Nigeria is my fatherland, my beautiful nation, a land flowing with milk and honey, a land of opportunity, a land with over 250 ethnic groups. A land where everywhere you went, you will most likely be welcome. This was the Nigeria I heard so much about from my parents, this was the Nigeria where the passport was a symbol of national pride, this was the Nigeria that had a currency that was more powerful than most of those in the western world. This was Nigeria I hoped to grow up in, now I doubt if I want to remain here. This Nigeria of now, stained with the blood of the innocent, is the Nigeria where the value of life has been reduced to less than the cost of a cow or in some cases measured in the same category. This is the Nigeria where bandits and terrorists have now become the order of the day, we are now “used to some of them” and some we discover daily.
This is Nigeria where the airport runway is now being used for moto GP by bandits and unknown gunmen. This is Nigeria where aircraft and pilots compete for landing space with okadas. This is Nigeria where travelling by any means has become a prayer point and religious bodies must sanctify your journey with words from their holy books. This is Nigeria where politicking has been deemed by certain unscrupulous leaders to be more valuable than human lives. This is Nigeria where the sun blows hot (by no fault of anyone’s), and someone somewhere thinks the right thing to do is to increase power supply bills. This is the Nigeria where we are promised that refineries will work soon but the day seems to be in competition with the day of rapture, only God knows it. This is Nigeria where University lecturers, doctors and other unions go on strike, and they are blamed for demanding a better working environment. They are sometimes told that they are unpatriotic. Only those who are saying these know what they mean. Should these people live in abject poverty while the leaders live lavish life?
This is Nigeria where the police arrest, detain, investigate, prosecute, and even deliver judgement on the spot. Sometimes leading to fatal consequences for the accused. This is Nigeria where the military is expected to defend the nation using sticks and stones while their adversaries use bows and arrows. This is Nigeria where the leaders are jetting abroad to get medical checkups when the doctors are on strike. This is Nigeria where train travel becomes a death sentence simply because someone who is very ‘intelligent’ refused or ignored the intelligence available.
This is Nigeria where someone blames someone for the death of many and someone somewhere vows to do something to that someone who did the killing, and nothing gets done. They keep vowing, only heaven knows how many vows it receives a day from Nigerian leaders. This is Nigeria where kidnappers are making phone calls to demand ransom, and we cannot track their location because we don’t know where they are (what an irony). Yet we can track those who steal our phones on the road. This is Nigeria where corruption is king, and integrity is frowned upon. This is the Nigeria where’
“I BELONG TO EVERYBODY AND I BELONG TO NOBODY” deceived us.
Well, this is Nigeria and there is so much to say. But we have had the stick plucked from our eyes, or from mine for want of emphasis. In all this negativity and bloodshed, I know there is still some light at the end of this very long and dark tunnel.
I say, there will be a Nigeria of hope, a Nigeria where dreams become reality, where the airports are safe, where the roads are lit in beauty and where the tracks bristle with bullet trains. There will be a Nigeria where people rejoice in harmony, where ethnic lines are seen as building lines and not dividers. There will be a Nigeria that is safe for all. A beautiful nation, a prosperous nation. I don’t know if that will be in my time. But it will be. I LOVE NIGERIA.
GOD BLESS THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA!!!
The Relevance of Data in Decision Making.