• Majority of Nigerians believe there is no need to work hard any more to earn a good living
• The Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was not built by magicians and spirits, but by human beings
• Every sector is replete with multiple problems/issues, that one begins to wonder how on earth are we going to come out of the woods
• Too many paid writers that are writing to justify evil
• Nigeria is a country where politicians will establish high institutions and universities without ensuring the schools have the requirements to produce quality graduates needed for the society’s growth and development
• Smart Ofugara noted; “You cannot make progress in a country that doesn’t invest on her future…”
• Truth be told, if things continue on this downward course in Nigeria, in few years to come, the politicians and their aides will not move freely in the streets of Nigeria because…
It is really pathetic and a very sad and unfortunate state, which calls for great worry, that Nigeria has continued to drift backwards in terms of developmental strides, and will remain so for a long time to come with the way things are going. Call it a spread of indiscipline and moral decadence, but it is as if – as the political leaders have over the years maintained a culture of stealing/misappropriating our collective public wealth with reckless abandon and impunity, so as to live large in affluence and splendor; the majority of the populace have resorted to doing whatever evil and illicit act they can lay hands on, just to also live that life of splendor, and which is beyond their legitimate means.
In fact, most Nigerians believe there is no need to work hard any more to earn a good living. All that morality of working hard, being a person of truth, honesty, integrity, and one who is patience; have all been thrown off board, or considered out of place in other to make it big. A typical gate man and a gardener, who are without any sort of training or educational qualification, wants to become the richest person without working for it. Most Nigerians want to live big without working for it. The average Nigerian youth wants to own a private jet, live in mansions, drive the most expensive cars, drink the costliest alcohol, wear the special designed’ clothes, etc., without working hard to legitimately earn the money to enjoy such luxurious lifestyle. As many Nigerians see the political leaders who have stolen the public wealth to live and maintain such luxurious lifestyles, they too desire to have such life, while some do the unthinkable just to be in that cycle.
Nigeria is the only country in the world that I know, where a person without any legitimate skill and educational qualifications, wants to become a billionaire overnight. In other words, the Nigerian problem is bigger than secession and restructuring because at the end of the day, it will be the same set of politicians that will still be in charge of the supposed republics if divided and restructured. The ‘general putrid and corrupted attitude/mindset’ of the average Nigerian has not changed. And until that mindset and psychic of the average Nigerian is changed to the positive, there is no amount of restructuring and secession that would turn things around overnight. It is sad to note that some parents now pay for their children to be trained on yahoo/cybercrime illegal business. That is the level we have degenerated to as a people and country. They send their children to be trained for a period of few years to learn how to dupe others online? While some of them are made to go to learn how to kidnap people and demand for ransoms.
All of this is being propelled by self-greed and the desire to become millionaires/billionaires overnight. So, even if every tribe has its own country, the problem will only get worse because we are all part of the current mess called Nigeria. I know and I see the things that are going on in the local communities. And it is the same thing I see being reflected across all boards and spheres of life in the Nigerian polity – majority of people daily trying to do whatever corrupt and evil act you can think of just to make it big and live-in affluence. Nigeria is daily becoming a country where the majority of the people are without human conscience and no empathy for others, or how their actions today would adversely affect others and the future generations. Nobody cares how the money is made. Majority are not even asking questions, or bothered about how others around them have made their money, so long as they are given, or made to enjoy part of such ill-gotten money. And if you look and examine carefully what makes these things to thrive in our society, it will be traced to the dispositions of all the Nigerian political leaders across all levels, and how they have allowed and sustained skewed systems, channels, institutions and general atmosphere of lawlessness, misbehaviour, moral decay, and what have you – all of which provide a statuesque that favour themselves and extravagant lifestyles. Like they say, if the Head is not good, don’t expect the rest of the body to be good.
I have repeated many times that, places like Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), was not built by magicians and spirits, but by human beings – leaders with vision for their people and how to make their lives better, both now and the future to come. In the Nigerian situation, we have more of visionless leaders who mostly think of the now, without consideration for others (not of their tribe) and the future. This unfortunate situation has given birth, over the last four to five decades, a people without conscience and love for one another. Today, there are just too many insincere people in this country.
Every sector is replete with multiple problems/issues, that one begins to wonder how on earth did we get here, and how on earth are we going to come out of the woods? Be it the Health sector, the power sector, the Housing sector, the Education sector, etc. In the health sector for instance, what explanation does the President have for not developing the National Hospital into a model for everyone, and to be a money spinner? When he was sick and spent so much time in UK hospital, was he treated free or did his treatment not generate revenue for the UK economy?
