01/10/2023
Happy Independence Day, Nigeria.
When J.F Kennedy said, “ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country,” his words were honed in the face of unwillingness by many to accept that they can make so much sacrifices and build ideas that are capable of fostering a better nation, as opposed to wishing solely that their countries bring forth positive consequences into their comfort zones.
The establishment of noteworthy institutions of government: quality education, effective labour agencies, security and integrous force, proper election processes, ethical introduction of protectionism and balance of trade, reputable foreign diplomacy, appropriate banking and financial services reforms, etc, are the hallmarks of the modern sovereign system.
The 63rd independence anniversary of Nigeria is another opportunity for the Nigerian people to collaboratively develop ideas and strategies, as well as positive norms to improve the socioeconomic, sociopolitical and sociocultural situation of Nigeria.
Nigeria, a multicultural and multi-faith society has different kinds of people.
The Nigerian politician- many in this category see political offices as avenues to achieve personal and selfish financial-liberation goals; as a result, they often negatively advance the already putrescent politically corrupt Nigerian environment and its players. The bills sponsored/ promoted by some of the legislators are often selfishly targeted towards their own personal interest, undermining the interests of their constituents. The other arms instituted for checks and balances are often in alignment in a bid to achieve- you rub my back, I rub your back strategy of corruption. The change that Nigeria deserves beckons heavily on these government arms, at all levels/ Tiers of government.
The Nigerian in Nigeria- many in this category have lost hope in the future of Nigeria because of the deplorable conditions of basic infrastructures and anti-people policies. While so many have continued to make the sacrifices we see materialising into the large component of SME input in our nation’s GDP, a host of citizens with the mental and financial potentials to build Nigeria’s future are strategising on how to run away to foreign lands- in their “Japa” chronicles. Bear in mind that if the players of the political systems don’t default in their usually beautiful manifestos and uphold the culture of integrity, this set of people, the Nigerians in Nigeria will remain the greatest asset of the Nigerian state, because they are on ground to make a living, and directly impact our nation’s ailing economy positively. Patriotism and a paradigm shift in the way the government of Nigeria operates are the only catalyst to change the mindset of this group from the Japa syndrome which is causing a brain drain crisis to the Nigerian nation.
This group houses the category of people I call the toxic gaslighters and public Narcissistic. They are the civil servants, who are mostly as corrupt, if not more than the people in government. This set of Nigerians do not belong to the patriotic school of thought. They believe and sing high corruption of the politicians and people in government; however, they are the same people who do not go to work, but get salaries, and when they go, they resume work late and believe that lateness and poor service delivery is one of the basic human rights of the Nigerian civil servant. They racketeer employments and aid ghost working, they sabotage the little transformational government efforts in their ministries, so that they can continue to operate in impunity. The road-trip to savaging the Nigerian nation will only be smooth if it takes off from the civil service bus stop.
The Nigerians in the diaspora- this group of people of the Nigerian origin are in bisection of- (a) patriotism for traditional values and routes of origin or (b) unpatriotic views out of frustration with the government of Nigeria and undue influence of civilisation. So much has been done by the diaspora group through foreign direct remittances into the Nigerian economic system; local investments made in Nigeria from the diaspora through private home buildings, hospitality facilities and other investments, testing Edo state as a diaspora investment destination case study. In addition, this group renders immeasurable financial support to their unemployed or underemployed friends and families living in Nigeria. However, many of the people in this diaspora group have also given up on their country Nigeria, because of the ailing economic and political systems, haven enjoyed the impact of developed economies abroad. A host of people in this category have no zeal or intentions whatsoever to support the economic development of Nigeria, unlike the aforementioned category. In this category are some people who obtained medical degrees paying altogether, five to six year course tuition for as low as N50,000. When they relocate abroad, they advance their education with same heavily subsidised Nigerian degrees, then get employments and earn hundreds of thousands dollars per annum without pending debts; unlike their developed nation’s counterparts who pay student loans for the most part of their employment lives. Sadly, this set of Nigerians reiterate daily that Nigeria has never done anything for them.
This latter set of Diaspora Nigerians house a lot of the most unpatriotic people of the Nigerian origin. They push an exaggerated impression of developed economies, they pose the diaspora superiority syndrome over their Nigerian based counterparts and do not believe in the idea that “everyone has a role to play in the development of their country.” They ignore the fact that the developed nations started building from somewhere, they act ignorant of the fact that the unique social-culture and political structure of developing economies impact the pace of their growth.
Nigeria is not and has not failed. We can achieve nothing if we do not collaborate positively. We must all work together, retire religious and ethic sentiments, play ethical politics, fight corruption together and be ready to uphold integrity, even when nobody is seeing us. Think about building instead of trolling, invest in Nigeria and the Nigerian people. Ultimately, we must appreciate the importance of being Nigerians and the great things we have benefited from Nigeria.
Opinion Naija 🇳🇬
Vanguard News Bliss H. Orobor Instagram Instablog9ja Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu Governor Godwin Obaseki Babajide Sanwo-Olu Daddy Freeze Zara Onyinye Ayekooto Akindele All Progressives Congress Official Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Nigeria Kashim Shettima
