OPINION: Could There Be A Productive Nigeria?
Olatunji S. Tolulope
Next to the departure of the western capitalists, after several agitations to be self-independent, eventually, Nigeria on the 1st October 1960, got her independence, thinking that we are capable of governing ourselves like other countries of the world, this was a great move, no dubieties, because the capitalist’s exploitation and victimization of the blacks especially Nigerians and their natural resources, were making us strangers on our own lands, which extremely uncalled for since the capitalists were uninvited guests, but we were developed under them but this development is of harm than good .
We got to be independent because we are dimly fit to lead ourselves, leading ourselves to bring productive results about the national development of the country unlike the capitalists who were bloodsuckers and moochers even when they claimed that they were doing something great and spectacular on our soil via the warrant chiefs.
We were to some extents able to lead ourselves and we were productive giving disregard for the crises that erupted in those times like 1962, Kano riot of 1953, Aba women riot, military coups, civil war of about three and half years and among others. Even though if I was not born as of those times, at least I was able to peruse through some annals of this nation and I was updated by those who were born before those periods, that this country was not like this as of that time(as regard of the present situation of the country like handicapped economy, insecurity, unemployment and others) when it comes to our good economy and some national development, the working class, gainful employment of our youths, good security and defence of the country, free education, international recognitions and relations, and our contributions to other countries and so on .
Even though there were some internal and insidious crises and challenges like corruption, high rate of theft, abductions and others that are happening that is now seeing the light of the day in our present time. Amidst of these, fellow Nigerians said something positive and approbatory about ‘that time’ Nigeria. Nevertheless, a pasquinade of Nigeria as at the moment is ridiculous and earth shattering which will lead to Nigerian shipwreck.
The state of the nation is at the dilapidated and profound stage when it comes to our economy, education, security, employment, foreign exchange and others to mention a few. I am bewildered about incidents happening in the country, and I know that fellow Nigerians will be terrified with these and many questions are hanging at the moment. Are we even productive? Have we made a mistake of letting them (western capitalists) go? Are we not capable of leading ourselves anymore? Should the media be saying something negative things about this country forever?
In the terms of productivity, where the focus of my paper is on, when we talk about a productive Nigeria, we are not talking about productive in the loose sense of it, that is production of good and services, or engaging in after sales or pre sales services of some sort or engaging in a kind of business with the sole aim of profit maximization or any dividends gained from it. But I talk about a productive Nigeria in the terms of looking from the angle of the achievement when the civil rule came to limelight without any interruptions by the “men in khaki”. Even though if some quarters have salute the doggedness of this country when it comes to productivity, does this productivity match or suit our calibre, a rich country blessed with natural resources thus, her citizens struggling and wallowing with a square meal in a day, workers not paid their salaries and one autocrat dragging our integrity on the soil and by saying fellow Nigerian youths are lazy.
As a student of philosophy with the tool of linguistic clarification and conceptual analysis, Nigerian youths presupposes that all Nigerian youths are lazy which is not case, therefore some of us are very hard working. So our so called president have been fallacious all this while.
With regards to the antecedents, the question we must be asking ourselves is that what have we gained in the long run ever since the advent of the civilian rule. Does the productivity we make now as a country that is 57 years after independent and spending the 19th of civil rule, match our caliber? Who are the people behind the country not achieving in a long run?
Some of the people from the opposition party came and left the position of power, claiming that they have achieved a great feat for the past 16 years of leadership but I personally have not seen the productivity of our caliber because this country is exceeded the level of at which they claimed that they have done something spectacular for the country however I have seen substandard development which have not in any way meet the standard of a country which have every opportunity to be developed but some political “Shylock” have hampered her from moving forward.
In the aspect economy, when they were in power, our economy was fluctuating because of our over dependence on oil, they did not diverse our economy as if that was not enough, they were absent mindedly joyous about the fact that the so called crude oil was refined, without letting Nigerian know about where the oil was refined, this oil was refined overseas not on our own soil. The then political blights in power were not able to process through their minds as regards how we can site and locate our own refineries and refine our oil all by ourselves instead of paying extravagantly to refiners, at the end, negotiating with our myopic leaders that on the oil we so depended on. Is that productivity in a long run and of our caliber? Is there not fire on the mountain as Asa have said it?
In addition, the funds gotten from oil sector which are meant to be utilized maximally like using it to pay workers and be used for national infrastructural development and some other things that will benefit the citizens of the country and generation yet unborn are squandered and siphoned by this political actors and they were claiming that, something unique has been done, to me categorically this is not productivity in the long run and this productivity is not of our caliber as an affluent nation. In the security aspect of their 16th years of self-acclaimed good leadership and good governance is nothing to write a home about, during their time is when the dreadful terrorists Boko Haram came to existence, 2014 to be precise, during their tenure we had the highest crime rate in the country.
