Open letter to the Nigerian

[Richard Akindele]

Every system has some requirements for success to be guaranteed. A farmer needs rain; a driver needs some form of automobile; a software programmer needs his computer; and the list goes on. As days turn into nights, our nation continues to age, with little wisdom to show for it. It would be an understatement to say that our nation is in disarray. It's really in shambles, that's what it is.

We can keep asking "why" till we're blue in the face, but not a thing is going to change until real investigations are done to nail down the problem with the Nigeria. For starters, the nation has been plagued by one corrupt leadership after another, beginning from heads of state, right down to common rank and file employees. What makes it so easy for this kind of abuse to take place with impunity? The simple answer is, the society condones it.

There are whispers here and there about how bad things are. However, nobody is doing anything about it. I understand that near-dictatorial powers of our leaders predisposes them to negative inclinations. There is the old saying that absolute power corrupts absolutely. It therefore goes without saying that if you live under such an oppressive system where you as an invidividual can get in trouble for voicing your opinions against the leadership, there's very little you can do to change the system.

However, as grim as the situation may be, there is a solution. That solution is to have a new generation of people that think differently. Rather than nurse aspirations of acquiring power for the purpose of lining your own pockets, if you start to think more in terms of the collective good, the nation would end up with positive thinkers in the majority. As such good people begin to sip into positions of power, we'd start to see a change in the right direction.

Our nation's problems are numerous and enormous. Most of them have become endemic in our cultures and consciousness. Therefore, there is no quick fix that I know of. There has to be a sustained and concerted effort over several decades/generations before we can begin to see any form of change in the society. In other words, we must do away with the mentality of instant gratification. The fact is, the step you as an individual take today, may not manifest into anything positive in your lifetime. It however is not a wasted effort if it does produce the desired outcome for generations down the road.

Are you ready for this kind of selfless sacrifice? Are you ready to take part in, and bring about the goodie in store for Nigeria? Do you feel you bear a responsibility to make Nigeria better? Is it more important for you to get what you want, rather than give what you have in order to advance a course for a better Nigeria?

I'm talking to you. Are you listening to me?