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OPINION… National consciousness: The bane of Nigeria’s development

The choruses on every Nigerian’s lip are “Tinubu administration is bad”, “he should not have removed fuel subsidy without plans for the masses” and “There is inflation in the land.”
Yes, the country is not favorable at present. However, every successive administration in Nigeria has always been criticized for betraying the people’s expectations, but only a few people challenged themselves if they fulfilled their responsibilities as Nigerians. The percentage of conscious Nigerians is nothing close to its counterpart. It was always the government causing Nigeria’s failure. Bearing the following questions in mind when we sing our daily choruses is imperative.
Is the Tinubu administration responsible for the hydra-headed corruption? Can we hold the current administration for being accountable for tribalism and favoritism by employers? Can we blatantly accuse the government of the abuse of the absence of price control? Illegal bypassing of bills, reckless driving, and improper dumping of waste materials were never entrenched in the constitution of Nigeria.
Neither were they stated in the International Human Rights Law by the United Nations.
Don’t people drive recklessly, causing the untimely death of Nigeria’s human capital? Your guess is as correct as mine. Simply put, the numerous challenges confronting Nigeria result from bipartite factors, government, and the people. We can continue to apportion blame on the government, but we should not forget that the people are the government. I dare to say that the power of governance resides with the people.
The people should utilize their voting rights properly. It is high time we stopped being deceived with our gains. The Yoruba have a saying that best explains the message. Owo Abu l’afin s’Abu lalejo, (You entertain someone with their materials). Vote buying during election times is rampant among the electorates and politicians alike. Meanwhile, there are those elements employed as hooligans to destroy ballot boxes and rig elections.
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After a few months, these elements stuck to the streets with placards to protest what they caused with their hands. While some will even seize the moment as an avenue to raid other people’s belongings. You also hear an average Nigerian saying, “Votes don’t count, why should I waste my time and energy voting?” Yet, these are the people who would rather waste time evaluating the government’s policies instead of carrying out their obligations!
Additionally, Nigerians manifest acts of indiscipline. Drivers do not uphold the required credentials because the police are their friends. The law enforcers devise several ways of breaking the law and even encourage the masses on how to get away with it. Evading the traditional mode of taking bribes, the policeman appears in casual wear to collect the money from the driver while their colleague stands gallantly on the road grasping a gun or kondo.
Moreover, bypassing traffic lights is another usual act Nigerian drivers do. They do not do these things in those attractive countries that they japa to. Perhaps, Nigeria needs a return of the Buhari/Idiagbon administration, when you queue at filling stations with sense. Nigerians can be law-abiding if the government is ready to enforce discipline—like the Tinubu government abolished the subsidy regime. Improper dumping of wastes in public spaces should be severely dealt with.
What is more, citizenship education should be implemented at the elementary level, and we must stop seeing these subjects—Civic education, Social studies, and Government—as flexible courses that do not require specialists. Our private schools take their share of the cake. National consciousness should be built in the hearts of the children to see themselves as Nigeria’s ambassadors. That would wipe off the perception that Nigeria is not a one-man issue, no man should take his share of the national cake while leaving the unborn generations to their fate.
I have argued elsewhere that Nigeria needs to embrace citizen diplomacy in representing Nigeria’s image well. Notoriety in fraud and insecurity affects foreign engagements. While the price control debates lasted, Nigerian traders have considered the subsidy removal an opportunity to feather their nests. Prices of goods have inflated in the last couple of months, with producers dictating, without any consideration, the price they are going to sell their goods.
The government may have to look into the bad roads, epileptic power supply, climate change, etc. It might have to review strangling policies to ease the masses’ sufferings and create an enabling environment for investors. However, the bulk of the corrections lies with the people. It is the people that elect the leaders, the people occupy public positions and work in the civil service department of the State.
Changing the people’s mindset about their country is thus paramount for national development. Omo ti a ko ko ni yo gbe ile ti a ko ta, which connotatively means, “the masses we fail to enlighten would lighten up our sagacious efforts at national development.” Therefore, all hands must be on deck if Nigeria’s development is to be realized.
AUTHOR: Abdulkabir Muhammed
Articles published in our Graffiti section are strictly the opinion of the writers and do not represent the views of Ripples Nigeria or its editorial stand.
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