Fellow Nigerians will look and will ask them some sort of questions, with all these things happening as at then, is this the productive Nigeria we are expecting? As is in any case bring praise to the democratic system of the country?
For the sake of this paper, I have mentioned some few points at which there are many costly blunders committed by the opposition party, thereby hindering the productivity of the country to be maximally utilized. In the case of the ruling party, the government of the day, before assuming the office, they promise us a change but fellows Nigerians did not know that the word called change can be ambiguous and can be arbitrarily used, this does not presuppose that there is no change. We have seen many drastic changes in the country, but these changes are doing more harm than good for the country. This administration initially came with the idea of whistle blowing some misguided and corruptible political actors as regard to the carting away public funds to suit their interests. I think that was their sole aim of coming on board, without knowing that they are accountable to the people.
From my observations, I think the last administration and the incumbent one are very similar to some extents, they are very similar in they aspect at which the process issues about the removal of oil subsidy and hike of fuel pump price. They are similar too when it comes to the issues of security and terrorism, we had problem with the Boko Haram abducting the Chibok girls and Dapchi girls which we have not totally settled, now another 21st century local terrorists Fulani herdsmen have come on board, which the government of the day are yet to solve.
These humans of perdition coming from the north are killing innocent lives, the obvious one was the massacre of about 200 lives which were claimed by this dreadful sect in Jos which in any away helped the country in making her a better place to live. Our educational sector is in its abysmal state, in a case where lecturers and teachers are not being paid salaries for month, there by going to indefinite strike and pose a great danger to the future of our wards, and we expect the country to be productive? There many challenges facing this present administration that have hampered the nation’s productivity such unemployment, it was in this administration we exceed India as the largest people with high rate of poverty on this planet, glaring in a way, have not helped the country’s productivity in any case.
Moreover, taking an authority from what a time U.S president in person of Theodore Roosevelt said and I quote (paraphrase) “You should not think of what we can collect from your country, rather, you should think of what we can do for your country”. Fellow Nigerians, we should not solely blame the government about the thing happening in the country. We also have our own role to play in taking this country to her pinnacle of greatness. A productive Nigeria of highest caliber we ought to be pursuing at the moment, when I said the productive Nigeria of the highest caliber I mean a better Nigeria where people will be happy with the government as regarding their great works in the long run at which the unborn generations will come and see their works still trending. A productive Nigeria of the highest caliber is when government and people of the same equals come together and deliberate on what next and where are we lagging behind as a nation not complicating issues for ourselves. We must contribute to the productivity and the development of the country, even this is speaking to the writer of this paper.
From the words of the Ikene-born lawyer and the then Premier of the western region, Obafemi Awolowo, in his lecture “Need for reappraisal: Ideological Reappraisal” that was delivered in Kumasi, Ghana on the 17th November, 1976 about Africa’s problems and challenges’ immediately after the African states got their independence. One of the solutions he proffered to the problem of African was that since man is a solo creative, dynamic, causative and purposive agent at which all means of production takes effect and with his inherent forces of the physical and the mental state make thing that is the means of production turns around in the society, so therefore man is prime mover of every economy and he is indispensable for things happening in the society either good or bad.
With regards to the above, we are the reason why this country have not be productive in the long run since we and the so called government are the prime mover of anything that happens in the society, therefore the lasting way out is in our hands (we and the people representing us). In order to bring a new epoch and panacea of great productivity of the highest form, we need to change our ideology and mentality. We need an ideology that supersedes that which we claimed is helping Nigeria as a big family to be productive but not fruitful in the long run. We need an ideology that makes us to reach and to be a developed nation through the things we are involved with.
Deductively, giving it a closer look, the mentality of bribery and corruption have been in our veins, the writer inclusive, which have not in any way helped the nation to be productive, so we must do without this heinous act especially our leaders. The second mentality that is affecting us is the mentality of unaccountability and irresponsibility, this goes to the leaders too, the reasons why this country is not moving forward as the country (which is the state) wished for is because they believe that they not accountable to anybody, so to speak if they are accountable, why are so things be left undone, why did they not pay the working class their salaries, why did this country so depended on only oil or why did they not build our own refineries or why did the Fulani herdsmen engaged themselves in some series of massacres nationwide? Instead, they are accountable and responsible on how they will siphon and loot the nation’s coffer and run it dry for another new administration to come and generate another one, this is not mature and a major setback for the nation at large, honestly speaking, let leaders of this country change this mentality.
