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 f...
Post a Comment
Read more

STATE OF THE NATION - Nigeria takes one step forward, and ten steps backward...

I just came back from Nigeria . I traversed the length and breadth of the nation a bit in my three-week stay. Something is different about the country compared to when I visited last year.... The people are more desperate... Hunger has increased astronomically.... The gap between the haves and have-nots has further widened... You feel impunity in the air... You see police collecting bribes openly like we have not seen since the Shagari era in 1983... There are more law enforcement agents on the roads now, yet the crime rate has not abated... You see VIO , Road Safety, State Law enforcers, the Police, everywhere mounting illegal roadblocks... I heard things from those close to the seat of power about those who hold the reins of power, and I weep for Nigeria - it is beyond disheartening... Projects are being abandoned because a significant portion has been given as bribes to government officials like governors and ministers, including major monarchs - they all collect money for projects...
Post a Comment
Read more

WAR SERVES NO GOOD ENDING - AT LEAST, NOT FOR THE WEST

Warmongers are about to escalate the crisis in the Middle East . These people appear clueless about the cost of war. The U.S. Congress will not fund another war, including politicians on both sides. There is opposition to another war anywhere. They want to use brute force to compel Congress to act - they have amassed over 50,000 troops in the Middle East... They are miscalculating, thinking they can go in and come out quickly... they are underestimating their opponent again... The lesson of the last six weeks is not enough. This is another Afghanistan in the making - trillions was spent fighting the Taliban for almost 20 years, only for the Taliban to return the government they have propped up in just a few days of war... They pray (not sure, which god - not the God of the Bible I read, who under grace abhor wars) about going to fight a needless war; they are sending other people's children to go and die, while their own are safe under the protection of the state. Over 7,000 A...
Post a Comment
Read more