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 forever, 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 15 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 unparallelled 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 independent 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 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.

Balewa, Nigeria’s first prime minister, delivered this
speech on October 1, 1960