DOES NIGERIA HAVE A FUTURE?

“We are all hypocrites. We cannot see ourselves or judge ourselves the way we see and judge others”…Jose Emilio Pacheco (1039 - 2014) was a Mexican poet, essayist, novelist and short story writer. He is regarded as one of the major Mexican poets of the first half of the 20^th century.

We are all hypocrites!

Have you ever looked yourself in the mirror but couldn’t hold still for long enough because of a certain guilt eating you up from within?

Yes! That’s your conscience, the good nature that God has placed inside us to help us keep a check on ourselves, without it, we are no different from actual beasts in the jungle that live by ending innocent lives and ripping loving families apart.

However, it is funny how we constantly feign how we truly feel and the way we do it quite well just like Hollywood stars. If there is one thing we must know about conscience, it is that you might be able to hide it, but you cannot hide from it.

Perhaps it is better to give in to it and accept reality and reprimand, than to fight it, letting it break your spirit while you sob alone in your innermost room.

Notwithstanding, we cannot remove the fact that we all pretend and retain our intentions at one point or another, perhaps not necessarily to deceive, but also to manage information wrapped up in systematic situations that third parties can hardly understand, even when confronted with or by it.

We make-up false images of ourselves to impress people that probably care less about us, allowing them to think we are better than who we indeed are, luring them to race faster than their legs can carry them, only to wear them out especially when they try to measure up to a perceived class we fake to attain, but that we were probably not destined to gain in such a way, if at all.

“Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they never failed to imitate them”…James Baldwin (1924 – 1987) was an American writer and social critic.

Are there role models and mentors in sight?

The lies and pretenses have been around for as long as even our forefathers could remember. Nigeria for instance is full of people living phony lives, not because they want to, but because of peer pressure, fear of failure, insecurity and the imminent poverty that constantly lurks around, which of course is shameful as no one wants to be associated with poor people.

The poverty however is as artificial as can be, why or how? You may ask. Well, it still bores down to altering the eco-system, disturbance of the natural order of things.

Massive corruption, lack of genuine love and passion for one another and by extension the nation has brought Nigeria to her knees like a goat tied down helplessly waiting for the slaughter, but who is going to save us from this nasty predicament though?

I don’t have all the answers, nonetheless mentors and role models are definitely important for consideration, but look around you and count aloud how many you can find, yes you guessed it, as pertinent as they are, they are a scarce resource.

The wealthiest guys are usually corrupt or linked to shady deals, many even connive with government officials to defraud the administration and deprive the citizens of their rightful entitlements as simple as basic infrastructure, annihilating the middle class and impoverishing the citizenry without a conscience.

Does it not amaze you when our elders cherish and respect the laws, culture, education, living standard and the youths of western nations, but back home they do not care nor improve the quality of lives and the future of their own so called future leaders?

How can they be mentors and role models when they loot public funds and then waste them on material things that we can as well produce in our country at lower cost? It is either they are not financially intelligent, or they are outright nasty, just like actual terrorists.

“Youth is the gift of nature, but age is a work of art”…Stanislaw Jerzy Lec (1909 – 1966) was a Polish aphorist and poet.

Every kid deserves a shot at greatness!

Youths of course, are the leaders of tomorrow, the future frontrunners blazing the trail with the flaming torch, but do they stand a chance in this present Nigeria where the old folks want to rule and if possible, live forever even at our expense?

I was privileged to meet the acquaintance of a fairly old lad who has travelled the world and gained experience from a blissful career. Interestingly, he called my attention to an involvement of his when he had a meeting with a young CEO of a huge company, and surprisingly, he couldn’t have been more amazed and intimidated by such a young, bold and vibrant lady who apparently knew exactly what she wanted, especially from anyone she made contact with professionally and otherwise.

The meeting they had, according to him completely wore him out, primarily because he under-estimated her intelligence, and then she eventually blew him away.

My point?

If we do not empower and strategically position our youths and truly believe in them, then there is no future for our dear nation.

There is no magic nor any miracle about it, it is a principle, which the western world figured out a long time ago, which is why they look like super heroes and we simply succumb to them like buffoons.

“Next time you are faced with a choice, do the right thing. It hurts everyone less in the long run”…Wendelin Van Draanen (1965 - ) American writer of children’s and young adult fiction.

Perhaps we are not that bad after all…

Whoever came up with the Good people, Great nation caption for Nigeria sure did a good job I must say. We really are good people; it’s just that the prevailing circumstance of mass poverty is letting people become desperate and aggressive, tempting and luring them to do things they ordinarily wouldn’t. Not that I’m justifying the apparent lifestyle that has virtually come to stay, but on a lighter note, some even see it as a source of motivation for excellence.

Ordinarily, there is usually lesser crime and unrest in more civil societies where there is adequate infrastructure and where most of the population has education available and affordable to them.

