What Is Your Independence Day Tradition?

What Is Your Independence Day Tradition?
By: ESTHER OBIEKWE‎
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Traditions mark our most important holidays each year. Whether it is Church on Christmas morning followed by a scrumptious turkey feast, or sharing a kiss with a loved one on New Year’s Eve, our most important annual events are marked by tradition.
No tradition means, “It probably isn’t an important day”.
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I am proudly 100% Nigerian. I am born of this country. I am proud of this country. I recognize we have our problems, sometimes seemingly too many of them! Yet no country is perfect, be it Singapore, USA, China, UK or Australia. All have issues. What is important is we focus on the future, and how to make things better! This is what separates progress from standing still.
I love my country. And if I truly do love my country, then I will celebrate its birthday with the same fanfare I celebrate other holidays. And this means tradition!
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So what will your tradition be?
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I want my country’s birthday to be special. I want to share something with my country that is special to me. I want to give my country a unique gift, one of my talents and passions.
So I am going to run….1 Kilometer for every year of my country’s existence as a free nation!
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Some people think I am crazy. I am crazy. I am crazy about my country and what the future holds.‎
This all started last year for the first time. I was out for a run on Independence Day and my friend Nitin asked me how far I was going. “Maybe 30 KMs” I replied.

As kilometer after kilometer clicked by, one-by-one my running buddies dropped by the wayside. Soon I was alone. And I began to reflect on my country, and of being 53 years old!
God has blessed me with many gifts. He gave me among these the gift of athleticism and the gift of discipline and willpower.  So somewhere around midway through what started as a mere training run, became a celebration of Nigeria. I decided to go 53 Kilometers, one for every year of Nigeria’s independence.

I ran inspired. Not only for independence from colonialism, but to purge the frustrations of bad leadership; of corruption and oppression. Of crimes including prostitution and robbery. Boko Haram. Underemployment. Poverty. Illiteracy. Twisted mindsets. Tribalism. Hatred.
I purged it all. Kilometer by kilometer. Not the pain of a muscle pull or the gnawing fatigue could stop me.

I ran for independence. For liberation.  I ran for God to give us just one good man who can single-handedly transform a nation, like a Lee Kwan Hue did for Singapore.
I finished with a pain in my body, but love in my heart. Love for Nigeria. And belief in her great potential. Nigeria is worth the sacrifice. ‎To me, Nigeria is worth hurting and sacrificing for. It is my country. I have none other.
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So, every year I am going to celebrate my country with tradition. This year, it became even special. I joined a special running group (The road Warrior)  and a few of us, some without prior training, decided to share with Nigeria our gift and love of running. A few clocked in 54kms, others 44km, other 40kms, 30kms and 16kms. We started 4:am, sang the National Anthem and began our ran on the newly constructed, world class, Lekky/Ikoyi bridge.

Mother nature was good to us. The Universe supported us with showers of blessings to make our run easy. Kilometer by kilometer we ran to celebrate our dear country. To showcase our love Nigeria our great nation. We believe in the unity, the peace, the growth, the accountability and good leadership that will soon be symbolic of Nigeria. We strapped on our shoes and ran for Nigeria. 54 Kilometers. It will be 55 next year. And so it goes.

For me, I realize that with each incremental year, the added distance coupled with the added years to my body will make this tradition ever-increasingly difficult. When I am 50 years old, I will be running 66 Kilometers for example!

But the mere thought of it doesn’t faze me one bit. Because Esther Obiekwe and Nigeria have one thing in common……we are both like fine wine, only getting better with time.‎