What A Country Like Nigeria So Rich Yet Poor

It remains a paradox that despite the fact that Nigeria's economy is growing, the proportion of Nigerians living in abject poverty is increasing every year.  The very fact that Nigeria is bedevilled by the menace of poverty is no longer a subject of debate neither is it a thing of doubt that various regimes have tried to curb the problem using different measures, but all to no avail. One is therefore propelled to ask; why the persistence of poverty?  What is the root cause of poverty? And how can this growing trend be eradicated?

Nigeria is a country that practises a federal system of government. It is a country that is richly endowed with abundant human and natural resources : vast areas of arable land and large deposits of crude oil,  natural gas, coal, tin, iron ore, limestone, lead zinc; and also agricultural produce such as cotton, cocoa, timber, coffee and lot more are richly so tragic that with all of this, a good percentage of Nigerians are trapped in the Cesspool of poverty.

Poverty, which is a multidimensional  and highly complex phenomenon, has been perceived differently by countless numbers of scholars in the field of research. The summary of the diverse definitions can be classified into three perspectives that define poverty in terms of insufficient fund, intense hunger and lastly in terms of deprivation of human right. In this light, poverty could simply be understood as a human condition in which we are unable to meet our needs and desire. The inability to sustain and house oneself sufficiently, to afford basic necessity, hunger, poor education, poor quality of available services, and their lots are the shades of poverty in Nigeria.

Also read: Once Upon A Time Nigeria

Nigeria is indeed a paradox! A country so blessed yet poor, a country filled with magical skills and talents yet ranked among the twenty five poorest nations in the world falling below less privilege countries like Ghana, Gambia, and Kenya, a country with over 100 million citizens earning less than $1 per day, a country with thousands of jobless graduates, a rich oil country that is poor, a country with the largest African economy yet lies hunger at the highest degree. In fact, it is a contradiction for a country like Nigeria in it's present plight to be named Africans largest economy. With this falling state of things in Nigeria where "things fall apart" and the centre is at the verge of disintegrating despite her endowment, the opinion poll as to the "why" state of things in the country is  replete with varied reasons. But all of this could be said to have root in what may be called "materialistic corruption".

Thus, this has been the cankerworm responsible for backsliding the country's development. Hence, the question is; who is responsible for this very cankerworm?  Simply put, the answer is, the Nigerian citizens, why? This is because we often involve ourselves in corruption and materialism in our various capacities either as spectators or actors.

In spite of the high level of injustice, insincerity, greed, gluttony, avarice, covetousness, bribery, laxity and luxuriosity that have almost caught up with every Nigerian system and structure, there still exist some glimpse of hope that when committed effort is put to work in selfless service towards nation building, redemption awaits, and Nigeria will be whole.  But we must all work harder to bring that to fruition; so let's do less talking and bickering and more thinking and working, and when things go amiss, let fraternal correction be employed to set things right. In this way, Nigeria will not only be a country that will be admired by many countries but also it will serve as a model to them and will not be a joke to say "Nigeria: Giant of Africa!"