Nigeria - Our heritage (Prompt)

Every country has a history, it is important to visit some of our important heritage, good or bad, it's still ours.

There is a saying that goes thus - "Great and successful men learn from history", There are stories that the generations of old have passed down over time, it is our duty to also pass along this message or it would be lost forever. This is a prompt to call my brothers and sisters to talk about this heritage less the sacrifice of our hero's past will be in vain.

It was really nice seeing my friends like @Kelzy writing about her plans (fictitious or not, that remains to be known) to visit Nigeria, the devil himself @Lucifer gave an even more detailed historical landmarks of places in Nigeria, yet there hasn't been a single article promoting this heritage (okay, I've seen one but I doubt most of you have)

Nigeria is a country that is rich in diverse cultures and resources, different tongues and tribes making up what we have today. When I was younger, most nights, my dad would tell me stories about the Nigerian Civil War and how many people died during this period. I will submit my prompt on this topic later in the week although it won't be graded, just for the sake of learning.

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A big thank you to @King_Gozie for the sponsorship renewal.

I stumbled on a page this morning on Instagram (asirimagazine), they deserve a big thumbs up for keeping our heritage alive. I came across some amazing history that would have been lost to time if someone didn't capture it.

The plan to aid in the German war

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I will express my displeasure with the term "bow and arrow" tribe but I'm sure the British journalist probably wanted to show how funny the chief was when he claimed he could spare 3 of his sons to eliminate Adolf Hitler during the second world war. My country has always been known for cracking jokes, wouldn't be a first and I doubt there would be a last thanks to social media.

Public Executions to reduce the crime rate

There were also some dark times, after the Nigerian civil war which claimed millions of lives and livelihood, people were forced to steal to survive, the corrupt leaders used this opportunity to enrich their pockets, while the rich got richer, the poor got poorer.

To reduce the crime rate, the military government brought up a rule, anyone found engaging in arm robbery would be Publicly Executed. This extreme measure was carried out for the first time in 1971

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Although this measure worked as the crime rate reduced drastically but a lot of activists rose against this method of punishment. Eventually, it ended.

Civilians lived in fear

A major characteristic of a "coup de that" is that you never see it coming. According to my mom, the way you know if it was successful or not was the victory trumpet from the Armed forces, it signified a change in government, there were a lot of coups, some successful, some not.

You know how they say Pictures hold memories that can never be washed away? my eyes caught an image of a mother running with her child during the civil war, I can only imagine what must have been going on in her mind. There was a lot of argument who claimed "Federick Lord Lugard" 1914 Amalgamation of the Northern and Southern Nigerian a mistake, but how could he have known that it would lead to the civil war?

Date: 7 October 1966.

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I would really love to write an article on one of the darkest times in Nigerian history.

I could go on and on writing on our heritage and still wouldn't do justice. This is the reason why we will be hosting a writing prompt that would last a week. I for one am excited to host this prompt thanks to the support from BCH Nigerian Forum.

I started this article by writing about how rich and diverse our cultures are so you can't run out of topics to write about. Be creative and have fun.

Traditional beliefs were filled with gods that were feared and respected, you could write about them. The introduction of Christianity, the Slave trade, the elimination of twins, The Islamic Jihad, and many more beliefs.

You can also write on the various forms of architectural design that the expatriates left behind, there were amazing building designs and some are still in existence today.

There are also tourist centers, perhaps a back story would be quite captivating.

The list of topics can't be exhausted, be creative and you might just be one of the winners, that's right, there will be prices.

TOPIC

• Write a prompt on Nigerian Heritage meeting up with the standard of a minimum of 600 words (or 4 mins read) creatively, images would be helpful and would also help you gain an extra point.

• Submit your article to the "Naija Wazobia" Community tagging @Greatwolfman with the #Nigeriaourheritage, this will enable me to see your submission.

Failure to do this would annul your submission.

Lead Image Source: Unsplash