We are Nigeria.

Arise,O compatriots,

Nigeria's call obey,

To serve our fatherland,

The labour,

 Of our heroes past

Building this nation

Shall never be in vain.

We come to pledge to Nigeria,

Faithfulness and honesty,

Loyalty without deceit,

Yet...

We tell her we are disappointed,

In what she has come to be,

But honestly,

Who is she?

She is us,

She calls on us,

O Nigerians, arise,

Serve your fatherland,

Let not the labour of heroes' past be in vain,

The heroes' labour in pain,

They started for us to continue,

But we have left the work to a few,

Sitting down,

Watching ourselves degrade,

Leaving Nigeria to fade,

And then we blame Nigeria,

But who is Nigeria,

She is us,

She calls on us,

O, Nigerians,arise,

Serve with heart and might your fatherland,

Remember the day you pledged,

To defend her unity,

And uphold her honour and glory,

So don't let her glory,

Become a story,

Or her honour a thing of the past,

No, into stone it should be cast,

Forever her honour and glory will last.

As Nigeria comes of age,

We write in pages,

The story of our labour,

And of generations before,

As memories to store,

As we continue to do more,

To develop Nigeria,

To develop our selves,

A people so diverse,

Rich in resource,

Do you not see,

What Nigeria can be,

Together we can preserve her dignity,

Let us not leave her unattended,

Or her problems unconfronted,

If we leave the work to her,

We will suffer.

Nigeria needs us,

Obey her call,

O compatriots,

Serve with love and strength and faith,

Our fatherland,

Let not our heroes'labour be in vain,

Building a nation bound in freedom,

United because,

We are one,

We are together,

We may be forever,

One country,

One nation,

Great people,

And together,

Every year,

We come to wish Nigeria,

Happy Independence Day.

Nigeria at 62#

(Picture credit-'The Carbon Brief Profile: Nigeria.')

My first day of school.

I woke up at 4:30am. It was unusual for me to wake up so early,but I was overly excited. To save myself from being a latecomer on my first day,I did my chores,ironed my uniform,and cooked my lunch the previous night.I quickly got out my shoes, socks, and my bag. Then I put my books in my bag.I looked at the time. It was 4:35am,so I waited.I had to wait for what I thought was a long time because it was too early to do anything. I felt very bored. This was definitely not what I was expecting. As I was walking around aimlessly,my mother told me that I could pray Tahajjud and ask Allah to make my first day of school go well. I prayed slowly because there was still time. I wasn't used to praying fast.I made dhikr,then I stood up.I was going to my room to get something when I saw my father. He just looked at me,then kept on going. Ordinarily,he would have asked me why I woke up so early. I guess he thought the same way I did; today was special.Finally,the clock struck five,but it was still too early. I began to feel sleepy, so I lay down on the couch and dozed off.

My mother woke me up. It was already 6:00am. I started to panic. My mother told me not to worry because she had already heated water for me to take a bath. I thanked her and left. When I was done,I went to warm my lunch and eat. I didn't want to mess up my uniform. I packed some of the food in my lunchbox,and served myself the rest. I rushed my food,and started wearing my uniform.My father was only half ready. I was already dressed up while he was still taking his bath,so I had to wait. However,all the excitement in me made me extremely impatient,so much that I felt I'll be late; even though I read in the prospectus that assembly only starts at 7:45am. It was only 7:15am.

When we arrived at the school,my excitement quickly turned to nervousness.I felt all eyes on me and tried very hard not to make direct eye contact with anybody.I settled down in my seat, and like everyone else,I was waiting for the teacher.I was bored,so I gathered the courage to make friends with my seatmate."Assalamu 'alaykum,my name is Maymunah. What's your name?" I asked. "My name is Fatima." She said. "Do you know if any teachers will be coming today? I asked "No."she answered. I was disappointed. I wondered which of the teachers would come.One of the teachers came, apparently late, and taught us Islamic studies.I didn't know how long I waited,until I heard that it was time for break. I was famished,but when I took a look at my food,I was no longer hungry. After break,we went back to the class. Another teacher came to teach us Social studies. I didn't know that he would be the last teacher to step into our class that day. I waited for the next teacher to come. After some minutes,I saw other students taking their bags and going home,and wondered if it was closing time. I took a look at the four walls of the class. 'The class doesn't even have a clock' I thought. I didn't know what to do. I stayed for a very long time. I,and six other students were still in the class. When I saw the classes being closed,I took my bag and left. I went to the entrance,where my father was waiting for me.He picked me up and went home.

When I got home,I narrated my whole day to my siblings,and how it was a good and bad day altogether.