NIGERIA HAS NOT FAILED US, WE FAILED NIGERIA! It is widely acclaimed that the Nigeria economy has strong potentials for a sustained growth and development in view of its abundant and variety of skilled human beings and extensively rich natural resources. Nigeria is a country blessed with favourable vegetation varied and alluring topography, vast deposit of mineral resources and a large reservoir of resourceful manpower. Its population size and some inherent dynamics should make it not only the largest market in black Africa but also a safe, reliable locale for foreign investors. Its land is so fertile that one most often thinks if one plants a finger, it must grow into a full-fledged human beings. A nation that possess all these divine human,material and natural resources should not be blamed for d failure of her populace. Unfortunately, this situation which would have been exploited for the general good of all, is now turned into a deteriorating macro economic environment and unstable political system characterized by widespread poverty, disappointing low return on public sector investment, deteriorating infrastructure resulting in poor service delivery, low industrial capacity utilization, high unemployment, unrealistic policies, poor education and weakness in energy sector. In the past years, the quest for development in Nigeria had been so frenziedly prosecuted. Government ceaselessly churned out strategies aimed at bringing about development, irrespective of their different forms and types. However the poverty level in Nigeria has continued to widen. In the same way the literacy level has not increased substantially. I have seen intelligence wallow in poverty due to inability to afford free tertiary education, i have seen men relocate to their rural areas due to their inability to cope in the urban area. i have seen mothers unable to buy sanitary pad for their daughters why our politicians buy I-phone 6 for their daughters and even I-pads for themselves which they cannot even operate. Today Nigeria has become indeed a veritable tower of Balel. Our leaders have basked in the sum of insensitivity to the realities of our people and have squandered resources and opportunities, devalued our dignity, deflated our pride, humiliated our personality as a country, mortgaged our future, eroded all the advantages we have as a people, run down our basic institutions, made corruption an art to be extolled and be proud of. Like my frined Tony Osborg will say : corruption is now official in Nigeria. Discrimination and nepotism are said to exist in employment, government companies, properties and parastatals. Truly there exist an insane Nigeria were the enemy of your enemy becomes your friend. There are also report about high school principals who receive few naira for students admission ,enlist ghost teachers on the payroll and some teachers/lecturer who see their female student as an added incentive to their regular pay and thus sleep with them to make them pass their examination. Some women re alleged to wield bottom power very effectively to gain promotion, win contracts, and also in d bank sector to meet deposit targets. One of the daily news paper in the country once had it on its front page under the title Nigeria and corruption it said keeping an average Nigerian from being corrupt is like keeping a goat from feasting on yam. What a corrupt situation we have tagged the beautiful name Nigeria. TOMIWA ON THE WAY FORWARD. Nigerians does not need corruption, neither is corruption a necessary nourishment for Nigerians. Available statistics points to the fact that performance of Nigeria in overall development since independence especially GOODLUCK JONATHAN administration had been abysmally poor and confront the world with a most perplexing paradox occasioned by a vicious circle of economic waste and deep ulcerated economic injuries. Politics has underdeveloped Nigeria, if we put our politics right, then the possibility of putting the economy right will be far greater. The following solutions for better Nigeria are: 1. Decentralization Of Power: Its is obvious that the power at the centre (federal Government) is too high. This to a large extent drag development and make the other components (State and local Government) not a partaker of the national development. I suggest a system of government where the centre will be weak with a strong state government. The federal government should only be concerned with issue like international relations, foreign exchange, regulate the supreme court of the land in cases of inter-state contradictions and transportation. This will encourage development since each state will manage its resources and allocate some percentage to the federal government to support the less privilege states. 2. Absence of Democracy: The so called democracy has underdeveloped Nigeria. Democracy is the rule by the mob. The most stupid definition of democracy( Government of the people, by the people and for the people) happens to have abet crime in Nigeria. Democracy is no longer for the majority, but it is a government of the people in power, by the people in power and for the people in power. Many has suffered from the dividend of democracy, slow in decision making, since it is a government of majority, credibility is forgone, power is no longer earned but ascribed. This continue to generate incompetent leaders that loot the economy treasury and appropriate economy values. In a developing nation Like Nigeria,where corruption is the chief of the day, nepotism,favourism, ethnicity, exist, democracy will never work. It will continue to favour the self ambition of the people in power(the few). 3. Investment in Agriculture: In the 1960, before it turned to oil, Nigeria was one of the most promising agricultural producers in the world, between 1962 and 1968 export crops were the countrys main foreign exchange earner, the country was number one globally in palm oil exports well ahead of Malaysia and indonesia and exported 47 percent of all groundnuts, putting it ahead of the USA and Argentina. Thanks to the present minister of Agriculture Dr Akinwumi Adesina in the reform to push Nigeria into the big league of agricultural producers. Where there is raw materials, the country will experience an industrious economy which will lead to full employment and outrun poverty. 4. Decline Foreign Aids: In most cases aids from the capItalist nations constipate development. Such foreign aids have been used to manipulate the behaviour of developing state like Nigeria. This is not to say foreign aids are bad but, any aid that takes awat the right of choice, and independence of action by the receiving nation is no aid at all, but a tool for underdevelopment. 5. Worthwhile Education: The educational system in Nigeria cease in building critical minds: this has contributed to some citizens dogmatic and irrational reasoning . We have engineers only on paper, employed by multinational cooperation, like shell etc. Paid huge amount of wages and contribute nothing to national development. Since religion is one of the major problems in Nigeria, Christian religion Study and islamic study should be removed frm the primary and secondary school curriculum. We the philosopher kings will never cease to speak, until Nigeria embrace and practice our prospective solutions. But, if our opinion is ignored we are going to take charge. For we alone know the ideal standard to attain an ideal society... Ajide Tomiwa Victor is my name, i hope for better Nigeria.
Posted on: Thu, 18 Dec 2014 08:04:18 +0000
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