TribuneOnline went to town in Delta State to sample the views of what may be termed: ordinary Nigerians in the street on Nigeria at 58.
The respondents, which cut across tribe, age and gender, were asked the following questions: As a Nigerian, are you happy with your country? Are our leaders doing what they shouldn’t do for the country? If you are given a chance to leave this country, will you go? What can you do to help Nigeria grow? Excerpts.
1. Kinsley Utoyo, student, 23 years old
I am not happy with this country because, there are no job opportunities, no good educational system, and the rate of corruption is increasing by the day.
No. Our leaders are not doing what they should do for the country they are failing in so many areas. The security in the country is very poor; you hear cases of killings everyday. Electricity is not constant.
Yes, ooo one way I no go even waste time to leave.
I can set up an organization to establish the youth especially the graduate cause I can’t imagine somebody after spending four to five years in the university, go into the road and be riding Keke to make ends meet.
What then is the use of becoming a graduate when you cannot get a decent job?
2. Francis Emete Rejoice, student, 20 years old
It’s not like I’m not happy, the thing is whether Nigeria is 58, 59 or 60, it makes no difference Nigeria always remain the same let me not remain the same it goes from worse to worst.
I can’t really speak the whole country ooo but where I based on i.e Warri and its environs, NO nothing is happening here at all, like I said before everything is going from worse to worst, academically economically and otherwise.
We need development like now we are going through a lot we need infrastructural development, especially in the academic sector imagine somebody who has five children will ask four children to step down for one to go because of the poor economic situation in the country. Imagine private schools: (A one-man school) growing more than the government school(Government owned school) They have learning facilities more than the government-owned Schools it’s not supposed to be so. We have leaders at the federal, state, and local level to make things easy for us but no, All they do is for their own selfish interest not considering what the masses are going through. They are just sitting on top of our money growing fat by the day while we struggle to make ends meet.
Haaa na one hand oooo I no go think am twice. Because there’s nothing am doing here. I was born here, my dad was born here, my mum was born here, no development: it’s been one cycle. Take a look at those Nigerians that have a slit opportunity to go there just to study and them coming back you see a lot of difference, even if they were not privileged to have worked there. You will not see a foreigner that comes to Nigeria and be proud that he came to Nigeria. But just let any of us go there to spend just one week vacation and come back to Nigeria, my sister we no go hear word again oo. Some go dey talk different things: haa if you see their roads, if you see their children you go trip and so on.
On what I can do for Nigeria, I will create opportunities for people out there especially the graduates.
3. Mr Vitas Duruigbo, 46 years, businessman
Yes, I’m happy with Nigeria my country because I’m the citizen of Nigeria and God blessed Nigeria with many resources.
But to be sincere, our leaders are not leading; they are not doing anything to develop the country; they are just there stealing our money making things difficult for the people they are leading.
They are not making use of our money to invest in the country. No good roads, electricity is not constant yet we pay light bill every now and then. Other countries surrounding Nigeria are envious of our electricity, but We, the owners, are not enjoying it. We have many ways to generate light, we have kangi dam and other sources we can get electricity from, but we don’t make use of any of them.
If I’m given the opportunity to leave this country I will not leave because of the privilege I have here, I will not have it anywhere. Here in Nigeria, I’m a citizen I have the liberty to go anywhere I want to go. If I go to other places I don’t think the liberty I have here I can have over there. So I thank God for being a Nigerian.
ALSO READ:Â APC primaries: Ambode sets for war, says Sanwoolu unfit to rule LagosÂ
I will first of all try to create job opportunities for the youth because they are the future of Nigeria. Create a place where they can achieve their dreams.
4. Chimezie Ijekwu, 30 years, businessman
No, I am not happy because as a nation, we have experienced a lot of setbacks in recent times in terms of economic growth and politics. Our growth, as a country, is very slow.
No, the leaders we have in this country don’t care about the masses; all they care about is just themselves and their families, that’s why they use money that is meant for the development of the country to train their children to school outside the country and they are not being pricked by their conscience.
As leaders, much is expected from them; there are so many things that they are supposed to do but are not doing it. We don’t have good road network; all the roads in Nigeria have potholes. Unemployment is rampant. So many youths are unemployed; poor security system, that’s why we hear killings everyday if it’s not Boko Haram, it’s Fulani’s Herdsmen and they are not concerned about it.
If I’m given a Visa now to leave, I’m off, because you can’t compare the standard of abroad, America precisely to that of Nigeria. Their economy is well managed, unlike Nigeria.
If I’m to do something for Nigeria, I will first of all tackle the issue of unemployment in this country because the population of the unemployed is too much. And I will tackle the problem of insecurity and I will tackle the problem of poverty by making sure that any student that passed out of the secondary school level must acquire skills like fashion designing, hair making, craft and other area of specialization, before going to the university so that they can be self-dependent and self-employed when they graduate and even those that were not privileged to go to school will make something out of themselves. I know by doing that the rate of poverty will reduce.
5. Chinenye Njekwu, 28 years old, trader
Nigeria @58, to be sincere with you, I’m not happy with this country, every day things are going worse and the key point here is corruption.
Our leaders doing ke… They are not doing what they ought to do ooo. All they know how to do is to make fake promises. Before the masses vote them in, they will have up to seven points agenda, and after voting them in, they won’t do anything And when it’s time for them to leave the seat i.e the fourth year for them to leave, that’s when they will start doing some little things, pretending as if they have been doing their work. We no longer operate in democracy we are now operating autocracy. Before now, our vote counted, whoever we voted in attended to the needs of the masses; but now; whether we vote or not, whosoever, they want to put in the seat is the person that will rule; then at the end of the day, embezzlement of funds will be the order of the day.
As per what our leaders should be doing that they are not doing, there are so many things that are not in place that they should put in place that’s the reason they are there. Look at our roads, potholes everywhere, a journey that will not take up to two hours, you spend up to four to five hours because of the bad roads we have here in the country. They should look for roads that are not motorable and repair instead of repairing good roads that have little potholes leaving roads that are flooded with water with every little drop of rain.
Look at our health centres, the leaders refuse to provide us with the necessary equipment we need to save people’s lives. Citizens prefer private health centres to government ones. It’s not supposed to be so.
If you are given a chance to leave the country, will you go? No ooo, not at all. Nigeria is blessed even though there’s corruption. Imagine when you go to other countries, you pay for water that you will use to bathe. The cost of living over there is very high to non-citizens compare to when you are living in your country. When it comes to rents, the landlords here they are trying ooo. I’m not leaving this country oo, this is my fatherland the privilege I have here I can’t find them anywhere in the world because this is my fatherland.
On what I can contribute to make the country grow, the number one thing I think I can do to help Nigeria grow, is to put God first. I believe in prayers. The heart of a leader is in the hands of God. If only we can pray, I believe that this nation will change. For us to fight corruption, we must first check ourselves because corruption starts from us. If we work on ourselves, then this country will go far. When electing a leader, we should make sure we elect a God-fearing leader. If I am in a position to help the country, I will make sure I empower the youths, build an institute where they can acquire training to know their area of specialization so that they can be self-dependant.
and then