THE NIGERIA I SEE.

Whenever I hear the lyrics of the Nigerian national anthem, my blood boils, it boils with patriotism and love for the only nation we can proudly call our own. When I reflect again, the weight and the burden borne by these heroes past give me a resolve to fight for the protection of the entity called Nigeria; to uphold the unity in our diversity and to harness the abundance of human and material resources which Mother Nature has bestowed upon us.

Nigeria is one of the best countries to live in. We are not plagued by earthquakes or volcanic eruptions but our own internal eruptions often threaten to drag us to our knees.  Many Nigerians, especially the youth say that Nigeria does not support dreams and that it is one of those countries where dreams die a natural death. Really, I don’t share in this view; not because Nigeria has met all my dreams but because I dare to think that I must be the solution in every problem I encounter. This indeed is the mindset for the materialization of this Nigeria that I see.

The great writer, Chinua Achebe in his book the trouble with Nigeria said that the problem of Nigeria is failure of leadership. Though this is true, it is far from being the only thing. Followership has equally failed as it has become hard for Nigerians to trust their leaders even if the leaders happen to be well-intentioned. Hence it is imperative that we embrace a strong attitudinal change to bring our nation on course again.

The Nigeria I see in my mind is not the present Nigeria where power supply is epileptic; not this present Nigeria where ethnic bigotry upholds and fellow Nigerians are deported from one state to another. The Nigeria in my mind is not one where insecurity is the other of the day and certainly not where terrorism reigns supreme. Equally, the Nigeria I see is not one that is incredibly dependent on oil as the major source of revenue.

Yes! The Nigeria I see is a nation that caters for her citizen; where love reigns supreme and where there is transparent leadership. I see a nation that is economically sound, a nation devoid of excessive financial leakages in all nooks and crannies. I see a nation where nobody is visibly above the law. Indeed, borrowing some lines from the national anthem, I see a nation truly bound in freedom, peace and unity.

HOW POSSIBLE CAN THIS BE?

1.      DISCIPLINE

First of all, we need to be disciplined as a nation. Too much impunity from the high and mighty is not in our best interest. I therefore propose a return of the concept initiated by the Gen Mohammadu Buhari(rtd)-led military administration tagged “War Against Indiscipline.” Indiscipline should be taken far from our borders.  This Campaign should be championed by the National Orientation Agency. Our orientation needs to be re-aligned towards building a nation of our dreams. Nation building is a collective responsibility and according to Thomas Henry, “Perhaps the most valuable result of all education is the ability to make yourself do the thing you have to do whether you like it or not.” Once more, Drivers must learn to obey traffic rules; students must study to pass, politicians must learn to play intellectual politics instead of money politics; our orientation of time needs to be changed from the concept of African Time to prompt timing where our 9.00am is indeed our 9.00am.

2.      DIVERSIFIED ECONOMY

We must diversify our economy now. Yes, we must entertain no more delays. Our country is too dependent on oil and if our oil should dry up, we would be in serious dilemma. Many years back, we had ample abundance of Agricultural produce and we could boast of strong economic buoyancy. We must diversify strongly into Agriculture. The Nigeria I see is one in which we would become the food reserve for the whole of Africa by producing enough for our consumption and even more to export to the whole of Africa and beyond. We must produce rice enough; we must produce palm oil enough and even Cocoa enough. We should be able to become the number one exporter of food produce in the whole of Africa instead of being perceived in some quarters in the international community as experts in corruption related offences. I hereby propose that Government should make use of arable land in many parts of the nation to establish large government farm corporations that will absolve the teeming population of unemployed youths. Economic growth does not come by sharing money but instead it comes by working out plans that help us improve efficiency and productivity.

3.      MODIFICATION OF THE NATIONAL YOUTH SERVICE CORPS (N.Y.S.C) SCHEME.

The Nigeria in my mind is one that offers her youth better opportunities and these opportunities should arise from indigenous ideas instead of borrowing and importing ideas that may not fit into our own system. There is no doubt that the N.Y.S.C scheme has helped to galvanize the unity of our nation but the scenario where many graduates are churned out into the society without ample support or a waiting job does not depict policy efficiency. These young graduates when they are through with their Service year should be encouraged to become entrepreneurs by granting them loan facility in their area of passion or profession. This loan will not be in the form of money but rather in the form of equipment or Internship attachment and relevant support needed should be provided for their business to survive the foundation stage. This will give many creative youths the needed encouragement to become employers of labour. The YOUWIN program organized by the federal government is highly encouraging but it should also be used as an incentive for those who become outstanding during the National Youth Service year.

