Toward The Nigeria We Crave For -By Solihu Abdulmumin

The Nigeria we craved for was not the one where its countrymen are struggling amidst pain and agony. It was not the one where insecurity is in the highest level, where the economy is nothing to write home about. The Nigeria we craved for wasn’t the one where unemployment is the order of the day. It wasn’t the one where its youth have become hopeless as there is no enabling environment for them to succeed and brutalities became rampant. So, what is the Nigeria of our dream?

The term – “Nation Building”, is usually used to refer to a constructive process of engaging all citizens in building social relation, economic prosperity and political stability in a nation using an inclusive and democratic way. Nation Building is a multidimensional concept, and it involves the active participation of its citizens in various walks of life. A strong and powerful nation is built on dedication and hard work of its citizen and some amount of smart planning on the part of the Government.

How then do we get to building the Nigeria of our dream? It is no more a news that, the Nigeria we craved for wasn’t the Nigeria we got. We hoped to see a Nigeria where everything happens to be perfectly better from all perspectives, economically, socially, physically and even mentally. “Rome wasn’t built in a day”, says a proverb. It is a process that involve stages. A complementary and simultaneous steps in which one lead to the other.

From the definition of Nation building, it carry along all citizen of such nation. The civil servants, the youth, the students, the aged, both working and non-working class and even the children are all indebted to this goal of achieving the nation of our dream. However, it was so sad and heartbreaking that our Nigerian youth, who happens to be the builders of all nation, were not prioritized in Nigeria. They lack the privilege and opportunity to participate in political and economical matters of the country. And when they came out to fight for their rights through a peaceful protest, all they received was a massacre of a great number of them.

Futhermore, one of the important factor required for building the Nigeria of our dream is energizing the students. A student helps in building a nation through various means which includes; acting as a role models for others. They can take out rallies to create awareness related with some current issues/evils such as Drug Addiction, Save Daughter- Educate Daughter, Crime against Women, Corruption, Rape, etc. They can be made to debate on trending issues during various debate competitions. This will enlighten them to know the challenges ahead of them in the country they found themselves. It will also educate the audience who listened to various points of those students.

More also, enterpreneurs have a very notable contribution required of them to build the Nigeria of our dream. They can get into this through donations, sponsors of youth enhancing programs, directed towards the empowerment of the youths. Payment of taxes as at due, is also a means through which they could help to build the nation of our dreams. They can also serve as a role model or a mentor to the generations coming after them.

In addition to, another factor needed for building a better Nigeria is Improving education. At least till senior secondary level, it’s the framework of a nation. The factor that determines the population, crime rate (to a large extent) and the leaders who its citizens choose. Education has a great influence in the life of citizens of a country. The more educated they are, the more enlighten and expose they would become. The quality of Nigeria education is depreciating. It is not encouraging at all. Imagine the youth whom we referred to as the “Nation builders”, staying at home for almost a year, due a baselese strike. Are these our future leaders?

Lastly, the political dictators of the country. They includes the government, law enforcement agencies, law makers, security agents and various forces of the country. They are the factor on which other factors depend mostly. They decide what the public discuss, and they always have their final says. To attain a Nigeria we’ve been craving for, they have to be willing and show sign of readiness for the far-reaching goal.

In conclusion, A Nation can become strong if we all possess qualities of leadership, trust and confidence in our children and motivate them to sparkle and achieve their aims without running away from their duties and respecting and obeying elders and loving their nation by becoming good citizens and good humans who not only build the society but also the country. We should endeavour to stop blaming anyone, be it is the government or individuals. We should all wake up to reality, identify our own part of it and work toward attaining the greatest height.