Skip to main content

STATE OF A NATION at 61 - Naija no dey carry last - really?

"Naija no dey carry last", familiar with that mantra? But where do we stand 61 years after independence from Britain - first or last? Nigerians in the diaspora are fiercely competitive and the best in anything they do - they are everywhere in the US, the most educated minority ethnic group in America with over 61% of Nigerians above the age of 25 having a bachelor's degree. The story is not different in the UK or the rest of Europe. Nigerians make sway in the music world today with afrobeat becoming a global genre. Nollywood classic movies are enjoyed everywhere in the world now on Netflix and other platforms. Most of these films were produced in Nigeria by Nigerian artists and producers. There are several stories of young Nigerians securing admission to multiple Ivy League schools in the US from schools at home. There is no top US school that you will not find at least one Nigerian professor, including all the nine Ivy Leagues. Look at the NBA and NFL, there is hardly any NBA team that does not have a player of Nigerian descent, we are everywhere doing well for other nations.... taking subsidized education, however low quality, to benefit other nations, WHY?
This is a paradox though, the home front in Nigeria is in tatters - the country is bedeviled by the most incompetent leaders year-in-year-out. The nation's lot at 61 is gloomy and rather sad - all indices of growth have gone south and Nigerians at home are in deep pain from insecurity, unemployment in double digits, low or no remuneration, poor healthcare systems, poor road network, insensitive and myopic leaders who just say whatever comes to their mouth without weighing it. An average Nigerian, young or old wants to take the next flight out. 
 
I know some will argue we should focus on the good - I am not sure what good to focus on now in Nigeria - naira that now exchanges at N575 to a $1, being home to the poverty capital of the world, host to the most dreaded terrorist group in the world - Boko Haram that keeps killing, a nation where the president's kinsmen are maiming across the nation and his only solution is to take land across the nation for this marauding thugs in the name of RUGA, what is the interest rate for a small business loan - can you get the loan, how much does a congo of Gari sell for today compared to 6 years ago, etc.? The gap between the few who are rich and the majority who are poor is as deep as you can imagine. The nation is at the brink of disintegration and we can not afford to continue to engage in wishful thinking that, well, it is not that bad ..... we are sitting on a time bomb that can explode anytime.
 
Nigerians, home and abroad need to tell these same set of people who have ruled us from independence, who have stolen our commonwealth that it is ENOUGH - we want our nation back. If we are not wise at 61 when are we going to be wise, when there is no more nation to call home? 
 
Happy Independence, y'all.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

ISE L'OGUN ISE (WORK IS THE PANACEA TO POVERTY)

Ise ni ogun ise (Work is the panacea to poverty) mura si ise ore mi (Be conscientious my friend in your work) ise ni a fi n di eni giga (Through hard work can we excel) ti a ko ba ri eni feyintin (If there is none to create a pathway to the top for you) bi ole la n ri (It is as if we are lazy) ti a ko ba ri eni gbekele (If there is no one to be your mentor and godfather) a tera mo ise eni, (Work harder then, don't give up, innovate, there is dignity in labor, a way will open up for you soon) Iya re le l'owo (Your mom may be super rich) Baba re le l’esin lekan (You dad could have real estate in choice places) T’oba gbo’ju le won o te tan ni mo so fun oh (If you trust in their riches, your shame is around the corner) Ohun aho j’iya fun kii t’ojo (What you did not labor often does not last, because you might not value them) Ohun ta ba s’ise fun nii pe l’owo eni (It is what you work for that becomes a treasure) Apa lara, Igunpa niye kan (Arms are your fam...
Post a Comment
Read more

THERE IS A SHORT WINDOW FOR PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST, CONCERNED PARTIES SHOULD GRAB IT WITH BOTH HANDS

Exactly a year today, the terror organization Hamas struck terror in the hearts of Israelis. Over 1200, mostly innocent people were murdered in cold blood in the most barbaric way. The evil wrecked by Hamas reminds us of the evil we are capable of as humans if we think there will not be any form of accountability. The attack is condemned in all of its forms. Such should never happen again. My heart goes out to families mourning dead family members, and those still waiting for their families taken hostage to return to them alive.   Since then, the Israeli army has unleashed terror of their own on Hamas, in the process killing so many innocent Palestinians in an attempt to exterminate Hamas, and their own terror continues, mostly on innocent Palestinians. Israel engaged in what some called genocide by cutting off water, food, power, internet, and major resources to over 2 million Palestinians in Gaza. The world has condemned the way Israel is prosecuting the war because they have bee...
Post a Comment
Read more

Wannabee Prime Minister that is Denigrating her Native Country... for What?

Omo ale lo maa hun fi owo osi j'uwe ile baba eh - it is a BASTARD child that uses the left hand to describe her father's house.... We should speak honestly about our country, but when you hold a position like Kemi does decorum is essential. She could say the same thing in a way that will not impact the lives of ordinary Nigerians who live and make a honest living across the globe. She is an opposition leader for crying out loud... She is dragging her native country deep into the mud to gain cheap popularity.... She will need the votes of Nigerians if she will ever be Prime Minister one day. Every letter of her words will come back to hunt her... I trust Nigerians in the UK will not only mobilize against her, but they will also mobilize other Africans and Carribeans to shun her...
Post a Comment
Read more