No nation can exist and survive without the action and inaction of her citizens. In essence, the attitudes of nationals determine the nature and progress of every nation.
You would hear many Nigerians saying the country (Nigeria) is corrupt, and everything is changing, moving from bad to worse. But no, Nigeria since inception still remains Nigeria. We are the ones who have changed negatively because we have no developmental attitude towards the Nigerian project.
We are consumed by greed, as everything we do (even) at an individual level is for self-enrichment and immediate family. We have lost focus on the Nigerian project. We are all patriotic to ourselves, family members, region, and religion respectively. The love for Nigeria is dead inside us; we are only pretending outside.
What sorts of leaders are we producing today?
We are producing leaders of region and religion (in disguise), instead of producing leaders of Nigeria. I recently watched a video of Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa on his visit to the United States of America in 1961 when he was Prime Minister. The visit was on invitation by the then U.S. President, John F. Kennedy. My dear, if you see how Americans were honouring and respecting this man, you will shed tears of both joy and sadness at the same time because of the kinds of leaders we are having in recent times. They are succeeding in killing and burying the reputation of Nigeria built by the selfless pioneer leaders. Not just America but the whole world had respect for Nigeria and her leaders in those days.
How many Nigerian leaders can be invited by an American president or any leaders of developed countries today? What has now gone wrong? The answer is not far-fetched: ‘It is bad leadership.’
This country needs leaders who are knowledgeable, those who understand her predicaments and are ready to sacrifice for her betterment, not those who are driven by sentiments, bigotry and nepotism.
Unless we go back to the drawing board and do the needful, we will continue to breed more Nigerians who are the problem and threat to Nigeria’s existence.
Summarily, Nigerians are absolutely the problem of Nigeria.
Happy 65th Independence!
Happy Independence Day, Dawn Herald.