Nationalism. Patriotism. What do these words mean to the average brother on the street? I can picture myself getting on the road with a microphone and camera operator and pestering an area boy with these questions:
“Young man, are you a patriot? What does nationalism mean to you?”
Firstly, he will look nonplussed and suspicious, thinking to himself, “Is this guy trying to embarrass me?” That is because unfortunately, the average guy on the street may not be educated enough to understand the import of such words. Next, he will probably get exasperated.
“My guy, you dey talk patriotism. Wetin this country don do for me? Ehn? Abeg leave story for monkey jo. See me dey hustle for the past how many days now, still pepper neva enter pocket. Abi you wan supply? Ehn? Wetin you carry? Cooperate oh...”
At that stage, I’d have to jam my tail between my legs and bolt. In the course of the week of writing this piece, I spoke to a few friends:
“I’d like to ask you a question. What do you think of Nigeria generally?” I’m talking to a fresh graduate who has been actively job-hunting for the past five months.
“What do you mean? Can you be more specific?”
“Okay I mean is there a problem in this country from your own point of view?”
“Oh well I’d say there is a problem of course, but first I’d like to say that I believe in this country. In fact, I get into a lot of arguments with my friends over this Nigeria issue, because whenever I talk this way they wonder if I’m sick or something!”
“Why?” I ask.
“They don’t believe anything good can come out of this country. They don’t agree that any progress is being made. Yes, I concede that things could definitely be better because we are a country blessed with a lot of underutilized potential. However, the problem I have with many Nigerians is that we are so negative. The average Nigerian has nothing good to say about this country...”
We talked and talked. I was pleased to find someone who believes in a greater Nigeria. A patriot. There are quite a few of us out there you know? However, I admit, it’s rather hard keeping your eyes to the hills in a country like this; where one and one is not equal to two; where sh#t happens, and on a very regular basis for that matter. Nevertheless, we must ask ourselves some pertinent questions: Is Nigeria an accident? Is the entire mineral and oil deposits in this land some freak of nature? The potentials we have in both human and material resources, are they a mistake? Are you and I Nigerians only because we got rejected in some other land where the grass appears to be greener?
I believe that we are inhabitants of this great nation for some good reason. I believe citizens of the ‘land where the grass is greener’ don’t have two heads. I believe that in spite of the malfunctioning system of operation in this country, we do have what it takes to raise the standard of living and make Naija a mo’ better place for all of us. Do y’all agree with me or am I alone? I think not.
So where do we start from? How do I, with my tiny slingshot, take this giant Goliath down? I asked another friend this same question:
“Well ah, that’s a very nice question. I’ll start by saying there’s a positive solution and a negative one. I’ll begin with the negative.” (I wonder why)
He continued, “the negative solution is to stage a revolution. Let’s rout up the thieving bastards and burn them alive at the stakes. Though not before making sure they return all the loot they’ve stolen over the years. It worked in Russia abi?”
True or false, I was suddenly eager to hear about the second solution.
“Well the second is to educate the minds of the people; help them to understand their rights and potentials.”
Now that’s more like it.
Surely, it is an understatement to say that taking this nation to the status of maximized potential is a gargantuan task. Nevertheless, the popular cliché is still true: “Rome wasn’t built in a day”. I think it is the Chinese that have a proverb that goes, “the journey of a thousand miles begins with a step”. The issue at stake here is persistence in doing and believing in what is right. Are we willing to believe in a greater Nigeria? God gave this country to us. Are we willing to take responsibility for what is ours and do our best to utilize our assets maximally and positively? Are we willing to forget the past and be more mindful of what we can achieve if we set our minds to it?
Picture a NEPA that really works, giving us uninterrupted power supply. Who is to benefit from that? Of course, everyone. Including you. Imagine clean wide roads, reasonably priced utilities, absence of university strikes and availability of quality health care at costs affordable to the common man. Visualize a respectable and efficient police force and more employment opportunities for fresh graduates. Admit it, who will benefit from all of this were it to come true right now? Everyone including you. These seemingly lofty things are attainable, though not without a struggle. We do not lose anything by believing that it is possible to get there. It’s simply a choice: faith or pessimism.
Each time I go to our nation’s capital, I feel like I’m in a heaven of sorts. The wide roads and relatively smooth traffic; beautiful sights, operational traffic lights, exotic cars and pretty faces. Ahh. Imagine if every part of the motherland was like this. Fantasy! I hear you say. Most definitely. Because when I get to places like Oja Oba in Ilorin, Kwara state, I’m brutally brought back to reality. This is Nigeria in the raw, the uncut version. Here kids less than two years of age eat cuts of sugar cane for breakfast and crawl on the filthy floor with goats and dogs. Here pot-bellied policemen stand blocking the flow of traffic and causing a hold-up as they extort bus drivers for their ‘take-home pay’. A place so crowded, there is no difference between human and automobile traffic. Whenever I find myself in such places, the thought that comes to mind is this: “Mr. President, there’s still so much work to be done. We haven’t started yet.”
Nonetheless, we must realize that the task ahead is not for the government alone. It starts with the individual Nigerian: you and I. If every Nigerian can summon up the courage to believe in a greater Nigeria and work towards the ideal by doing their best, not just for themselves but for their fellow citizens as well, then there is hope. Thankfully, we are all beginning to see now that the economic change we desperately need lies just as much in the hand of the private sector as it does in the hands of the government. That is tantamount to saying that “think not of what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country”.
