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