Carving out a pathway for Nigeria

Now that Mr. President is dead; every one folds his hand for a moment, slowly shaking his head in regret, being heavily overshadowed by torment, and our air thick with lament. But it is popularly said every disappointment is a blessing; just a stepping stone to the next level.

I have a dream that my country Nigeria will emerge not only as the giant of Africa but as one of the world’s strongest nations in international system.

The problem with us is that we are lackadaisical and are not ready to work but yet expect mysterious changes. There is no food for the lazy man and the bible says he that sleepeth comes to poverty so we will agree with ourselves that our laziness is the primary cause of our nation’s underdevelopment. Enough is enough! We can corporately change the story of our country, all we need are patriotic citizens who will rise up and assume full responsibility of their land.

I am just a simple university undergraduate with little material possessions of my own but I am also an individual loaded to the brim with passion for my nation, disgusted by recent happenings and prompted to effect a change. Sitting down lonely in my university chapel reflecting on what we Nigerians have to do to help our country particularly now that the Almighty father has taken the father of our nation from us; God inspired me with infallible things to do which will definitely work out for our national good. If we truly seek a change and if some of our leaders have similar dispositions with my dream for Nigeria, then they should welcome my ideas and try them out and I speak under heaven with enact assurance that these methods will go long miles in positively changing the history and re-writing the story of our great nation.

The first step we need to take from now before 2011 elections is

• Prayer (taking spiritual responsibility) all Nigerians should pray for the hand of God in the upcoming elections that only the righteous should be enthroned. We should also pray for peace and general wellbeing of Nigeria.

• The second step should be during election. No Nigerian should involve in voting for any shady character. Let’s only vote for good and transparent people (sons of God) who have clean records.

• The third step is to be taken by the new president and vice: they should completely flush out all corrupt people occupying influential positions and replace them with virtuous and God fearing gentlemen as (senators, ministers, governors, members of house of representatives and all other decision makers)

• Government should strengthen penalties for violation of rules and regulations and enforce the law with stiff measures thereby converting Nigeria from a lawless state to a disciplined and law abiding place.

• Government should visit the police force, military, air force and navy and sack all corrupt leaders and members who collect bribe and replace them with patriotic citizens who will prefer to die of hunger than bend the rules.

• A corollary to the above, government should expand military and police training academies encouraging more people to join with promises of descent wages.

• Government should encourage Nigerian industrialization by building factories and activating our oil rigs so that we stop depending on European countries for the procession of crude oil and other substances. Government should also strengthen our mining firms so that we begin developing substances with our natural resources.

• This will begin strengthening our economic standing and Nigerians should mutually come together in their various talented areas and spark off production.

• Government should deal squarely with pirates, smugglers, fake drug dealers and duplicators of products.

• Government should provide job opportunities so that idle people who roam the streets committing crimes like robbery, prostitution will become responsible working class citizens.

• Government should make available low paying education centres (schools) so as to drastically reduce the high level of illiteracy and convert them into knowledgeable people thereby creating a future and a hope.

• Government should totally cease from importing food into our nation but instead use the money to sponsor domestic agriculture (home grown everything) for example home grown rice is sweater than any other rice I’ve tasted. Through agriculture also, we can grow cotton and linen plants which we can use to storm our textile industry with Nigerian designs.

• Government should to an extent curb decadence imbibed from European cultures (Nigerian women dressing indecently on the streets) and uphold a national integrity by placing sanctions on such persons.

• Government should address the ‘’problem of Naira’’ and do everything humanly possible to strengthen the power of naira and bring it back to the day’s when Naira was equal to a pound.

• Government should enforce refunds of the nations looted treasures from all corrupt leaders and try them in courts.

• A corollary to the above, government should make a new rule that all emerging leaders like governors, senators, ministers, commissioners etc should declare their assets on ascension and give detailed accounts of their monetary transactions.

• Government should ensure a comfortable pay for all civil servants

• It is not pleasant to hear that Nigeria is the supplier of electricity to other west African countries yet we have problems with electricity. Therefore, government should ensure electricity all over Nigeria together with other social amenities and infrastructure like good roads to reduce the rate of accidents, clean water flowing all over the nation to curtail sicknesses and diseases like typhoid.

• Government should thoroughly inspect health centres making sure that the doctors, nurses are talented specialists and the hospitals in turn meet national health requirements.

• Government should be ready at anytime to fund and encourage scientific inventions, theories and discoveries propounded by Nigerians which will take our country to technological heights.

• Government should be mindful of their democratic slogan ‘’government of the people, for the people and by the people’’ therefore, they should not consider all these tasks too tiring but instead should be eager to lend attentive ears to the voices and suggestions of the people.

• In turn, Nigerian citizens should offer total obedience and patriotism towards their country by changing their old mindsets to fully assume physical and spiritual responsibility and working together as one united indivisible nation for the promotion of national growth and development.

In conclusion, I will like to say that sometimes, valuable things don’t come from the rich and influential people but from unknown persons in the dark and forgotten corners of the world. I have voiced out my opinions on the strategies we should adopt to carve out a pathway for Nigeria in her quest for actualizing her glorious future. Therefore, government in collaboration with its citizens should work together and try to effect changes using these suggestions and my dream of seeing Nigeria as one of nations to be reckoned with globally will come true so therefore

Arise o compatriots
Nigeria’s call obey
To serve our father land
With love and strength and faith
The labour of our hero’s past
Shall never be in vain
To serve with heart and might
One nation bound in freedom
Peace and unity.

YES WE CAN.
THANK YOU.