Nigeria is a land richly blessed with abundant natural resources. Our Human Resources which is the pivot of every economy is not just enourmous, but one of the best world over.
The resources with which God blessed us is enough for us to progress beyond our current state.
That calls for the question: “what’s actually good in Nigeria “?
I have been trying to lay hands on the part of our economic, political, spiritual, and individual lives that’s actually good, and I have not been able to see even one.
Nigeria is the 5th largest producer of crude oil in the whole world, yet we do not have a functional refinery.
Even with the abundance of natural resources, Nigeria is the poverty capital of the world.
A country that over 90% of its land is arable, but the farmers are afraid to go to farm for fear of being killed.
Giant of Africa? A country which does not value education, and supported a president without certificate, and even said he could tender Electricity bill (Nepa bill) as certificate. A country where the part of the country you are from determines the cut off mark of your kids entrance into unity school. A country where the uneducated heads the educated because of quota system.
A country where lecturers prefer the students sort them with money, and exchange sex for mark.
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A country where insecurity is the order of the day. A country where killings are seen as normal. A place where the president and commander in Chief feigns ignorance of mass murder going on in his government. A place where the security forces are partisan and openly show the party they belong to.
A country that is not at war, but has recorded more killings in peace times than war torn countries. A country where the security forces kill people, pour them acid and bury them in secret mass graves. A country where the security operatives brutalizes the masses for no reason. A country where terrorists are rehabilitated and recruited into security agencies, while innocent and armed protesters are mowed down brazenly. A country where Internally displaced persons live in conditions that even animals can’t live, while the people who displaced them are treated like kings!
A place where the legislators think much more about their pockets, and not the general well-being of the people. A place where the government wants the masses to applaud them for doing their work. A place where the masses see it as favour when the government does their constitutional duties. A place where the government employs political sycophants to insult anyone who criticizes them.
A country where people still rejoice when they see electricity, a place where the masses provide housing, water, and electricity by themselves. These basic amenities are the primary duty of government, and where none exists, it means there’s no government in place.
A country that has been acquiring loans, yet there are no improvements in roads, rails and other infrastructures. A country where the government doesn’t provide jobs for its teeming populace, and yet want crime rate to reduce. A country where its abundant Human Resources migrate to other parts of the world in search of greener pastures, and even become the best at what they do, yet the government will be complaining about brain drain. A country where anti graft agencies claim to discover billions of stolen funds, but the masses never get to see the money because they are “relooted”.
A country where the political class have perfected ways to con and divide the people. They make the masses to endorse a particular party, and after getting their mandate, they switch over to another party immediately.
A country where the politicians make the masses perpetual paupers so they won’t have options, but to sell their votes for paltry sum during elections.
A country where government hospitals are death traps, and where only morgues are functional. A country where its President goes for medical tourism abroad and stay for months; yet he stopped others from embarking on the same medical tourism. A country where everyone is corrupt, except Buhari, his family and relatives.
A country where proliferation of churches and mosques are in the increase, but morality, norms and values are fast eroding. A country that spends millions of dollars going to pilgrimage in Holy lands, while the penury persists.
From the way things are going, Nigeria’s future is very bleak. I don’t see a glimmer of hope at all.
Odumodu Gbulagu
Africa Today News, New York