Nigeria’s many challenges…

AS one of the octogenarian citizens of Nigeria, I perceive the country as a mentally handicapped child since its independent 57 years ago. Take it or leave it, the fact must be told of our dear country if we want to grow. God however cannot be blamed for pouring untold and unmerited blessings in large quantities and in various dimensions for our pleasure which we have allowed Satan to deceitfully snatch away from us. We lack honesty, sincerity and unity. This makes me to refer to the Biblical passage that says: “Be sober, be vigilant because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour”. This is the cure of the problems we have in Nigeria, problems that we cannot manage with the unlimited resources that God blessed us with.

To my dismay, many Nigerians today are still blaming the present conditions in Nigeria on our colonial masters. I know that if they were still around managing our petroleum, we would be living a better life today. We must remember that we were not the only European colony. Others like us gained their independence and developed politically and  economically. Millions of Nigerians are seeking greener pastures today. Is white mentality specially made and better than ours? If not, why are we so unprogressive? It is quite clear that Nigeria is a country full of fraudsters and behavioral complexities, linguistic diversities and many other complexities. To be quite frank, this country urgently needs the grace of God for regeneration and unification. It is our character that made us unprogressive; we need the holy spirit of God in our midst to move forward.

What God has given to this nation is meant for all and sundry, but some few opportunists pillage the resources.When life was good in Nigeria, the sage, Jeremiah Obafemi Awolowo, said “A time will come in Nigeria that the masses will fight for themselves.” But left to me, I pray that God will fight for the masses in our dear country. The national cake is for a few while millions are suffering in silence. The only thing the leaders can do now to bring succour to fellow Nigerians is to return the nation’s money they have exported and ease our suffering without delay. There are other countries in this world that have petroleum like us. They are living in peace and surplus by using their petroleum proceeds for the masses, not for the leaders’ aggrandizement.

Nigeria needs to be regenerated to make life easy for all and sundry. Then, God will approve us as His own children when we have renewed attitudes to life. One other issue about our country is that we are too many. When God created Adam our forefather, He said we should multiply like the sea sand, but He did not say anyone should have 100 children. Today, we cannot cope with our population. Problems are mounting, many are jobless, consequently turning themselves to armed robbers, kidnappers, area boys etc. Then, what is it to celebrate about in our independence?

There are three tiers of governments in Nigeria: federal, state and local government. Let me here rehearse what their major duties ought to be: to provide stable electricity, transport, housing, good education, health and availability of sufficient food for all. Do we today have any of the above? In the past, we could say that we were a successful country. Today, we are talking of over 109 Senators, 267 houses of representative members, numerous numbers of Houses of Assembly all over the country. They were voted into office to bring succour to the masses. But alas, there are hues and cries of hunger in numerous families. It is a shame that the masses are suffering in Nigeria. An Octogenarian featured on a programme in Radio Nigeria recently said: “If there are sufficient houses for every citizen to live, and work for all, the evils perpetrated in this country today will be a thing of the past.”

In the city where I live, I have not met a single person who said his life had changed for the better. Everyone is suffering at the hands of the goats that eat up the  sheep. In 1964, I was earning. £11.10 as salary monthly, and had two bank accounts. Nigeria deteriorated through carelessness: it is today being bombarded with fake products all over the place. If you ask for any material, the traders will show you the fake and the original. Things are not like this in civilised countries. I understand that 70 per cent of drugs in Nigeria today are fake. Another thing is our market values which the power of the foreign exchange has extremely debased. The prices of our daily needs are high. Price Control Boards must be re-established in order to control the prices of commodities to show sympathy for the masses since we are going to the same market.

• Alao, a cleric, writes in from Iwo, Osun State.