My dearest Yemmie recently drew our attention to 2 'posts' about Naija that have been making the rounds and she asked the question .....'Is Nigeria Really This Bad?'. Please go to her lovely blog to read.
I have to say that I didnt watch the video but I read through Tim's write up and I can honestly say that there is nothing he said that I found untrue.
Granted, if we only focus on the negatives, we might become blind to the positives within Nigeria BUT I am not one to shirk from the truth and the truth is that we have serious problems in Nigeria.
We like to deceive ourselves that Nigeria is fantastic but we need to realise that the system we have in place is just not right. We have problems ...
- There is a problem when people feel they have a right to LOOT the coffers of a nation...
- There is a problem when an intelligent person is born into poverty and there are NO institutional routes for him/her to advance educationally.....
- There is a problem when faced with a new law or regulation; the average Nigerian's first thought is 'HOW DO I AVOID THIS LAW/ REGULATION?'
- There is a problem when dirty old men feel it is their right to SLEEP with every female job applicant they come across?
- There is a problem when young girls feel it is normal to BED HOP with men older than their fathers.........
- There is a problem when our young men would rather cross a DESERT than stay in their own country.........
- There is a problem when RELIGION is used to manipulate people into becoming cash machines and murderers.....
- There is a problem when politicians are seen as 'EXCEPTIONAL' just because they tarred one stretch of road.....
- There is a problem when children value MONEY over and above all things....- There is a problem when contracts are AWARDED, RE-AWARDED, RE-RE AWARDED & RE-RE-RE AWARDED ............without any accountability....
- There is a problem when provision of education has become so poor that we send our children to Ghana...Togo....Poland....India.......JUST ANYWHERE........
- There is a problem when the LOVE FOR MONEY has made kidnapping, armed robbery, ritual murders and extortion the norm............
- There is a problem when we need to fly out of the country for BASIC health care.........
- There is a problem when a DOCTOR can let anyone...but especially...a child or pregnant woman die because the relatives dont have the means to pay for their treatment..........
- There is a problem when our LEADERS are happy to say they are 'flying abroad' for medical treatment......
- There is a problem when the brothers/ sisters we supported through APARTHEID (South Africa) now wish they had fewer numbers of us in their country.....
There is a problem when a country can go from being the LEADING PRODUCER of a product (Palm Oil) to an importer of the same product........
- The BIGGEST PROBLEM is not acknowledging we actually have these problems. Self awareness is teh first step towards growth. I know it hurts to hear but like a parent with a deviant child....sometimes, one has to face the truth before things can change.
We need to stop pretending all is well. ALL IS NOT WELL.Yes, there is nothing like home......BUT....It sure would be great if we acknowledged that 'Home' is not perfect and we are part of the imperfections.
