The first day of the tenth month, in the year 1960, the battle had gallently been fought and won, independence obtained, the country is more or less brand new, and there was really no gain saying that the nations was rekindled and is being placed in the hands of those who are to keep the fire burning; one nation great people it was in Nigeria. In just some couple of years, Nigeria was matching up with nations branded “developing: and investors as well as tourists amongst other foreigners could not resist the flamboyance and beauty she paraded. The upward trend in virtually all Nigerian sectors was so obvious and the labours of her heroes past were bountifully yielding harvest (just before you start imagining if this is a fantasy, please engage anyone who is above forty years in a little chat and you may even accuse me of under quantifying the milk and honey that flowed in the land).
The question however is, can we still conveniently assert that milk and honey flows in Nigeria proportionate to the almost inexhaustible resources contained herein? Where out heroes to rise from their graves and comment on the state of affairs in Nigeria today, would we who presently inhabit the land receive a pat on the back for a job well-done? Why have we made an aphorism such as “I used to be rich” possible in the land? And where are the times when a naira was equal to a dollar for instance, when education was seen as a treasurer, when malpractices in examination was non-existent, when salaries and gratuities were very sure at the end of the month and year respectively, when we did not need and ultimate search for fuel, when Christians and Muslims went to their places of worship with no grudges in mind towards each other, when good road-networks was a thing of pride, when factories and industries were functional, productive and sources of employment, when jobs were available to choose from, when decency and good morals were publicly paraded, I could go on.
Something definitely went wrong at a point, and that which went wrong is only little compared to the attitude of indifference shown towards it. Consequent upon careful reflection, I am one of those who subscribe to the theory that the gross misplacement of priority in the implementation of policies aimed at moving this nation to greater heights is the cankerworm slowing down the pace of meaningful development. Some of those policies that worked in times past have been suffocated and substituted with policies engineered by nepotism, selfishness, illiteracy interalia. These mistakes now serve as foundation for the hydra headed problems which plague our beloved nation.
For anyone who cares to reflect one the way things work in a country, he/she will discover that there is this abstract interconnectivity that exist amongst all the sectors existing in a country to such an extent that a malfunctioning of one sector creates a constraint in other sectors (culling from the principle of cause and effect). If this theory is anything to go by, I am saturated with conviction that the sector which was mismanaged (and still is), is a result of which other sectors are crippled is the educational sector. Shall we begin from how politics and education policies have not harmonized, the low standing of corruption perception index, the inadequate funding of the sector by the government, the adult illiteracy level of 28 percent, the one fifth of applicants who eventually get a place in tertiary institutions, the mass failure recorded in O – level results, the dilapidated structures of schools, the dangerous freedom allowed children by their parents from home, the replacements of quality books and programs on the media with entertainment magazines and programs, the list seem endless.
All of these have constrained on all other sectors, chief of which are the activities of the monstrous Sunnah Lida’awatih Wal Jihad (People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet’s Teachings and Jihad), or Boko Haram (Western Education is sinful) as it is known in Hausa. I will not like to open up healing wounds by listing the numerous crises currently being faced in virtually all sectors. Subscribing to optimism however, I will lend my voice to that of well meaning Nigerians and recommend as a panacea; good electoral reforms to reduce the incidences of flawed elections, responsible and accountable governance, true federalism, huge improvement in the funding of the educational sector, encouragement of cultural and moral values from the family units, massive creation of job opportunities interalia.
Arise o compatriot, to rekindle the labours of our heroes past, to restore a nation of peace and unity. With God on our side, and the round balls in the round holes, the sky is only the beginning for our beloved Nigeria.
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