An 11yr Old's Dream For Nigeria

My dream for Nigeria is for a safe country. A country where there are no armed robbers, where one can safely walk around in the night; gather together with friends and family without being robbed: a great and corrupt-free Nigeria. Without corruption Nigeria would be a great country, where things will work.

My dream for Nigeria is a country of hardworking and honest people – where its leaders do not enrich themselves with public funds: I dream of a Nigeria where politicians are not greedy or steal the country’s money. I wish for a Nigeria where politics is not a moneymaking business. I want our politicians to love us and care for us. My dream is of a Nigeria where the leaders care about the citizens and have programmes for them. A Nigeria where the leaders are approachable and are not arrogant, nor disturb the citizens with their sirens! I dream of a Nigeria where leaders do not detain those who advise them truthfully.

My dream of Nigeria is a country where electricity supply is uninterrupted. A country where I can watch movies, iron clothes – without fear of electricity outages. I dream of a Nigeria where streets are well-lit; and thugs and thieves do not harass innocent people: I dream of a safe country.

My dream for Nigeria is to have a good transportation system. That is one of my dreams. A Nigeria with good roads, and good rail roads. A Nigeria where traveling is pleasurable and not dangerous: a country with good roads and fewer accidents – I dream of a nice train journey around the country.

My dream for Nigeria is where being ill is not a death sentence – A Nigeria where hospitals do not dispense fake drugs; a country where hospitals are not for the rich only but for the poor on the streets as well. I dream of a Nigeria where universities are not closed half of the year; where the public school system still works, and where the children of the rich go to the same schools as the children of the poor. A country where children of the rich do not go to schools abroad, because of lack of books and teachers in the local Universities. In our schools today students cheat to pass exams. I wish this stops – so, that Nigeria will be known as a country with a high standard of education.

My dream for Nigeria is for peace between all the religions – Christians loving their Muslim neighbours and vice-versa. A Nigeria where there are no religious riots, conflicts and hatred. I dream of a Nigeria where there is abundant food for everyone – beggars will not be on the streets and everyone is gainfully employed. I dream of a Nigeria that will be as developed as other countries like: United States of America, Great Britain, South Africa and Canada. These countries are beautiful, developed and that’s the reason we visit them.

My dream is for a Nigeria where Nigerians do not copy American music and behavior. For example there are some Nigerian groups like ‘Styl Plus’ who sound like Americans. That is why people buy them. I want people from other countries to copy Nigerians too. My dream is for a Nigeria where Nigerian actors are as well known as American actors like Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise known all over the world. My dream is for our actors to be as well known and influence others. I dream of a Nigeria where the police is friendly – when on holiday in London, I noticed policemen were friendly and directed people the right way when they missed their way. But, in Nigeria – policemen stop cars to collect bribes.

My dream for Nigeria is for a strong and developed democracy.

I dream of a Nigeria where government provides better leisure facilities for citizens – in South Africa, there are lots of recreation centers, cinema, and lots of amusement parks where children play. But, in Nigeria all the spaces are used for houses. As a result the air is polluted.

And, my last dream for Nigeria is for its citizens to be proud of it.

Onyi Anyadiegwu, 11
Green Springs School, Anthony Village, Lagos.