I was thinking about how I didn't feel Nigeria should have a lot of people on her currency note. In fact, when I heard they wanted to redesign the Naira note, I wished the faces of everyone there would be removed. This is not due to any personal reason or dislike for the people on the various notes, I just feel it would be better to uphold the values of the nation in the currency. If it's up to me, I think all those soldiers who died fighting for independence, the Nigerian Civil War, and any other war defending the Nation deserve to be on the notes more than any other person. But we are in a nation where such people are mostly neglected and their families are not often compensated for their losses.
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These people to me are the real National heroes, their blood and like went into trying to make this Nation habitable for the living Nigerians. Or should I talk about those who lost their lives at the Lekki Toll Gate massacre. If you are not Nigerian and you are reading this post, the Lekki Toll Gate massacre happened on October 20, 2020, when the selfish government sent in the military to murder peaceful protesters holding the national flag and clamoring for change from the torture of SARS, a paramilitary force that was supposed to be dealing with crime but instead killing and harassing young Nigerians for money. Those who died at that Toll Gate massacre deserve to be honored with their faces on the currency defending their beliefs for a better Nigeria.
Today I think about it knowing that there are a lot of people deserving of that honor and there is yet to be a president living or dead that has brought Nigeria fully out of the chaos she's in. I feel we should either have a face to look back on, or a symbol to always remember. The face should be that of one who can bring Nigeria out of the current state she is in, into a better and standard state that would last the test of time. One which even any incoming corrupt government would uphold because not upholding such would lead to an instant impeachment from their seat of power. But since we don't have such a person in Nigeria, I would prefer a symbol that would signify the blood, sweat, hardship, and Joy of Nigerians.
Just one symbol is enough, something that any Nigerian will look at and understand the struggles of our heroes' past. Something the future generation would look on and be proud to be called a Nigerian. This is something I think that would teach the culture of Nigeria to foreigners, and make them understand our values without question. A symbol that tells the history of Nigeria and the story behind our growth as a nation. Everything doesn't have to be rosy in the nation, and I think if we had such value in our currency, it wouldn't be in the state that it is today because an average Nigerian would be taught these values as children, mourn our heroes in our hearts and know fully the legacy we are trying to uphold. This is something I think the nation of Nigeria has forgotten.
THIS IS MY RESPONSE TO HIVE LEARNER'S PROMPT FOR WEEK 89 EPISODE 3