4.         ENHANCING THE TRANSPORTATION SECTOR.

The Nigeria I see is one in which we have a more efficient transportation sector where railways are built and roads cease from being death traps. I see a nation where all means of transportation are relatively safe. I believe we would soon have a nation where the seaports will be enhanced and even more created to open up more cities. Opening up an International seaport in Onitsha will further decongest Lagos and open up more areas for development. There should also be proper identification of passengers using the various means of transportation to reduce the risk of terrorism in our borders.

5.      RAISING THE STANDARD OF TEACHING AND LEARNING.

The standard of teaching must be given strong consideration. There is no nation that has ever developed without giving proper priority to education. The nation’s Universities must become world class standard. Enough funds should be appropriated into Research and development and proper accountability done to ensure that the fund is properly channelled.  The concept of China quickly comes to mind as I reflect of this Nigeria that I see. China as a nation was often taunted with the “Made In China” syndrome where their products were labelled as substandard but today, many of those products taunted years ago have become world renowned brands simply because of a strategic plan towards development.  Our technological institutions must produce something and our over inclination to the west has to reduce for us to harness some originality of thoughts. Nothing good comes easy but with consistency, we shall stand out in the comity of nations.

6.      IMPROVING HEALTH CARE.

Today, our nation lacks the capacity to deliver world class medical expertise in modern medicine. The level in which we now embrace health tourism to India where it now seems every sickness gets a cure is disturbing. We can become that nation where other countries can come to seek health succour. When we think global in our health care systems, then we can come to that point when we become equipped to attend to the health challenges of our people instead of flying our people abroad at the slightest diagnosis.

7.      BECOMING THE NUMBER ONE SPORTS NATION IN AFRICA.

In the just concluded World Athletics Championship, only Blessing Okagbare put Nigeria’s name on the medals table. I see a nation that will become the best not just in football but also in all other sporting events in the continent. With the current form of the Super Eagles, I see a nation that will be the first to win the world cup. The Nigeria I see is a nation where we would be dominating in every good thing; sending signals to the world as a nation genuinely committed to development.

8.      CURBING ETHNIC BIGOTRY.

The greatness of Nigeria is often undermined by excessive ethnic inclinations. We often sacrifice efficiency on the altar of ethnicity and this undermines our greatness. Today, it is hard if not impossible for someone of another tribe to dare to contest election in another state where he is not an indigene even though he may have lived there for over thirty years. I see a nation that will shed ethnic stereotyping where each tribe will no longer be silently at war with another. This can be achieved through advocacy and campaigns that will be aimed at judging people based on their character and not based on where they come from. I see a nation where both the poor and the rich will be allowed to live in any part of the nation without fear of deportation or forceful re-integration.

9.      REDUCING TERRORISM THROUGH COMPULSORY EDUCATION

It was Francis Bacon who said that Education cures the disease of ignorance, superstition, fear and poverty. The numbers of young people who accept peanuts to subscribe to terrorist groups do not have a mind of their own. Many of them are brainwashed and then given little amount to become part of the development that has taken our country great sacrifice and devotion to duty. Hence it should be very compulsory for every youth both in the North and in the South who ought to be in school be compelled to be there. The free education currently in some public schools should be a national thing where every child of school age should be made to go to school. Special focus should be put in Northern Nigeria to reduce the number of youth that will be idle enough to join any form of insurgency.

10.  CHECKING POPULATION EXPLOSION.

The population of Nigeria is currently being estimated at 160 million people and this is quite a large number when the reviewed through the kaleidoscope of geometric progression in which population increases.  Government should start a new advocacy in which couples starting new families should understand family planning properly and restrict their children to a maximum of four. This will help the parents give birth to the number of children that they can take care of and reduce the high rate juvenile delinquency orchestrated by failure of parenting due to raising unusually large families by poor parents who cannot take care of their children. The Nigeria of my dream is one in which a proper account of births and deaths is taken into consideration to enhance allocation of resources

These are my thoughts and I believe the solutions here can help in making this Nigeria that I see a reality.

Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria!

Nigeria; Good People, Great Nation!

Chijindu Umunnakwe

(This essay was nominated in the Nigeria Centenary website for voting in the TGIC competition...we're making progress!)