Nigeria: The little foxes…

AS an octogenarian, I know that many people say that “in those days, things were not like this in this country.” In fact, life was peaceful, pleasant and not fearsome and not turbulent like it is today. Life was bearable and interesting. As time went on, the little foxes began to sneak in, in diverse ways, making the country bad in many ways today. What is the cause of our inability to be among the top nations of the world?

We need to ruminate and to correct our mistakes where we have gone wrong. Today, I can tell the story of the 1940s, 1950s, and so on. Agriculture was the main occupation of Nigerians. Another occupation was the teaching profession. Everybody had respect for everyone else and there was the fear God. There was discipline and decency and good conduct. During the time of Chief Jeremiah Obafemi Awolowo, he encouraged agriculture and education. The country’s economy was based mainly on agric, from which the first tallest building in Africa, Cocoa House in Ibadan, was built in 1965.

My contention now is, why did we allow Satan to deflect our attention away from our original occupation which God proposed for us in Nigeria? Oil is for reserves. Agriculture should be our main occupation, given the fertile soil He created for us to live better lives. The sage struggled a lot on agriculture by instituting farm settlements in the Western Region. Apart from that, his government then planted a 13-kilometer teak forest at Idi-Ayunre, on Ijebu Ode Road  Ibadan. The forests are still growing widely.  Oyo State has been harvesting the crop since the 1960s. Today, throughout the South-West, it is difficult to see big trees like Iroko, Arere, Mahogany, Opepe, and the like that God Himself planted for us.

They are no more in our forests. They were seeds planted by God. Shall we now be importing wood again or do we beg God to forgive our sins? There are seeds for cocoa, palm trees, coffee, oranges and many other trees but no seeds for Iroko and other hard wood trees.

The seed we lay emphasis upon now in Nigeria is procreation of children. This is now causing over population, without us planning for the future. This is one of the foxes that are making Nigeria a  country of illiterates and semi-illiterate groups of people trying to turn the country into a terrorist enclave. The present predicaments in the country are sourced from such carelessness. Happily, God will not, because someone has only a few children, deprive us of salvation.

Many of the children we have in the country today are satanic; they are half-baked, uneducated or stark illiterates. No wonder, then, that majority of them are thugs, armed robbers, okada riders, illiterate motor drivers and all sorts, giving the country unrest of mind and bad names all over the world. We have a lot of miles to  go, in order to ameliorate the situation. Let them go back to the farm. If an octogenarian can go back to farm, a contractor who did not execute any contract for more than 15 months can go back to farm.

All the three tiers of the governments should empower the youths by forcing them back to farming with at least N200,000 in grants, with quality supervision. Another vital  point is Nigeria is bigger than any religious sect. Then, government should put maximum and minimum limits to childbearing. Nigerian citizens need iron hands; because our hearts are not easy to bend.

Another point relates to our governmental system. It is time to change from the presidential system to any other system that will not be too costly for the country. The United States which is practising the presidential system has more resources than Nigeria. Americans know how to manage their resources, and  they are technologically and agriculturally knowledgeable. Europe also is still practising the parliamentary system and it is these two continents that Nigerians are today migrating into because of their buoyant economy and their prudent management. We cannot plan ours because of our complexities, laziness, greed and religious bias.

Meanwhile, I was dismayed recently by a report that Nigeria holds the second position on motor accidents globally.  Driving requires mental balance. The licenses of those that test positive for drugs should be withdrawn, while barons and drug sellers be apprehended and jailed. The sellers find it easy selling their products at motor parks. In conclusion, President Muhammadu Buhari is implored to give 2,000 youths in each of our 774 local government areas. There are various kinds of farming that can yield yearly profits: fishery, piggery, poultry, and the like. Also, planting of cassava, plantain, yam, maize, rice, ground nut, wheat, beans and many others can provide a living for our youths if well managed. The country will be relieved of 1,548,000 unemployed people through this. Chief Awolowo predicted that a time will come in Nigeria that the youths will fight for themselves, perhaps now. Nigeria.  God bless Nigeria.

• Alao writes in from Iwo, Osun State.