We are all indebted to Nigeria, By Abdullahi Yunusa ProfWills
NEWS DIGEST- No nation attains greatness by mere wishful thinking. A society’s quest for greatness is often actualized through the untiring efforts, sacrifices and commitment of her citizens through hardwork and service. Little wonder the human resource is always regarded as the most invaluable asset of any nation. Thankfully, by some divine arrangement and sheer stroke of luck, Nigeria is privileged to have both human and material resources, appreciably. So, God was indeed kind to us at creation.
The question that keeps begging for answer is, how well have we maximized these gifts to our advantage either individually or collectively? How come we are yet to address the litany of existential and development-related challenges confronting us given the amount of resources at our disposal? Are we saying we would have been better off as a people without these resources? These are the puzzles that often dominate discussions and debates during important national events.
Ordinarily, given the resources God has blessed us with, at 58, Nigeria should have considerably overcome some existential challenges like endemic poverty, hunger, diseases, unemployment, illiteracy, child and maternal mortality. It does appear that the more our resources grow through earnings from oil and taxes, the more our problems grow astronomically.
As disturbing and worrisome as these sad developments are, we appear very complacent, taciturn and lukewarm in our response to tackle them head on. The argument still remains that, if our resources are well managed and evenly distributed among Nigerians, poverty and wanton lack would be reduced drastically.
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Ultimately, it is our collective responsibility to make our country great and prosperous. We must all take ownership of the Nigerian project. As important as foreign aide is to Nigeria, the bulk of what we require to realize the country of our collective dreams and aspiration is right here with us. It is an aberration that a country of Nigeria’s size, wealth and status still appears beggarly and constantly in search of aide. How Nigeria still trail behind less endowed nations in terms of economic growth should be a source of worry to any discerning mind.
We are all responsible for all the ills that Nigeria is currently battling with. Both leaders and the led are culpable in this regard. Most of our leaders have been everything but patriotic in carrying out their official responsibilities. Leaders in this clime see public office as a means to amass wealth for themselves and their cronies. This is simply why they can hardly survive or live meaningful life outside public office.
Irrespective of where we find ourselves and what we do today, we all owe Nigeria certain obligations as citizens. Leaders must ensure that they remain patriotic in words and actions. The underlining reason for seeking elective position should be to contribute to national development and not to plunder the nation’s wealth. They must ensure to put in place favourable policies that will engender national development.
Also, as citizens it is our responsibility to hold our leaders accountable. Governance shouldn’t be left in the hands of our elected and appointed representatives alone. Citizens are key stakeholders in the drive to fix Nigeria. We must be interested in governance and how it works across all levels and spheres.
Professionals across various fields, business people, artisans, students and the masses equally have distinctive roles to play in our quest to put Nigeria on the path of genuine progress. Our collective actions must be seen to be favourable to Nigeria. We must shun practices that frustrate or impede development. We are all leaders in our respective areas of influence, hence the need to always act right.
In the finally analysis, Nigeria expects alot from us as her citizens. We have all it takes to make Nigeria the envy of other nations if we conduct ourselves properly. Nothing hurts a nation badly than to watch her resources being stolen by a few of its citizens thereby subjecting the masses to wanton lack and penury. Let’s give Nigeria our very best. Happy 58th independence anniversary to all Nigerians.
Yunusa writes from FHA, Ligbe Abuja. meetprofwills@yahoo.com
