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| Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa |
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
for ever, 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 fifteen 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 unparalleled 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
indepedent 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 up 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.
- The first Independence Day speech by Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Prime Minister, 1960
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