[caption id="attachment_32327" align="alignnone" width="600"] 55 years ago, this flag was hoisted as the National Flag[/caption] Nigerians on Wednesday reflected on the country’s 55th independence anniversary, with many urging the Muhammadu Buhari administration to promptly evolve policies to drive growth and development. A veteran politician and APC Chairman in Oyo State, Chief Akin Oke, told the News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) in Ibadan that the country was still crawling after 55 years of independence. Oke, who said the country had failed in sectoral development, however, expressed optimism that it was still possible to drive development with focused leadership and committed citizenry. He said the task of nation building was a collective project of all Nigerians, urging the administration to rally the nation’s human and material resources to promote good governance and development. In Akure, Chief Reuben Fasoroti, an Afenifere chieftain, advised the Federal Government to brainstorm on ways to lift the spirit of the people. He told NAN that there was nothing to rejoice about as Nigeria was still far from attaining the vision of its founding fathers. He said there had been no significant improvement in the economy of the country since the attainment of independence. Fasoroti said that corruption was still rampant while unemployment was also on the increase. `` Workers are not getting their pay regularly while strikes are going on here and there. "The leaders are not looking for solutions to the problems, workers are also not working, but are asking for their pay," he said. Fasoroti urged leaders to have a rethink instead of celebrating a nation with low productivity. Mr Mike Adeyeye, former Chairman of Ondo State Sports Council, said Nigeria needed a long term plan to be used in developing the country. "All the developed countries have development plans that are still on for the next 100 years, so any government that comes into power follows it. "The development plan is there, no matter the party that wins election. I think we have to go back to the drawing board, several administrations, different plans would not move us forward,’’ he said. In Ado-Ekiti, however, respondents were unanimous that there was cause for cheer after 55 years of independence. While some blamed inept leadership for the nation’s current challenges, others hinged the development on bad followership. A former presidential candidate of the Africa Peoples Alliance and one-time deputy governor of old Ondo State, Alhaji Musa Ayeni, said the country was wrong to toe the path of mono-economy. Ayeni, a former university lecturer, described agriculture as a veritable source of employment for jobless youths as well as steady source of revenue for all levels of government if well tapped. Speaking in the same vein, the senator representing Ekiti South Senatorial District, Mrs Abiodun Olujimi, called for the strengthening of employment generating agencies such as he National Directorate of Employment. Also speaking, the Chairman of Ekiti State Universal Education Board, Sen. Bode Ola, asked current leaders in the country to promote technical and vocational education. The Chairman of the State Council of Traditional Rulers, Oba Adedapo Oyebode, urged government to address the nation’s security challenges. An elder statesman and Chairman of the Committee for the Creation of Ekiti State in 1996, Chief Deji Fasuan, urged government to promote the spirit of self reliance. The Bishop of Ekiti Diocese of the Catholic Church, Most Rev. Felix Ajakaiye, urged Nigerians to move closer to God and seek divine intervention over the various challenges confronting the nation. Prof. Christopher Oluwadare, who teaches Sociology at the Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, blamed underdevelopment in Nigeria on low industrial growth. "It is wrong to say we are developing simply because a few privileged Nigerians do engage in buying and selling of goods produced in foreign countries. "It is time for us to channel our nation toward attaining complete economic independence. "What I mean by this is that an average Nigerian must have the industrial base and little technology to produce basic consumer goods such as biscuits, chewing gums, sweets and soft drinks rather than being sellers for producers from other countries,’’ he said. [caption id="attachment_32157" align="alignnone" width="660"] Okurounmu[/caption] In Abeokuta, Sen. Femi Okurounmu called on the Federal Government to diversify the nation’s economy. `` The price of oil has gone down now to almost 50 dollars per barrel; we need to diversify our economy. Agriculture is an area where we have to diversify to, there is no single reason why we should import any food. "We have enough to produce for domestic consumption and also for export; importing rice to Nigeria is a shame, we don't have to import any food, agriculture is an area Nigerian government should focus on," he said. Okurounmu, who was senator from 1999 to 2003, said that the manufacturing sector should also be revived, adding that a lot of the manufacturers in Nigeria were just importers. " The country has to depend more on local manufacturing and this will give people work to do; If we can revive the manufacturing industry it will generate employment but when everybody depends on imported items there will be unemployment. "Government should ban the importation of anything they believe we can make in Nigeria and they should give incentives to those who are ready to manufacture locally," he said. According to Okurounmu, the country has nothing to celebrate on Independence Day, saying that the nation had lost its sense of value and place in the comity of nations. He argued that October 1 is "just another public holiday to stay at home and rest.’’ "Most people don't see what we have achieved to be worth celebrating. If you are a parent of one of the Chibok girls, what will you be celebrating; if you are from the North East Zone where people die everyday; what will you be celebrating? "The sense of insecurity is all over the place, so we expect a progressive and dynamic government that has a programme which it would pursue diligently from day to day,’’ he added. Rev. Timothy Ajibola, the Chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Ogun Chapter, said Nigeria had not achieved much after 55 years of attaining independence. "Nigeria is yet to get to where it is supposed to be, we are still crawling and it is so shameful to see that a 55-year-old child is still crawling, we still need to go further to begin to walk, if possible running. "On how far Nigeria has gone for 55 years , it is zero, the Nigeria we are today, our economy is becoming worse day by day, our hopes had been dashed by our appointed leaders, " he said He noted that the way forward for Nigeria was for leaders to shun sectionalism, saying that it remained one of the major problems the country was facing. "If we look at government, churches or any organisation today, we see signs of tribalism in choosing leaders for key positions. "A Yoruba, Igbo or Hausa man would rather want to support his brother knowing fully well he is not capable of holding the position. At the end they would get into power and mess up," he said In Osogbo, respondents called on Nigerians to give support to the Federal Government in its task of revamping the economy.. Mr Kunle Oyatomi, the Publicity Secretary of the APC in Osun, said the government required the support of the people in the anti-corruption war. Oyatomi said the present administration was committed to the fight against corruption in the country. "The Independence Day celebration should focus on the achievements of our past heroes since 1960 while Nigerians must join hands together as true compatriots to make the country great. "Nigerians must support Buhari in his anti graft war in order to make the nation retain its lost glory. "I and you need to support the war against corruption which has retarded our socio-economic and cultural growth. "This is the only way our great nation can regain its lost glory and I know that President Buhari is getting it right step by step," Oyatomi said. A Senior Lecturer in the Department of Political Science, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Dr Jide Pintan, said Nigeria needed total reformation. Pintan argued that the age-long military incursion into politics had destroyed viable democratic institutions that are supportive to democratic tenets. `` Urgent efforts must be set in motion to resuscitate democratic institutions to deepen the values of democracy as the country grows older. "From my standpoint, 55 as the age of Nigeria is just a mere arithmetical computation, it does not reflect on the socio-economic and political life of the Nigerian nation-state. "As Nigeria clocks 55, it is incumbent on the present administration to start building robust institutions like anti-graft agencies, quasi-judicial agencies and independent judiciary," he said. An expert in International Relations and Comparative Politics at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Dr Rasaq Sipeolu, advocated for all-inclusive fiscal policy to speed up economic growth. According to him, " all-inclusive fiscal policies will drive the nation's economy to success with sound political will for implementation." Also speaking, the Dean of Faculty of Social Sciences, Fountain University, Osogbo, Dr Goke Sopade, said the political class should begin to think in the direction of a new political order. Sopade lamented that numerous potentials of the country had not been explored optimally. The university teacher, however, congratulated Nigerians and Nigeria on the occasion of 55 years of nationhood and prayed for good leadership that would take the country to greater heights. On his part, Alhaji Lasis Bakare, the Deputy National Secretary of Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM), said Nigerian leaders must be willing to make sacrifices to move the nation forward. Mr Wakeel Amuda, the Chairman of Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) in Osun said the Independence Day was worth celebrating, even if in low key manner.