THE SEVEN TROUBLES WITH NIGERIA. This piece is inspired by the current unbearable state of governance as well as the recent spate of killing in virtually all parts of the country, the troubles with Nigeria may not be easily numerable, I have read several articles and blogs about the possible causes and solutions to these problems that seems to have left the country like a lost ball in high weeds, but between a rock and a hard place, heres a fresh pairs of eyes 1. SHAKY FOUNDATION: a lot of people do not quite understand that the geographical expression and consequently the name entity Nigeria was a big fraud, after the colonial masters had amalgamated the north and south (against their own will, and to the ultimate benefit of Britain). Few people sat down to draft a constitution on behalf of the population without taking into consideration the need and aspirations as well as the views of the wider populations. In the preamble of the that declaration of independence it is assumed that everyone had agree to come together to form a nation and live together under God. But ask yourself this question. did we? 2. INTERMEDIATE MILITARY REGIME: After the independence, it appears that the absolute struggle for power began to fizzle in. The civil rulers couldnt really get their acts together. Which led to a military take-over . but apparently the military werent saints either, they began to introduce baseless economic programs such as the STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT PROGRAM (SAP) . one may wonder the need for a structural adjustment program (usually a last resort to collapse) when everything seems fine. To add insult to the injury. Around this time oil was discovered, it was like a proverbial manners from heaven agriculture which employed over 60% of the working population and contributed over 72% to the GDP was abandoned and avoided like a plague, this was the beginning of what would hunt the nation Nigeria and her unborn generation for years, as the generation were being born into the country so was CORRUPTION. 3. CORRUPTION: this is by leaps and bounds the biggest evil confronting the nation. Corruption has eaten deep into the system. The effect of corruption can be felt everywhere, from academic institutions to religious institutions, government establishment, private entities and even to peoples homes. Someone once said that, to say Nigeria is the 14th most corrupt nation in the world is a corrupt statement on its own. But to burst your bubbles corruption is not as derogatory as the next item. 4. XENOPHOBISM, ETHNOCENTRICITY AND RELIGIONISM: this item(s) should have been number one on my list, citing the level of exhibition of these traits by Nigerians, most judgements are usually beclouded by at least two these traits, people vote in elections not because they have any ideas who the candidate is and what he/she has to offer, but I discovered Nigerians vote on religious and ethnic lines, one would have thought that @ 53, Nigerians would be wise enough to drop these ugly habit but the reverse seems to be the case, the popularity of these traits seems to be growing among the populations. 5: POLITICAL APATHY BY THE YOUTH: the older politicians have been criticized in the past in past for their psychophantic tendencies, politicians have made a complete mockery of the phrase youth the leaders of tomorrow Nigerian youth have become all dressed up and nowhere to go. But this is not entirely the fault of the older hoots, an average Nigerian youth would shy away from politics, the youth have failed the nation and themselves, an average youth will rather post pictures on social media and post akpos jokes rather than talk about politics, economy and the things that matters most. But its high time for the youth to slap themselves on the wrist and begin to pay lip service(to say the least) in politics, the older generation seems to be handling new age problems with obsolete techniques (referring to the unfortunate incidence of stampede during the immigration recruitment exercise across major cities in Nigeria that led to at least 21 deaths nationwide and the continues massacre by the islamist sect book haram in the north east ). 6. ILLITERACY: in my usual character, I once engaged a taxi driver in a political discussion, apparently he was a Niger deltan like me, at first he sounded like one who knew whats happening around him, I would nod my head in total agreement to most of his views until suddenly he said something that left more confused than I thought possible, he said he doesnt care if Mr. President was doing well or not, he doesnt care if he sleeps all day. But as long as hes from the south south he definitely got this mans approval to stay in office even beyond 2015, now am not anti Jonathan, I think hes a fine man who has done his best so far, but the statement from the taxi driver was what i Was more worried about, I wondered how many more people are like him in this country who doesnt seem to the understand that times are changing and its no longer business as usual, Politicians( regardless of their origin) must be made to live up to their responsibilities, they must understand that the electorates dont care what religion they belong or what ethnic group they represent. Do you have what it takes to deliver? Should be the ultimate question on the electorates lips. 7: GREED, INTOLERANCE AND UNFORGIVEN; Prof. Pareto of ethical neutrality (welfare economics) once said that a balanced society is that which makes an individual better off without making another worse off greed is by far an individual problem but has generally affected the society as a whole and Nigeria in particular. Politicians awards billion naira contracts that wouldnt benefit the people just because he/she got a 100 million naira returns. Thats 900 million Naira waste. Another is intolerance and unforgiven. The violence in most part of the country is unquenchable simply because forgiveness have become a bitter pill to swallow, hence we see reprisal and revenge attacks over and over again, this have gone unchecked for decades as I write this now, people are being slaughtered in villages and rural towns with no end in sight. Finally,my prayers and thought goes to my country Nigeria, I hope our leaders becomes more responsible, I hope our youth become more aware and proactive in uplifting this great country. My prayers and thought are also with the families of those who lost their lives during the immigration recruitment exercise and all those who have fallen victims to the activities of the dreaded Islamist sect and other criminal elements operating all over the country. God bless Nigeria. Nigeria dì furé
Posted on: Wed, 19 Mar 2014 07:55:51 +0000