Nigeria At 61: Your Quota Till This Quarter -By Quadri Yahya

Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.

—John F. Kennedy

My fellow countrymen, Nigeria is an entity, we, the Nigerians made it what it is. Many a time have Nigerian citizens concluded that the leaders are culpable for the devastating state of the nation. This, however, is not totally untrue looking at it from the bottom to the top; or from the threshold of Nigeria’s independence of October 1st, 1960, till now.

Successive coups and their executors were Nigerians and not the whites. In the real sense, they weren’t leaders but ordinary countrymen who were displeased on the mismanagement and corruption eroding public places and intended a change. Have coups experiences really changed the state of the state? Some critics argued this and said even whether corruption was in government during the military regime, it (military government) betters a democratic system of government. This argument,  however, has its opposers with stronger opinions. The battleground becomes resolute when we put Nigeria’s democracy with its less dividends side by side with democracies of other countries. We have our conclusions: the military government has more evil than a democracy could ever have.

My fellow countrymen, we have come this far — 61. A child born in the year 2000 will by now be a grandfather, or nearly.

Ideologically, the people in the nation and vice versa. We Nigerians are too quick to blame the government and languidly recline; hoping things will change as if controlled by a magician. No matter how optimistic our thinking is, it is cognizant to consider what we as citizens are doing to help the situation.

Now, let’s highlight our major problems and ask ourselves how we have been helping to make the stained system spotless; how we have been, in our capacities accounting for our accommodation of our faults and flaws as persons, as a tribe and as a region and also as a statesman.

If I should sit in my home and lament from today till thy kingdom comes how decade-old unemployment has become a social scourge in the country, I should be asked “how am I assisting?”. Many of us Nigerians have to ask ourselves bundles of questions and provide answers to them. And not just sit-tight and lament and lambast the leaders.

It will never be sufficient to identify a problem without proving to provide solution to it. Everyone would agree that when individuals co-operatively pool ideas, resources and energies together, such a group will never lack much.

When the President said there are no jobs, people are quick to condemn him; and I asked, “is that not the bitter truth?”. When the retirement age limit is ineffective, what do we have? Civil servants that are supposed to be retired remain in office, and fresh graduates groan as they are the victim of a verified backed-going system.

As Kennedy has said it, “If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.”

The social issue of unemployment cannot be tackle with whitewash words on newspapers and radios, neither could it be curb through obnoxious talks on social media; rather, we all should think in another direction. Instead of being a job seeker, why can graduate not think of being a job creator? Personalities, too, could contribute by building more companies and lots more. But this would have, mayhap, be possible only if the environment allows.

In a community where insecurity strives, such a community cannot be conducive to contain opportunities. Insecurity has plagued places and they look like they never for once exist. The North especially. Boko Haram hangs around when Biafra bounces forth. Insurgency follows. Banditry belch. Farmers-herders hinder agricultural productivity. And here we are. If these problems which will never promote productivity persists, we are going nowhere in development and growth. And needless to say, it is not the people in government that bears the brunt, if at all but, the masses, we Nigerians. And only when we find the root cause of insecurity, then should we have the peace to have a roundtable talk for improvement on other aspects of socio-economic issues.

The king of evil in government now is corruption. It pervades the place informs: bribery, fraud, embezzlement etc. This, to a large extent, has diffused to the grassroots. A close example is our Police force. Nobody now perceives impurity as insane. We are all, in one way or the other, guilty of this act.

Nevertheless, if we want to change, we need to reform and enforce the laws. Assuming any politician or personality found guilty of corruption allegations faces the pang of the law, we all know well that fear will spread and shiver sinks into the spine of others who might have such devilish intention in mind.

One of our topmost trouble is tribalism. This has its history in Nigeria’s unity in diversity in the past, however, leaders of today, as well as the followers, seem to be more primitive in exhibiting the act. Most of the time the problem is not with the ideology. However, it becomes an issue when it is at the detriment of others.

Most officeholders could have almost turned the system into a regional affair or even hereditary. Liken to thus is zoning or no zoning controversial discuss.

Tribalism taunts equal development. It is a plague that could cause underrepresented regions (who think so) to revolt. It needs to be eliminated.

The less often seen offensive is the environmental pollution problem. People dump everywhere: on the land, in the air and the water. This most times leads to flooding, erosion, etc. If we all can take responsibility and resist one another in contributing to this menace, we shall by then be discussing other important matters and move society forward.

This light write-up has no conclusion really as the matters are still pervading till proven otherwise. However, the citizens should be more conscious of what they perceive and push towards this personified entity call Nigeria.  Final words: there is no back door to exit. This is our God-entrusted country. And only US can make it great. We should learn to live in love, unity and show national identities.

Secession is not the way to go. Kennedy thinks aloud: “Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate.”