Nigeria: Good people, great nation

A foreigner once told me  that Nigerians talk too much; that they know the right course of action to take to move the country forward but will not do it. He said the state fails to go after brigands. who go ransacking villages at night to kill communities of people.

I get annoyed at times when I see some immigrants run Nigeria down due to the failure of domestic governance. We are a humane people but taken for a ride by governments in Nigeria.

There are deviants everywhere; Nigeria is not different. Nigerians are happy people. They smile even when times are tough; even when they are exploited by business people. This is the only country on earth where businessmen can make two hundred per cent profit without paying taxes.

Nigerians go to Jabi luxury bus terminal and bid farewell to Abuja at night, get to Lagos in the morning, buy supplies same day without lodging in any hotel in Lagos, bid farewell to Lagos at night to be in Abuja the next day and sell goods bought at cut-throat prices to Nigerians without any governmental agency to check the rip-off and put spike on prices.

Foreigners have noticed these ambiguities in Nigeria, and they go to banks to get loans with payment terms above the standard rate, knowing full well that they can pay back in weeks. These fellows run to their countries and bring in all of their family members after which they settle down to do business in Nigeria; and instead of thanking us for our benevolence, they insult us.

How many Nigerians are carried about and protected by the security outfits of foreign nations in foreign lands? They think we are irresponsible because we are easily trusting. We trust in governments that do not care about us, and foreigners have cashed in on this to reflect on themselves and their importance.

They pretend not to see us, downplay the importance of our workforce but use same workforce to build their empires not in Nigeria but in their home countries.

I know that the right attitude is lacking in many establishments, but again, there are deviants everywhere, not only in Nigeria.

I wish governments can stop these expressions of budding hostility from people. Some of the ways to do so include helping to restore international standing and investor confidence in Nigeria; increase political influence; encourage robust international partnerships and enhance nation building.

Nigerians are hardworking people; they just need the right set of leaders with vision to boost their confidence for nation building efforts, instill pride in nationhood, synchronization, belief in collective humanism, national will and resolve to develop polity. It’s simple but very hard for people in political offices whose desire is only to make history.

Simon Abah,

Abuja