Useless, Senseless, Undisciplined Or All Of The Above?

There are several things hindering the nation's development. We are aware of corruption, injustice, malnourished children, lecturers on strike, terrible roads, and the newborns dying in hospital incubators because of inconsistent power supply...

In my opinion, it is Nigerians themselves that are stopping their nation from developing. The barrier we face is not a physical one.
Back in 2012, I volunteered in a summer school for orphans, three years on I returned to find the condition of the school had deteriorated.
Karl Marx referred to religion as the 'opium of the people'. A statement I did not grasp until I came to Nigeria. Individuals often used religion as a means to justify their position in society. In Nigeria religion is like a  drug because the masses are addicted, pastors are idolized viewed as demi-gods so continue to grow ridiculously rich whilst the majority of their congregation remain in poverty. I do not attend any church in Lagos, I never have and never will. If you see the reaction when people find out that I'm lounging in my hotel on a Sunday.

I am not sure which was more shocking, the fact that I witnessed a young girl defecating into a gutter in broad daylight or a grown man 50 yards down the road urinating by a 'do not urinate here' sign.

A toddler plays outside a shop, he stands about half a meter away from a gutter. The gutter has overflown, mosquitoes breeding by it, a green algae film floats on top. The combination of rotten food, raw sewage, and stagnant water give off a putrid odor. The mother is fully aware of her toddler playing by this toxic mess. She is unfazed. She has two other children one a few months while the other appears to be five or six years. The mother begins to chastise the eldest child, after a few minutes the eldest child is threatening to beat his toddler sibling.

At the summer school, I see a child limping around. I ask what is wrong, he looks down pointing at his foot. I look down to see his toe on his left foot inflamed, five times its normal size blackish purple with puss oozing out. I call the attention of one of the teachers, she asks him if he has had a tetanus injection. He recalls having one a few months ago. The mother is called to collect him, immediately she lays eyes on the boy she begins to yell claiming whenever she tried to treat him, he ran away because of the pain. His foot had been in that condition for the past five days. When he arrived at the school that morning he was wearing trainers with no socks. Why the mother allowed him to leave the house in trainers to begin with is beyond me. Now you may say she didn't have enough money for her son to be treated in hospital, which was probably the case BUT as a parent you would hate to see your child in such pain,  and you would not want the infection to spread so would expect the wound to be disinfected  twice a day with some form of antiseptic then kept clean and dry. Looking at his foot it was clear that no significant attempt had been made to clean the wound, I guess treating her son was not a priority.

When heavy goods vehicles drove past releasing their black poisonous fumes I almost choked. People looked at me like I was mad, after that, I just held my breath. I would say a high proportion of residents in Ipaja were living in some degree of relative poverty. Those that it applied to had accepted their fate and were content.

No electricity supply for nine days, residents are informed of a technical fault with the electricity grid supplying that area. NEPA (PHCN) send out a worker to resolve the issue, the poor guy is electrocuted and dies in the process. In the single beasts of no nation, Fela sings 'My People Are Useless, my People Are Senseless, my People Are Indisciplined.'  He may have been referring to the politicians in Nigerian government but I think the statement has a somewhat generic feel toward the masses also.

Now for a solution there needs to be an entrenchment of a culture beginning at a grassroots level. A culture that promotes social mobility, collectivism, and sustainability. It is probably best to start at a grassroots level lets say with primary school children,  that way each generation can be socialised into a system where issues and problems experienced in everyday society are challenged .

By running workshops on the likes of anti-bullying and recycling, we are trying to show youngsters that they should start to consider acts or habits that may appear to be of little or no value (take for example throwing litter into a blocked gutter.) Moreover, every single person has the right to a decent standard of living. Your only concern cannot be to attain individual wealth and ignore every other factor around you.

We need a Nigeria where each citizen can connect with his or her national identity. Let us take pride in our nation and let Nigeria be great again!