Hardship in Nigeria: My grief, my plea, my hope

BY KEN ADEJUMOH

Nigeria seems to me like the wilderness the Israelites experienced for 40 years before they eventually entered into the promised land of Canaan. This has been my worry: how many more years are we going to be in this state where nothing seems to be working? Having experienced a hectic morning to get to the office, I am forced to say we are at the brink of collapsing as a nation if we continue to throw caution to the air.

The conditions are not getting any better; one minute we have a reason to smile, the very next second, we count lots to make us feel heartbroken. It is worse when you look into our rich base of natural resources and realise that we haven’t even had a minute to say we have been privileged to enjoy these amenities.

Over time, we have learnt to bear the pains of not having regular power supply, good water supply and good road networks. But it becomes a horrific nightmare when finished products of crude oil that we have in abundance hit us with scarcity (artificial or natural as you may term it). I refuse to go into the details that have led to the current fuel scarcity ravaging the country now because it hurts to know that a nation like ours that has been enjoying the mercy does not recon with this enormous grace from the Almighty. May God never go on strike for this nation!

When the tides were not working out perfectly for the children of Israelites, they protested against the leadership of Moses and Aaron. Permit me to save this story for another piece. My point is that nobody seems to care what the leaders are doing to the masses. The decay is increasing per second because we have resulted to celebrating mediocrity. We accept every trash thrown at us because we feel the abnormal is our new normal.

I feel pained for my country, I feel terrible that nobody thinks of making this country work. Self! Self!! Self!!! This will lead us nowhere. What can you and I give up to make this country habitable for us? Its not about the government this time, it is about you and me. YES I MEAN YOU!!!.

Leadership in this country is not working because every opportunity to serve is seen as an avenue to exploit the resources of the state. The led are in no way different because this has become the popular practice that has even led to the usage of the clause: Na dem time, if e reach my turn me sef go chop comot. na turn by turn.

For as long as we are driven by this ideology, we will remain in the wilderness of pain. If we change our belief to accepting that ‘all of us are responsible for all of us’, Nigeria will be a haven for you and me and posterity will live to remember us.

Good governance and a better society is affordable; it is not rocket science. All we need to do as a people is to practice some basic principles that have made nations great today; SOCIAL JUSTICE (respect and preservation of human rights), CIVIC RESPONSIBILITY (understanding that we all have a part to play in developing and sustaining our communities and public services), CITIZENSHIP (commitment to knowing and maintaining law and order) and GOOD NEIGHBOURLINESS (niceness to people).

I am Ken Adejumoh, together we can make this country a better place, not just for us but for the numerous generations after us.

Adejumoh writes from Lagos