“A place that gives wings to my dreams and hushes my fears, worries and screams.

Where I’d develop stronger wings to fly, rising so higher, touching the blue sky, that I dream and pray it ends not as a dream”…A poem by Tony Ajanah , a Nigerian poet.

The Nigeria of our dreams

The world has gotten better at technology than it was ten years ago, same thing applies to the medical aspect, pharmacy, education, strategy, sustainable development and lots more. Even family businesses try harder to pass wealth and knowledge to the next generation as precious legacies that get better like old wine.

At this point, Nigeria barely has a choice but to move at the same pace at which the world is currently evolving, else she will be left behind, and the exploding population may one day cause her to  self-destruct.

We all know that a substantial part of development is not rocket science, but rather, common sense and political will.

We have given in to deceit and loads of clandestine activities only because of material gain, which is money at most times. We are neither faithful nor loyal to ourselves, and this is why it is difficult for us to actually prosper.

We need to educate the up coming generation that Nigeria will not succeed if we do not grow home based sports, agriculture, education, manufacturing, technology and celebrate the good aspects of our culture, rather than looting the treasury of our citizens and wasting them on unworthy material possessions that fades away, impoverishes us and oppresses the already downtrodden.

So does Nigeria have a future? Well, I know one person that can make a difference and possibly answer the question, but first I’d say you might as well look into the mirror, as the answer is in our hands.

God bless Nigeria!

Thank you, and be awesome because you truly are.

Akin Abimbola.

Contact the author: (akinzogee@yahoo.com, akinzogee@gmail.com)

Twitter: @akinzogee

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Sources: Battles in the desert, Brainy Quote, Flippers, Google, Good reads, Wikipedia

This article is an original piece, reasonably researched and contains considerable opinion and a unique style of the author.

The names in actual stories are not real and the stories in this write-up are usually fictional, consequently, people’s names appearing are purely co-incidental, except for quotes and news that are typically referenced.

DOES NIGERIA EVEN GET THE WHOLE IDEA?

“Daring ideas are like chessmen moved forward. They may be beaten, but they may start a winning game”…Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 -1832) German writer and statesman.

Who’s looking at you?

You would most probably be relegated to the sidelines of intellectual gatherings and high-level discussions as a Nigerian in Nigeria if you remotely appear naïve of the game of football.

It may also interest you to know that in as much as you would probably do well not being anxious about what people think or say about you, trust me when I say that if you are privileged to at least have a glimpse of how people perceive you, you might as well be on the rare path of seeing yourself through other people’s eyes and you may have the infrequent opportunity to adjust some aspects about you, if indeed you must.

Take football for instance, to be a great football player, apart from having talent, which is not an absolute must, you should genuinely have a huge interest in the great sport, which of course progresses into passion, followed by sacrifice, and if you are in luck, you will stumble on a good coach that will try to bring out the best in you.

He monitors your lifestyle, supervises your training, watches your every game and keeps your career dreams alive as he blends your performance with a team of gifted players just like you, instilling in you discipline, humility and leadership, making you an apparently finished product of all round quality.

Hope I didn’t lose you there in the heap of football jargons; suffice to say we all need a coach to help observe our evolution, we all need someone to honestly tell us how we look when we cannot see ourselves, and who will criticize us perhaps in a productive way.

“What you see and what you hear depends a great deal on where you are standing. It also depends on what sort of person you are”…C.S. Lewis (1898 – 1963) Clive Staples Lewis was a British novelist and poet.

What is Nigeria to the world?

Although the entire world has impressively become a global village where messages are sent, received and exchanged with the speed of light, all nations including Nigeria have shared and enjoyed the spotlight for positive reasons and even otherwise.

Currently in this 21^st century there is virtually no secret whatsoever about any nation, the strengths and weaknesses of basically every nation are known if not to all, definitely to some.

For instance we know the United States is a world superpower with massive weaponry, diplomacy, intellectual research etc. We also know that Russia and China likewise compete for the number one superpower spot, which has constantly evaded them and caused series of diplomatic and espionage matters.

We know North Korea has a history of being power hungry and long to be recognized and also respected at the expense of her citizenry, in order to buttress people’s speculations, a controversial motion picture was even produced to reiterate the notion the whole world already knew.

We know that Africa has been constantly exploited and also dragged down perhaps owing to complacence due to her ignorance, corruption and greed due to illiteracy and lack of foresight, power drunkenness due to insecurity and fear of the unknown, and terrorism due to lack of love, which clearly disqualifies Nigeria from the league of world powers and changers.

Nigeria used to be respected for her agricultural products and her mineral resources which ranges from crude oil, gold, tin, bauxite, coal and so much more, but just as we said earlier about needing a coach, Nigeria virtually became a football player that practically relied solely on her apparent talents and didn’t want to be guided by a coach, and just as you would expect, the growth and development of a once great potential came to a stand still, literally.