In the power sector, someone recently suggested that Nigeria should massively build solar plants to address the nation’s power sector problem, and my response was, who will operate the solar plants? Who will transmit and distribute power from the said solar plants and who will manage the entire solar power spectrums? Of course, Nigerians, and I bet you the political space and its interference in almost everything, will run it aground with their corrupt tendencies. It may generate, transmit and distribute power for a while, but before you know it, everything will suddenly go into self-comatose. Even if we may have a President that is sincere, but such a President can’t do everything himself. He needs dedicated people to manage the power and other sectors. So, if the people appointed to manage these vital sectors are irresponsible people who are more concerned about making it big overnight, then your guess is as good as mine, as regard what will happen at the end of the day.
Today, there are some prolific Nigerian writers who write from Europe and North America to condemn the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government, as well as that of the Governor Ifeanyi Okowa-led government of Delta State. But we would be shocked to note that most of them are nothing but paid writers? I don’t mind whatever higher degrees they have or highly skilled in their craft, the fact that they are simply not sincere, spoil everything they have to say. Trust me, it is only when you give a Nigerian power and money, that you will know their true colours. When I talk, they say “Zik Gbemre is a trouble maker who criticizes every person. A beg wetin sef, you nor get your own fault abi?” And I say, agreed that I am not perfect, but why I should I justify evil? Why should I fold my hands and keep quiet and pretend as if all is well in Delta State and in the country? When in reality, it is not well! I say it the way I see it in my opinion.
Majority don’t complain if the issue in question is not touching them, their family members or fellow kinsmen. But when it affects them in any way, that is when you’ll hear their voice. Nigerian is today a country where majority of elites have lost their minds and are without conscience and human empathy. A country where the elites celebrate billionaires that are without evidence of their wealth creation. A country where criminals are rewarded with the positions of Special Assistants and other portfolios as aides to educated State Governors. A country where violence and crimes are promoted by politicians and elites in corridors of power, all for the greed of making illegal wealth. A country where people join government at all levels to loot and become rich overnight, and not to serve and leave lasting legacies in the lives of the people. A country where the majority of the people believe only in prayers without work. A country where people gather in Churches during working hours and expect miracles that would change their lives. A country where convicted criminals are celebrated as heroes rather than shamed. A country where the political leaders and their aides are happy to mislead and lie to the people just to have their way.
A country where politicians will establish high institutions and universities without ensuring the schools have the requirement to produce the quality graduates needed for the society’s growth and development. They don’t even consider where, and how the graduates from such institutions would get or create jobs. Whereas in India, because of their policy on Education since the early fifties, today, practically all the big global companies across the world, have Indians as their CEOs. Even the CEO of Dangote is Indian. These were people who were just as abused as Blacks, yet they have quietly gone on to make an impact in the world. That should tell the Nigerian political leaders that there is no alternative to quality education and not quantity education. Once you have it, you are sought after! And in Nigeria, we are still displaying religious madness and hypocrisy, looking for useless reasons to foment trouble like fighting over hijabs or whatever. As someone noted, “Our collective sense needs100 kilowatts of shock therapy.” At the end of the day, we have in our hands a growing army of young adults/youthful population that are jobless and without focus and a prospective future. I can go on and on to highlight the many things that we allow in this country, which are usually unheard of in other developed societies.
According to Smart Ofugara, an Advocate of good governance and development, he noted that: “You cannot make progress in a country that does not invest in her future. You cannot make progress when development plans are not followed through. You cannot make progress when you do not spend on research and development. You cannot make progress when professionals and professors leave researches for the pulpit. You cannot make progress when you steal from yourself. You cannot make progress when you re-circulate the same people in different clothes. You cannot make progress when you cannot feed your people. You cannot make progress when you do not save. You cannot make progress when you are narrow minded and vindictive. In Nigeria, there is the clamor for creation of states and local government. Good as that thought is, how has it generated economic development? How has the clamor and creation helped to promote unity of purpose and development? Corruption and ineptitude are prevalent everywhere. Indiscriminate taxes and creation of goons everywhere. Over inflation of contracts without delivery of promises.
No continuity of goals, AJSEWARD, Unilever AT& P, Textile industries are all dead, innovative and entrepreneurship are skewed (Innoson Motors) and the frustration goes on.”
Truth be told, if things continue on this downward course in Nigeria, in the few years to come, the politicians and their aides will not move freely in the streets of Nigeria because by then, the bottled-up anger by the poor, will explode, and they will revolt and come against these political leaders and their family members for impoverishing the masses. By then, all that pretense, self-praise of supposed ‘working Governors, President, Ministers and what have you; will fail them.
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