HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY NIGERIA ! Joyeuse fête d’indépendance à toute la communauté nigériane !

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY NIGERIA! Joyeuse fête d’indépendance à toute la communauté nigériane dans le monde entier ! Nigerian National Anthem - "Arise, Oh Compatriots" National Anthem of Nigeria (1960-1978) National anthem of Nigeria. Hymne national du Nigeria "Arise, O Compatriots" is the national anthem of Nigeria. It was adopted in 1978, and replaced the previous anthem, Nigeria, We Hail Thee.[1] The lyrics are a combination of words and phrases taken from five of the best entries in a national contest. The words were put to music by the Nigerian Police Band under the directorship of Benedict E. Odiase. "Arise, O Compatriots" (1978–present) Stanza 1: Arise, O compatriots, Nigeria's call obey To serve our Fatherland With love and strength and faith. The labor of our heroes past Shall never be in vain, To serve with heart and might One nation bound in freedom, peace and unity. Stanza 2: O God of creation Direct our noble cause Guide our leaders’ right Help our youth the truth to know In love and honesty to grow And living just and true Great lofty heights attain To build a nation where peace And justice shall reign. "Nigeria, We Hail Thee" (1960-1978) Nigeria, we hail thee, Our own dear native land, Though tribe and tongue may differ, In brotherhood we stand, Nigerians all are proud to serve Our sovereign Motherland. Our flag shall be a symbol That truth and justice reign, In peace or battle honour'd, And this we count as gain, To hand on to our children A banner without stain. O God of all creation, Grant this our one request, Help us to build a nation Where no man is oppressed, And so with peace and plenty Nigeria may be blessed. Nigeria's National Pledge The National Pledge of Nigeria is recited immediately after the Anthem 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. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arise,_O_Compatriots Visit Nigeria

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie : Novelist

http://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story.html Inspired by Nigerian history and tragedies all but forgotten by recent generations of westerners, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s novels and stories are jewels in the crown of diasporan literature. In Nigeria, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's novel Half of a Yellow Sun has helped inspire new, cross-generational communication about the Biafran war. In this and in her other works, she seeks to instill dignity into the finest details of each character, whether poor, middle class or rich, exposing along the way the deep scars of colonialism in the African landscape. Adichie's newest book, The Thing Around Your Neck, is a brilliant collection of stories about Nigerians struggling to cope with a corrupted context in their home country, and about the Nigerian immigrant experience. Adichie builds on the literary tradition of Igbo literary giant Chinua Achebe—and when she found out that Achebe liked Half of a Yellow Sun, she says she cried for a whole day. What he said about her rings true: “We do not usually associate wisdom with beginners, but here is a new writer endowed with the gift of ancient storytellers.” http://www.halfofayellowsun.com/ http://www.ted.com/speakers/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie.html ************************* As the first female Finance Minister in Nigeria, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala attacked corruption to make the country more desirable for foreign investment and job creation. Now as a director of the World Bank and head of the Makeda Fund, she works for change in all of Africa. ******************************** Journalist Andrew Mwenda has spent his career fighting for free speech and economic empowerment throughout Africa. He argues that aid makes objects of the poor -- they become passive recipients of charity rather than active participants in their own economic betterment. ******************************* http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/fr/chris_abani_on_the_stories_of_africa.html

NIGERIA @ 51

Dear friend,
This is your year of Divine Compensation & Unrivalled Lifting.
I wish you a most fulfilling independence weekend in Jesus Name, Amen.
Do pray for Nigeria as she turns 51. Let God continue to uphold our nation now and always in Jesus Name, Amen.
Join us online as we pray for the nation : http://www.mountainoffire.org/home/index.htm

Long live Nigeria!

Happy Independence day Nigeria!

Grace Obaigbona
http://graceobaigbona.blogspot.com/
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May heaven smile upon you and may God bless your day light as never before.

Psalm 118:24
This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

THE CRY OF A PROPHET - ARCHBISHOP BENSON IDAHOSA

Goodluck Jonathan sworn in as president 6th MAY 2010.
Nigeria's acting President Goodluck Jonathan has been sworn in as head of state following the death of President Umaru Yar'Adua after a long illness.
The ceremony took place in the presidential villa in Abuja





Mr Jonathan, in charge since February, will appoint a deputy and serve out the rest of the current presidential term until elections due next year.

Mr Yar'Adua died late on Wednesday in the capital Abuja. TV broadcasts were interrupted with the news.

Seven days of national mourning have been announced.

Mr Jonathan took the oath of office in front of government ministers and other officials at the presidential villa in Abuja almost 12 hours after Mr Yar'Adua died. The ceremony was performed by Chief Justice of Nigeria Alloysius Katsina-Alu.

Mr Yar'Adua, who was 58, will be buried in a Muslim ceremony later on Thursday in his northern home state of Katsina, officials said.

US President Barack Obama has led tributes from world leaders, praising Mr Yar'Adua's profound personal decency and integrity" and his "passionate belief in the vast potential and bright future of Nigeria's 150 million people".

Mr Yar'Adua had been absent from the political scene since November, when he went to a hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for several months.

During that time he was not heard from, apart from a BBC interview. He returned to Nigeria in February but remained too sick to govern.