“Change the way you look at things and the things you look at change”…Wayne W. Dyer (1940 – 2015) American Philosopher, self-help author and motivational speaker.

What do Nigerians think of themselves?

For the record, this is totally my opinion without prejudice and bias. I am sick and tired of people saying Nigerians are good people, come on, we really need to move past this, like what is the good worth when we can actually be great and incredibly awesome?

‘Good’ is a baggage, it wears you down to a state of complacence and some comfort zone thing. It appears to be some self-gratifying abode, which takes you far away from reality, setting one on the path of mediocrity.

Nigerians need to move past just reacting to issues, but also need to act intuitively by predicting the future the way the philosophers and world powers do, which is by making the future they desire.

What do Nigerians think of themselves? They are insecure because their role models were afraid and did not inspire them enough to make them believe that they can conquer the world without selfishness, greed and corruption.

In as much as indications have arisen that it is all about to change, it remains incumbent on Nigerians to amass the right quantity of courage and initiative to make something creative of themselves as the world is impatiently waiting.

“Do not let the memories of your past limit the potential of your future. There are no limits to what you can achieve on your journey through life, except in your mind”…Roy T. Bennett (1957 - … ) Zimbabwean politician and former member of British/South African police.

What is Nigeria’s true potential?

I’m sure you’re probably somewhat disconcerted, wondering if I cannot see the Nigerian heroes in diaspora, but that is the problem, why just diaspora?

Thousands of Nigerians are superstars in other countries, excelling in sports, medicine, science, law, politics, charity, education and so much more. When they were studied it was found that they performed greatly because they had the emigrant’s attitude, and they had a fine environment to work in, better than the one they had in Nigeria.

This in someway means either they are not really Nigerian’s anymore, or they eternally owe the western world all that they have achieved.

In essence, we have not truly achieved much until the western world can come to our shores and acknowledge that indeed we have surpassed their imagination with our own discoveries, and we not getting carried away by it, not just because it may be a deception, but also because in truth, humility, which is the character of the sages will make us sober, reflective and open minded in readiness for more wisdom which is yet to come into our souls from the infinite and heavenly source, with we being qualified as the gods that we are.

“At the end of the day the question comes what are you doing for the world? You have to try to do something that’s going to add something positive”…Paul Feig (1962 - …) American actor, director, producer and screenwriter.

What is Nigeria up to?

In the year 2050 Nigeria is tipped to be the 3rd most populous nation in the world, and trust me, this is not an achievement and obviously not good news even in the least.

Of the current 180 million people living in Nigeria about 75% live below the poverty line of surviving under N500 a day. The remaining 25% or so are simply fortunate based on the premise that ‘it is opportunity that separates human beings’. Statistics does in a way show that the wealth of the nation has somehow found its way to the wrong hands through corruption, thievery and other vices, vehemently altering the eco system where lions now eat grass and maggots, while the top of the food chain is reserved for ants, scorpions and snakes, how weird and awkward.

Wouldn’t you know, that ill-gotten wealth, through the natural order of things such as guiding principles that govern the earth, becomes toxic? Especially if the unforgivable act of robbery has caused great deprivation for the desperately needy, and which the act caused irreparable damage or even loss of lives.

How many truly wealthy Nigerians have clean money and have empowered youths and tried to sponsor research that will benefit the citizenry and their future?

This is difficult or impossible for them because they don’t really love the nation; they are only greedy and repressive.

When they expand their businesses, it is only to improve their bottom line and not primarily provide employment; they couldn’t do it alone in the first place, so they need us, as they cannot survive without contribution of the masses that work with their hearts.

Believe or not, this is the time for Nigerians to wake up and get up to reality for our lives and our future depends on it. We need to seek knowledge the way we seek to breathe air in order to realize that we need to understand and embrace the divinely set principles that govern the earth.

We surely must strive to genuinely love our neighbours as ourselves, only then will our eyes widely open and we will not only look, but we also shall see.

God bless Nigeria!

Thank you, and be awesome because you truly are.

Akin Abimbola.

Contact the author: (akinzogee@yahoo.com, akinzogee@gmail.com)

Twitter: @akinzogee

Facebook: Critical Lyric by Akin Abimbola

Instagram: Akinzogee

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Become a fan, follow and share.                  

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Talk to us!

What did we miss?

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Sources: Brainy Quote, CNN, Google, Good reads, Premium times, The light in the heart, The Magician’s Nephew, UN Report, Wikipedia

This article is an original piece, reasonably researched and contains considerable opinion and a unique style of the author.

The names in actual stories are not real and the stories in this write-up are fictional, consequently, people’s names appearing are purely co-incidental, except for quotes and news that are typically referenced.