I’ll end this piece with a quote from a man who, through personal sacrifice, persistence and unflinching faith, helped bring fulfillment to the dreams of his people:
Firstly, he will look nonplussed and suspicious, thinking to himself, “Is this guy trying to embarrass me?” That is because unfortunately, the average guy on the street may not be educated enough to understand the import of such words. Next, he will probably get exasperated.
“My guy, you dey talk patriotism. Wetin this country don do for me? Ehn? Abeg leave story for monkey jo. See me dey hustle for the past how many days now, still pepper neva enter pocket. Abi you wan supply? Ehn? Wetin you carry? Cooperate oh...”
At that stage, I’d have to jam my tail between my legs and bolt. In the course of the week of writing this piece, I spoke to a few friends:
“I’d like to ask you a question. What do you think of Nigeria generally?” I’m talking to a fresh graduate who has been actively job-hunting for the past five months.
“What do you mean? Can you be more specific?”
“Okay I mean is there a problem in this country from your own point of view?”
“Oh well I’d say there is a problem of course, but first I’d like to say that I believe in this country. In fact, I get into a lot of arguments with my friends over this Nigeria issue, because whenever I talk this way they wonder if I’m sick or something!”
“Why?” I ask.
“They don’t believe anything good can come out of this country. They don’t agree that any progress is being made. Yes, I concede that things could definitely be better because we are a country blessed with a lot of underutilized potential. However, the problem I have with many Nigerians is that we are so negative. The average Nigerian has nothing good to say about this country...”
We talked and talked. I was pleased to find someone who believes in a greater Nigeria. A patriot. There are quite a few of us out there you know? However, I admit, it’s rather hard keeping your eyes to the hills in a country like this; where one and one is not equal to two; where sh#t happens, and on a very regular basis for that matter. Nevertheless, we must ask ourselves some pertinent questions: Is Nigeria an accident? Is the entire mineral and oil deposits in this land some freak of nature? The potentials we have in both human and material resources, are they a mistake? Are you and I Nigerians only because we got rejected in some other land where the grass appears to be greener?
I believe that we are inhabitants of this great nation for some good reason. I believe citizens of the ‘land where the grass is greener’ don’t have two heads. I believe that in spite of the malfunctioning system of operation in this country, we do have what it takes to raise the standard of living and make Naija a mo’ better place for all of us. Do y’all agree with me or am I alone? I think not.
So where do we start from? How do I, with my tiny slingshot, take this giant Goliath down? I asked another friend this same question:
“Well ah, that’s a very nice question. I’ll start by saying there’s a positive solution and a negative one. I’ll begin with the negative.” (I wonder why)
He continued, “the negative solution is to stage a revolution. Let’s rout up the thieving bastards and burn them alive at the stakes. Though not before making sure they return all the loot they’ve stolen over the years. It worked in Russia abi?”
True or false, I was suddenly eager to hear about the second solution.
“Well the second is to educate the minds of the people; help them to understand their rights and potentials.”
Now that’s more like it.
Surely, it is an understatement to say that taking this nation to the status of maximized potential is a gargantuan task. Nevertheless, the popular cliché is still true: “Rome wasn’t built in a day”. I think it is the Chinese that have a proverb that goes, “the journey of a thousand miles begins with a step”. The issue at stake here is persistence in doing and believing in what is right. Are we willing to believe in a greater Nigeria? God gave this country to us. Are we willing to take responsibility for what is ours and do our best to utilize our assets maximally and positively? Are we willing to forget the past and be more mindful of what we can achieve if we set our minds to it?
Picture a NEPA that really works, giving us uninterrupted power supply. Who is to benefit from that? Of course, everyone. Including you. Imagine clean wide roads, reasonably priced utilities, absence of university strikes and availability of quality health care at costs affordable to the common man. Visualize a respectable and efficient police force and more employment opportunities for fresh graduates. Admit it, who will benefit from all of this were it to come true right now? Everyone including you. These seemingly lofty things are attainable, though not without a struggle. We do not lose anything by believing that it is possible to get there. It’s simply a choice: faith or pessimism.
Each time I go to our nation’s capital, I feel like I’m in a heaven of sorts. The wide roads and relatively smooth traffic; beautiful sights, operational traffic lights, exotic cars and pretty faces. Ahh. Imagine if every part of the motherland was like this. Fantasy! I hear you say. Most definitely. Because when I get to places like Oja Oba in Ilorin, Kwara state, I’m brutally brought back to reality. This is Nigeria in the raw, the uncut version. Here kids less than two years of age eat cuts of sugar cane for breakfast and crawl on the filthy floor with goats and dogs. Here pot-bellied policemen stand blocking the flow of traffic and causing a hold-up as they extort bus drivers for their ‘take-home pay’. A place so crowded, there is no difference between human and automobile traffic. Whenever I find myself in such places, the thought that comes to mind is this: “Mr. President, there’s still so much work to be done. We haven’t started yet.”
Nonetheless, we must realize that the task ahead is not for the government alone. It starts with the individual Nigerian: you and I. If every Nigerian can summon up the courage to believe in a greater Nigeria and work towards the ideal by doing their best, not just for themselves but for their fellow citizens as well, then there is hope. Thankfully, we are all beginning to see now that the economic change we desperately need lies just as much in the hand of the private sector as it does in the hands of the government. That is tantamount to saying that “think not of what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country”.
I’ll end this piece with a quote from a man who, through personal sacrifice, persistence and unflinching faith, helped bring fulfillment to the dreams of his people:
"There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires."
Nelson Mandela
No easy walk to freedom…Nigerians! We must do what it takes to take this country to greater heights!
Thanks for dropping by.
