In Nigeria, simple things are complex

You would think that amid a pandemic, when employment figures are as scary as those from a bad scientific calculator, hunger has risen and security both social and otherwise has collapsed, common sense would return, especially in my motherland Nigeria; sadly no, because everything is still complex.

People have lost their jobs, sources of livelihood gone, pains, and pangs of hunger bite, and crime sours to the roof, and we want to solve complex problems. Let’s ask for starters, what’s the complex issue or rocket science in NEPA, DISCo or GENCo doing something as simple as sending cluster SMS to customers or consumers about daily electricity supply. Just let your consumers know when they would have light, for how long, and leave it at that. The consumer can plan, knows what to expect and how to go about their business…

How about for starters, policemen and women (SARS inclusive) learn to greet Nigerians… ‘Good morning sir, your papers look set to expire next week, do remember to get them renewed.’ I go shoot you, give me your phone, anything for the boys, and the abnormal questions would look like a once upon a time.

Do you know less than five per cent of Nigerians would ever get the experience of seeing their governor at even a social distance? We are paying stamp duties, taxes of various types, yet the average Nigerian, don’t ask me who that is, will not pay taxes, and the average government will also not provide services even with monies from those who paid.

That is why we won’t win the World Cup because we can’t get the simple things right in all of our sports; simple stadiums we cannot maintain, people will not create employment and will not allow for a conducive environment for others to create. We make having a world class hospital look complex and wonder why the best hospitals are privately owned and the public ones funded by billions, run by politically selected CMDs cannot do well.

Try getting a public document, you will understand the difference between six and half a dozen, whether it is the Nigerian passport, or National ID card, or National Population Commission birth certificate, you must put grease and engine oil on several hands. A simple matter becomes so hard.

The impact of our complex nature on starvation is dramatic, with government policies to shield the population from hunger being minimal. Instead of the Chinese loans and pills that serve only the elite, government should simply work with local structures to do simple things. This is where things are confusing: the protection of elite complexity is far more important for our leaders than the protection of precious life, which is too simple a thing to do.

Dr. Charles Dickson,

[email protected].

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