We Got Independence. But Are We Truly Free? A Young Nigerian's Honest Perspective.

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Greetings Steemit family! 👋
Today I want to talk about something that has been on my mind for a while now. Something that every young Nigerian thinks about but few say out loud.
Nigeria. Independence. Freedom.
And whether we actually have any of it.

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In 1960 Nigeria gained independence from British colonial rule. What those colonizers did to our people before that is something history cannot fully capture.
They oppressed Africans for generations. They stole our resources and paid us with mirrors and trinkets because our people had never seen such things before. They bought human beings for umbrellas and bicycles during the slave trade. They created laws and tax policies designed only to serve their own interests and break ours down completely.
For years we had no voice. No power. No freedom.
Until men like Nnamdi Azikiwe, Obafemi Awolowo and Ahmadu Bello stood up and refused to accept it anymore. They fought. They sacrificed. They gave everything so that Nigeria could stand on its own feet.
October 1st 1960. Independence Day.
The day Nigeria was supposed to become free.

I am 20 years old. I was born into this independent Nigeria. I have never experienced colonial rule.
And yet when I ask myself honestly whether I feel free the answer that comes back is complicated.
We may have been liberated from Britain. But we are still in bondage of ourselves.
THINK ABOUT IT
The same corruption that the colonialists practiced is now practiced by our own leaders. The same greed that made foreigners exploit Nigeria is now the behavior of Nigerians exploiting Nigerians.
Everybody just wants what is for their own pocket. And it is killing the country. If it has not already killed it.
We have taxes. But where do those taxes go? Not to better roads. Not to better hospitals. Not to better schools. Not to employment for young people like me who are graduating into a country that has no place for us.
*What exactly are we gaining from these policies?"

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The hardest thing to watch is what this environment has done to young Nigerians mentally.
When the system fails you long enough you stop believing in legitimate paths. You start looking for shortcuts. Get rich quick. Dubious operations. Scams. Fraud.
And the worst part is that some people have normalized it. Some will even say they are only taking back what the foreigners took from us. That thinking has become common here.
But I refuse to accept that.
Nigeria is a blessed country. Incredible natural resources. Fertile land perfect for agriculture. A young energetic population full of potential.
We have everything we need to build something great. The problem is not the country. The problem is what we have allowed greed and selfishness to do to our thinking.

If Azikiwe, Awolowo and Bello came back today and saw Nigeria I believe they would be deeply disappointed.
They went through pain, imprisonment and sacrifice to hand us a free nation. And we have spent 65 years mismanaging it.
Fuel prices through the roof in a country sitting on crude oil. Gas at ₦2,000 per kilogram. Inflation making life unbearable for ordinary people. Young graduates with no jobs. Children on the streets of Agbor surviving in ways no child should have to.
This is not what they died for.

Independence from Britain was necessary and important. Our founding fathers were heroes.
But real freedom is not just about who governs you. It is about whether the people in power serve the people or serve themselves.
And until Nigeria solves that problem honestly and completely we will keep celebrating October 1st with fireworks while millions of young Nigerians wake up wondering if this country has any future for them.
I am one of those young Nigerians.
And I am still waiting for the freedom that was promised.
What do you think?
Is Nigeria truly free or are we still in a different kind of bondage?
Drop your thoughts in the comments. I would love to hear perspectives from across the world.