeria. These men and women are the prime citizens of a new Nigeria. I belong to this elite group. Do you want to know more about us? Spare a few minutes and visit newnigeriaclub.net/authentic You will be glad you did.