Independence Day is sweet, but sweeter still is the day the poor man feels it in his kitchen. We celebrate Independence Day on 1st October. On this day, we reflect as a nation on where we are coming from, where we are now, and where we plan to be in the coming years. We celebrate God’s providence in our natural and human resources; we celebrate God’s presence in the history of Nigeria. We celebrate distinguished Nigerians whose works, achievements, and sacrifices made Nigeria proud. After 65 years of independence, there have been successes and failures. We seek God’s mercy for the many times we drifted away from his plans. We need to cooperate with God to get out of the quagmire of insecurity, corruption, ethnoreligious bigotry, lawlessness, greed, and injustice. In Nigeria’s tough economic situation today, the poor man often struggles not just to eat well, but to eat at all, as rising prices turn even basic meals into a luxury. We are in search of leaders who have the gifts of wisdom and understanding, counsel and might, knowledge and the fear of the Lord, and whose delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. We need a moral, economic, social, educational, and political rebirth. Chinua Achebe, a world-acclaimed Nigerian novelist, rightly says, “Nigeria is what it is because its leaders are not what they should be.” We entrust our country, Nigeria, to the maternal intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, the Queen and Patroness of Nigeria and Queen of Peace. If we seek peace and harmony, should we not work for justice and fairness? Happy Independence Day celebration! Isaiah 11:1-10; Ephesians 2:13-22; Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23; Our Lady Queen and Patroness of Nigeria; Nigeria Independence Day.