By CHILAGOROM Ifeanyi
(PRO, Imo Concerned Citizens)
Until we change our mentality and attitude towards money and what being a successful man means, Nigeria within and Nigeria outside cannot be better. Though we have good Nigerians, the name Nigeria, among other African countries poorer than we are, is becoming synonymous with crimes and fraudulent activities. We are never ashamed of anything.
Pass through our airports and see highly salaried immigration and custom workers begging for 100 Naira from people who earn lesser than them - just because they managed to save money to board a flight and visit home...Some "men of God deceiving and defrauding people just to live big; policeman and soldiers in uniform giving change to bus drivers; well paid professors demanding money still from poor students. Nigeria seems plunged into an incurable explosion and radicalisation of bribery and corruption. Not even Sodom and Gomorrah". The greatest form of poverty is when one has no dignity to defend. It's high time we started to realize that money is not only banknote; that orderliness is money, a well planned life and society is money, responsibility and commitment is money, security, health care, infrastructure, education and good name are wealth...etc.
The worst legacy the shameless elders we have as leaders and politicians have easily bequeathed to the youths and the common Nigerians is this mentality that if you don't steal, loot, defraud others you can never be successful - a crime grooming mentality and heritage from our elders. Every honest effort to create a new mentality and relationship with things is being frustrated and sabotaged by agents of the darkest darkness.
It's unimaginable that security men and politicians are the same sabotaging the government efforts to improve the lots of people in the society. Yet every politician who claims to be playing the role of opposition at any given time, presents him or herself as a lover of the society than others. How can they love us and still sabotage our progress just to materialise their selfish ambition for power?
Elders are the ones who have destroyed and keep destroying the entire society. By their fruits you shall know them. The youths are fruits and carbon copy of these shameless elders. We don't have people who are role models as leaders. We have mostly touts and opportunists, speaking well from both sides of the mouth and never living well by good example. Nigeria as at today, seems to be in total state of confusion and disorientation both politically, morally, religiously and socioculturally.
The worst is that we are just starting. We are still on the level of junglism and barbarism. The wickedness and violence is too much. There's no love at all for Nigeria. Nigerians don't love themselves. There's no respect for values and for people. Yet we claim to be a religious nation. I remain speechless and a bit hopeless for Nigeria when I see youths of 18 and 20 years involved in kidnapping, cultism and criminal practices to make money. You begin to ask how much have boys at such age tried before giving up to a life of the jungle?
I look at States like Rivers, for example, I see a dark future even with their oil. I see a future when Rivers will be worse than the North. Because under age children who should go to school are being enrolled into cultism and other criminal activities. The strength and growth of every nation depends on the quality and quantity of good men in it. If it takes a million people to build a nation and good reputation and one stupid fool to destroy it, I begin to wonder where are the million people whose goodness can enkindle a flame of hope and progress for our Country.
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