Kano, Nigeria, Sept 29 (AFP/APP):It was just after midnight in Lagos, on a horse-racing track turned square, when Nigeria’s new white and green flag was hoisted officially for the first time, replacing Britain’s Union Jack. Several hours later on the morning of October 1, 1960, a representative of Queen Elizabeth II handed Nigeria’s constitution over to Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, the country’s new prime minister. “It was celebrations all over the place,” said Tanko Yakasi, 93, who attended a cocktail party that afternoon hosted by the soon-to-be-former governor-general James Wilson Robertson. “There were high expectations and the (Nigerian) political class really believed that they would be able to change the fortune of the country for the better.” Nigeria became a republic three years later, with Nnamdi Azikiwe assuming the role of president. Large oil reserves discovered in 1956 had brought hopes of wealth and fortune to many. “I remember my grandparents saying how life was easy back then,” 30-year-old Hamzat Lawal told AFP. “They didn’t have to deal with today’s insecurity; they had jobs; they had a decent lifestyle.” But the honeymoon didn’t last long. Six years after independence, Balewa was assassinated in a coup and shortly after, Nigeria plunged into … Continue reading Hopes dashed but still dreaming, Nigeria turns 60