[3min Read]
By Jesulayomi Oyelami
Once upon a time, there
was a country, nameless and void of development, built on the heritage of its
people but left in the hands of explorers to do as they pleased. Over time, it
became "eye candy", inviting to the 'colonial masters', who gifted her slavery in the form of 'development'. Amazed by this gift, she took it, and believed in it, until
it dawned on her that she‘s worth far more than the value they had offered.
Now, in this day and time, there is a
country, broken free from colonial shackles - but bound by the slavery she bought herself, many years ago.
From its inception, to its
independence - and to its present day, Nigeria has evolved from what it used to
be to what it now is. Nigeria has been
through various phases of development; its independence on 1st
October, 1960 being a notable first. Afterwards, it became a republic on 1st
October 1963. The nation has survived several military coups and counter coups as well as also surviving a civil war and possible cessation (1967 – 1970). It has
developed from having just 3 regions to having six geo-political zones/regions
with 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory and on and on and on. There have been
developments in all its 'nooks and crannies'.
However, regardless of all the
supposed development, Nigerians can still testify of better days than today. This is
due to the the issue that despite the fact that Nigeria has constantly worked to be
better, there are some key factors that contribute to dragging the Nation
backward. The many problems of Nigeria can be attributed to factors, like a consecutive reign of bad leadership, corruption, poverty and lack of innovation
just to mention a few. A small article is honestly too limiting to list the
problems that this nation faces. Thus, permit me to summarize that the one and
only problem of Nigeria, is the mentality of its people upon which all other
problems emanate.
In order to find solutions to a
problem, the most important thing to do is to trace the root of it. In my
opinion, the 'root' of the problems in Nigeria’s case is the same as the problem - which is, the mentality of the people. The society (ie the people), has made it a habit to continuously blame the government for its problems, forgetting that
it’s a fellow member of the society that used to not have shoes that becomes
the head that wears the crown. This an exact depiction of the Yoruba adage that
says “kokoro to n jefo, inu efo lowa”.
The question then is, how do we
go about solving the problem?
Well, the first and most essential thing, is to reform the mind of the people. The members of the society should engage themselves in productive and nation changing activities. The people should be empowered to innovate means that would lead to national development. A popular saying is that "the children are the leaders of tomorrow", so the people should create in their children the leaders they want to lead the nation. The clamor for change in Nigeria has become a second anthem, and likewise has become as 'meaningless' to the people as the anthem. To indeed see the change that the people want, the people must first become the change they want to see. This is achievable by flushing out the lazy man/ dependent attitude, the short cut seeking attitude, the mediocrity mindset and all other inherent attitudes that every single Nigerian possesses.
Well, the first and most essential thing, is to reform the mind of the people. The members of the society should engage themselves in productive and nation changing activities. The people should be empowered to innovate means that would lead to national development. A popular saying is that "the children are the leaders of tomorrow", so the people should create in their children the leaders they want to lead the nation. The clamor for change in Nigeria has become a second anthem, and likewise has become as 'meaningless' to the people as the anthem. To indeed see the change that the people want, the people must first become the change they want to see. This is achievable by flushing out the lazy man/ dependent attitude, the short cut seeking attitude, the mediocrity mindset and all other inherent attitudes that every single Nigerian possesses.
It is high time that the people
stood up for themselves to institute the change they want. If each and every
Nigerian honestly contributes to the development of Nigeria by doing all the
things he/she needs to do as a good citizen of Nigeria, the nation as a whole
would quit retrogressing and start progressing. Therefore this is a call to
every Nigerian, to clean their corners, in order to clean up the whole room.
With this I believe that “soon upon a time” there would be a country that will
live happily ever after.
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