National Day
With a rat-a-tat-tat of drums and a blare of bugles, rows of soldiers march smartly down the street. Overhead, a group of warplanes roars across the sky. Later, fireworks will light up the night sky. It’s National Day in Nigeria.
Nigeria is on the west coast of Africa. Until 1960, Nigeria was part of the British Commonwealth. Then, on October 1, 1960, Great Britain granted Nigeria its independence. Nigeria adopted a green and white flag. The green is for agriculture and the white for unity and peace.
October 1 is a national holiday that Nigerians celebrate with great joy.
The event in 1960 eventually led to the formation of the federal republic of Nigeria, and the journey to independence started with some constitutional developments that saw the country attaining self-rule in some quarters in 1957 and total independence on 1 October 1960.
October 1st has been designated a national holiday to commemorate the day Nigeria laid down its claim to be a free and independent nation from the United Kingdom.
Independence Day (National Day) in Nigeria is celebrated each year by patriotic citizens across all of 36 states, regardless of ethnicity and religion.
On the morning of October 1st, the incumbent President of Nigeria delivers a speech to officially commence the Independence Day celebrations and the country’s green – white – green flag will be unfurled with the singing of the national anthem in the capital city of Abuja.
The military officers will lead in a plethora of parades featuring the armed forces, student bands, and various cultural groups’ while the official celebration will kick off with a tribute to the founding fathers and heroines and freedom fighters of the great nation that is Nigeria.
Picture Credit : Google