I have a simple birthday message for you all - Have faith

By Ayo Akinfe 

[1] And here we are again, another May 2. They come round so fast, it is easy to wonder how one has aged so quickly. Like most of you, I can remember starting secondary school and it feels like it was just yesterday.

[2] Anyway, one cannot turn back the hand of the clock as once time passes, it is gone. We just have to look on to the future. Complaining about what happened yesterday will yield nothing, however, learning from the mistakes of yesterday and doing something about them is a positive step.

[3] May 2 has always been a historic day as it was on this day in 2011 that Osama Bin Laden was killed and in the UK here, the young Princess Charlotte was born to Prince William and his wife Kate in 2015. Other notable celebrities born on May 2 include David Beckham, Dwayne Johnson, Brain Lara and James Dyson who invented that famous vacuum cleaner.

[4] However, for me the most momentous event of May 2 was the fact that on this day in 1945, the Soviet guns fell silent outside the German Reichstag, bringing about an end to World War Two. In this picture, you can see jubilant Soviet troops celebrating after capturing the building and receiving the German surrender

[5] Apart from the fact that the Battle of Berlin ended the bloodiest conflict in human history, what it represents for me is the way a people can turn their fortunes around if they really want to. Quoting that great Ogidi sage: "If a man says yes, his chi should say yes." 

[6] In 1941, the Soviet Army was a right joke as the German troops were within 27 miles of Moscow city centre. They could even see the lights of the Kremlin but alas, within four years, these same Soviets troops had driven the Germans all the way back to Germany, taken over Berlin and forced Hitler to commit suicide

[7] Just to let you know how quickly things can change once the determination is there, on August 22 1942, the Soviets decided enough was enough and launched the Battle of Stalingrad to get the Germans off their soil. This marked the beginning of the end for Hitler and turned the ride of the war. About 700,000 Axis troops were killed and some 100,000 were taken prisoner in Stalingrad. Only about 10,000 of then ever saw Germany again

[8] When I look at the determination the Soviets showed in Stalingrad, it reinforces my belief that with sheer determination, there is very little you cannot achieve a a people. German troops had taken the River Volga, capturing 90% of the ruined city of Stalingrad and split the Soviet forces into two narrow pockets. Ice flow on the Volga now prevented boats and tugs from supplying the Soviet defenders but guess what, the defenders of Stalingrad were prepared to fight on until the last cartridge

[9] It was not just determination though. As the Soviets fought back and the myth surrounding the invincibility of the Germans collapsed, confidence grew. In Warsaw, the Jews rose up against the Germans and above all the Soviets began to become more professional, with their tactics matching those of the Wehrmacht (German armed forces). Come the Battle of Berlin in 1945, the Germans could not believe that this was the same army they faced two years earlier in Stalingrad. In 1943, the Soviets overwhelmed them with numbers but come 1945, they even out-out-manoeuvred them on the streets of Berlin

[10] Let May 2 be a lesson to everyone who thinks that Naija can never get better, is doomed, is too riddled with corruption, is too divided ethnically, us too nepotistic, bla, bla, bla. In 1941, people were dying of cold, frost, hunger and hypothermia in Russia. In Leningrad, they even resorted to cannibalism to stay alive but look at what happened four years later. Our current situation is nowhere near as bad as theirs was in 1941, so if they could turn their fortunes around, so can we

Have faith! - This is my birthday message to you all.