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Bitter lessons from Nigeria- Part 1

Dickson Igwe. Photo: Provided
Lagos, Nigeria. Photo: Provided
Lagos, Nigeria. Photo: Provided
A Nigerian man with a hyena. Photo: Provided
A Nigerian man with a hyena. Photo: Provided
Nigerian rail. Photo: Provided
Nigerian rail. Photo: Provided
By Dickson Igwe

Nigeria’s present state is a lesson to all nations and societies. Values, morality and integrity, are at the core of social and economic progress and development, not personal wealth and power

Nigerian Politician, Chief Femi Fani Kayode, put the present state of Nigeria this way in a hard hitting and ominous article in Nigeria’s Daily Post Newspaper of April 12, 2016. He stated that the country possessed, “a crumbling economy; an inept, weak, failing, and paranoid government; a hungry, angry, and increasingly desperate population; and an ignorant, obsessive, arrogant, insensitive, corrupt, and self absorbed political class.” Fani-Kayode, an ex Minister of Aviation, is very much part of the Nigerian elite and political establishment. He may well have written Nigeria’s “swan song.”

OK. Nigerians, love and value education above most things: the possession of a degree of some sort is the only measure worthwhile for most Nigerians. What many Nigerians have never learned is that education without good character and virtuous values is essentially worthless. A highly educated population without a strong value system is unlikely to take a country to that “shining city on the hill.”

Nigerians are vain, proud, and materialistic people, especially the southern Nigerian; every man is a prince of some sort. The measure of a man is the size and content of his wallet. Consequently, the importance Nigerians place on men of wealth and power is stupendous. It has allowed mediocrity to inhabit the halls of power for decades. The rich and corrupt official is worshipped, while the poor child who steals a loaf of bread is lynched in the street. That is the modern hypocrisy that is Nigeria.  

On the positive side, Nigerians, especially southern Nigerians, are a very industrious lot. Nigerians are a dynamic, vibrant, and entrepreneurial people. The Yoruba of Western Nigeria is cultural and urbane to a very high degree. The Igbo in the east is adaptive, innovative, and resourceful. The Northerner, Hausa and Fulani, are natural warriors, and very honourable in their way of life. Nigerian women are very cultural, and possess a deep and enduring beauty that is part of the African heritage.

All Nigeria’s tribes, and there are hundreds, have their positives and negatives, and their idiosyncrasies, even anachronisms.

There is an argument that the divide between the Moslem north and the Christian pagan south is a divide that cannot be bridged. This Old Boy finds that argument valid, up to a point. The values of Moslems and Christians differ: that is true. Child marriage is a great evil practiced in Moslem Northern Nigeria. In the south, pagan cults kill and maim scores of children indiscriminately, annually.

Nigeria does not treat its most vulnerable citizens well: the true measure of a civilised state is how well it treats the weak and wretched, its children and the elderly. There is little value placed on human life in Nigeria, and that is a national tragedy. The nearly 300 Chibok girls kidnapped by Boko Haram in April 2014 are expendable for the Nigerian establishment. The Chibok girls abducted by terrorists are not part of Nigeria’s elite. They do not matter. They are an embarrassment to the elite. The only reason the Chibok matter is headline news is because the global press has taken up the cause. That is the tragedy of modern Nigeria. Nigeria never really bothered to look for her lost children.   

Why has the effort for a better life been denied to so many for so long in Nigeria? And why has the quest for social and economic development been so thoroughly frustrated?

Nigeria discovered that she sat on huge reserves of oil and gas in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The country was also blessed with a huge range of cash crops, natural and human resources, and mineral wealth. So why is it today that a country of 180 million, with huge natural wealth, has 120 million people earning less than $2 a day? Why is youth unemployment at 50% and rising? And why is the value of the national currency declining? Why is the country facing recession and stagflation, even conflict and war?

Why is the most basic social and physical infrastructure nonexistent? Why is education in Nigeria today inferior to what it was in the 1960s and 70s? Why is the health system in the sewer? And why is the country so insecure, with terrorism, kidnapping, and armed robbery daily hazards?

Why is the highway system a death trap, and the Nigerian airspace one of the most unsafe for air traffic? Why is Nigerian Rail still in the Stone Age? Why are streets overflowing with refuse, and drainage in most places little more than stagnant pools of “radioactive muck?” In other words, why has life become a living hell? The preceding is easy to explain.

Nigeria’s value system, which originally was a wholesome one, is upside down today. Nigeria’s present value system rewards greed over honesty, covetousness over unity of purpose, aggression over gentleness, and selfishness over the selfless love for neighbour and country. Nigerian society has failed to articulate and then inculcate good moral and healthy social values. The country has become virtue less. Nigeria has destroyed its pre 70s moral code. Today, the country has no moral code. Nigeria is a society that does not prize ethical behaviour, the sanctity of life, and the dignity of people.

Nigerian’s blame poor leadership for the country’s woes, and everyone else is to blame for the country’s tragic circumstances. However, the true culprit for the country’s woes is the Nigerian himself. It lies in his value system that is completely dysfunctional. Nigeria’s value system was negatively impacted by sudden oil wealth in the late 1970s. Before the discovery of oil, older Nigerians speak of a society that was much more genial and civil.

The reason why Nigeria is where it is today lies in the hearts and minds of Nigerians; every Nigerian. It is the fault of both government and governed. “It takes two to tango.” A people get the government they deserve. The Nigerian has failed to adopt and live by a strong moral code based on the virtues of honesty, integrity, and compassion.

It takes a social revolution to change a country’s politics. Nigerians must have the courage to change the society. Courage, honesty, and integrity are values all Nigerians must pursue in order to change the county’s disastrous trajectory.

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3 Responses to “Bitter lessons from Nigeria- Part 1”

  • Wise Igwe (16/04/2016, 08:52) Like (3) Dislike (0) Reply

    Igwe, I Greet You Once Again. May you and your family live a long, peaceful, and happy life. Once again, you have shared another stunning piece of your wisdom.

    For those who can discern-

    “The reason why Nigeria is where it is today lies in the hearts and minds of Nigerians; every Nigerian. It is the fault of both government and governed. “It takes two to tango.” A people get the government they deserve. The Nigerian has failed to adopt and live by a strong moral code based on the virtues of honesty, integrity, and compassion.

    It takes a social revolution to change a country’s politics. Nigerians must have the courage to change the society. Courage, honesty, and integrity are values all Nigerians must pursue in order to change the county’s disastrous trajectory.”

    Enough said. Igwe!
  • ???? (16/04/2016, 09:10) Like (2) Dislike (0) Reply
    so he really can't write local stuff
  • dd (16/04/2016, 11:35) Like (2) Dislike (0) Reply
    Another good read


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