Nigerians, it’s time to wake up

OUR leaders and politicians have misplaced their priorities. They prefer to buy big houses and  expensive cars, and build five-star hotels all in the fear of poverty or being poor again.

They see these as a means of fighting poverty after public office. They fail to create an enabling environment for investors to come into the country and industrialise it.

Since they have failed to give us uninterrupted power supply,  good roads, security and other basic amenities that could aid development, they also become scared of investing their ill-gotten wealth in building companies that could employ the masses, in order to eradicate unemployment and fight hunger.

All we have as a nation are past glories. We talk of the great Obafemi Awolowo,  Nnamdi Azikiwe,  and Ahmadu Bello almost in every part of our history but we fail to emulate their vision and style of leadership.

We will never feel satisfied until all Nigerians can feed and live like humans. We have a lot of abandoned exotic houses in estates across the country, yet a lot of people are being sent out by their landlords because they cannot pay their house rent.

Are those sleeping under the bridges pleased with it?  No,  but they have no money to pay rent since they have no jobs and they can’t steal.

I feel increasingly worried and sad about the sorry state of state of affairs of Nigeria. Only a persistent sense of optimism about a brighter future lifts and ameliorates my fear.

I have come to realise that the credibility of leadership can only be established through action and not words. The action in focus is one that makes the leader to see his people as his foremost assets and not burdens of liabilities.  Our opinion might differ but our focus should be intact.

Academic intelligence is different from native intelligence. Building a formidable nation entails more of action than rhetoric. No matter how  we use vocabulary to frighten  people, the fact is that they won’t care about our threat because they know that we don’t love ourselves.

The solution for us to get there is one love and to be respecter of one another’s views. The youths are not one!!! Too much of hate, ego and selfish interest. Let’s do things right and differently. We know the truth! Eradicating mental slavery is another task in front of us.

If we all kick against the monetisation of politics, then we can project poor youths who have the zeal,  drive and passion for this country to contest in general elections and hold important political posts and continue vibrantly.

• Babatunde Badmus

Ibadan, Oyo State