I have been pondering over this topic for a long time now and I think it’s high time I let the whole world know.
This article comes from an inner conviction which eats and thaws at my inside daily considering the situation in “our” country(?), which in reality I think, ceased being our collective property a very long time ago. Nigeria as she’s being run is not what we can call ours any longer. She ceased being our collective property from the time some few people began showing signs of “we can do and undo” as we like a la FGASUU clash.
There are a lot of Nigerians out there in the western world who have carved a niche for themselves not only because they were the most brilliant and good at what they do but also because they had a good and appreciative environment to help their talents develop. These people have in turn brought glory to their country.
To say, the average young Nigerian is in a fix as to what she wants to become in the nearest future is an understatement. The average young secondary school graduate on the streets of Lagos if asked what she wants to do after school will most likely talk of going abroad to study. Reasons for these are not far fetched. One only has to look at the incessant stalling of academic calendars as a result of perennial strikes from break down of dialogue between lecturers and government.
Every day one turns on the TV and sees pictures of young people who ought to be in school being paraded as crime suspects. Others are on the streets hawking phone card vouchers; some are peddling their bodies as whores on the major streets of Lagos, PHC and Abuja just to make ends meet.
Meanwhile, the children of our leaders are seen in society magazines during their graduation ceremonies in American and British universities. Yet our so-called government of the people are crying for 2nd term while they mortgage the future of the children of the poor and less fortunate.
Their children come back from western schools and are given the best jobs while the employers refer to locally schooled graduates as half-baked. What I believe these people are trying to create in our country in the long run is a society divided academically into two in terms of geography. A society where your land of study determines the worth of your certificate. That can be the only reason why they’ll willfully cause death for our local universities when their own children have an easy access to schools abroad. Which way are we going to with all these things happening?
Citizens are lamenting the upsurge in violent crimes when the simple solution is at the edge of their noses. Can you see it?
I pray we learn to see the good and potential in ourselves before everything comes crashing down.