The mentality of disunity have beclouded our minds and our eyes to the extent that the welfare of the nation is of no concern to us anymore, why must we break up, though we know that the reason why the western capitalist unite us together was because to maximally exploit our natural resources, but I see this as a blessing in disguise, at which one ethnic group cannot do without another ethnic, that is beauty of unity, the clamor for breaking Nigeria as a country will not take the country anywhere. Let the Biafrans stop this attitude and be thinking of how the country will use the challenges we are facing now as a stepping stone to greater heights. Without these we cannot be productive maximally. We must be self-conscious of things happening around, we should not be complacent with the situation that very strange and seems unproductive to us, in order words, we should make drastic, immediate and lasting solutions to the problems at hand, we should not wait for the insidious problem to became enormous and difficult to be eschewed, take for instance bribery and corruption and drug abuse were insidious before, it became an issue of frightening proportion.
With these few points I have mentioned above, I think that Nigerians will be moving closer to the cadre of a developed nation in which her productive feat will experience no bounds.
OLATUNJI S. TOLULOPE (SAMTOL)
A student journalist with OAU KILONSHELE News Outfit, Obafemi Awolowo University.
Next to the departure of the western capitalists, after several agitations to be self-independent, eventually, Nigeria on the 1st October 1960, got her independence, thinking that we are capable of governing ourselves like other countries of the world, this was a great move, no dubieties, because the capitalist’s exploitation and victimization of the blacks especially Nigerians and their natural resources, were making us strangers on our own lands, which extremely uncalled for since the capitalists were uninvited guests, but we were developed under them but this development is of harm than good .
We got to be independent because we are dimly fit to lead ourselves, leading ourselves to bring productive results about the national development of the country unlike the capitalists who were bloodsuckers and moochers even when they claimed that they were doing something great and spectacular on our soil via the warrant chiefs.
We were to some extents able to lead ourselves and we were productive giving disregard for the crises that erupted in those times like 1962, Kano riot of 1953, Aba women riot, military coups, civil war of about three and half years and among others. Even though if I was not born as of those times, at least I was able to peruse through some annals of this nation and I was updated by those who were born before those periods, that this country was not like this as of that time(as regard of the present situation of the country like handicapped economy, insecurity, unemployment and others) when it comes to our good economy and some national development, the working class, gainful employment of our youths, good security and defence of the country, free education, international recognitions and relations, and our contributions to other countries and so on .
Even though there were some internal and insidious crises and challenges like corruption, high rate of theft, abductions and others that are happening that is now seeing the light of the day in our present time. Amidst of these, fellow Nigerians said something positive and approbatory about ‘that time’ Nigeria. Nevertheless, a pasquinade of Nigeria as at the moment is ridiculous and earth shattering which will lead to Nigerian shipwreck.
The state of the nation is at the dilapidated and profound stage when it comes to our economy, education, security, employment, foreign exchange and others to mention a few. I am bewildered about incidents happening in the country, and I know that fellow Nigerians will be terrified with these and many questions are hanging at the moment. Are we even productive? Have we made a mistake of letting them (western capitalists) go? Are we not capable of leading ourselves anymore? Should the media be saying something negative things about this country forever?
In the terms of productivity, where the focus of my paper is on, when we talk about a productive Nigeria, we are not talking about productive in the loose sense of it, that is production of good and services, or engaging in after sales or pre sales services of some sort or engaging in a kind of business with the sole aim of profit maximization or any dividends gained from it. But I talk about a productive Nigeria in the terms of looking from the angle of the achievement when the civil rule came to limelight without any interruptions by the “men in khaki”. Even though if some quarters have salute the doggedness of this country when it comes to productivity, does this productivity match or suit our calibre, a rich country blessed with natural resources thus, her citizens struggling and wallowing with a square meal in a day, workers not paid their salaries and one autocrat dragging our integrity on the soil and by saying fellow Nigerian youths are lazy.
As a student of philosophy with the tool of linguistic clarification and conceptual analysis, Nigerian youths presupposes that all Nigerian youths are lazy which is not case, therefore some of us are very hard working. So our so called president have been fallacious all this while.
With regards to the antecedents, the question we must be asking ourselves is that what have we gained in the long run ever since the advent of the civilian rule. Does the productivity we make now as a country that is 57 years after independent and spending the 19th of civil rule, match our caliber? Who are the people behind the country not achieving in a long run?
Some of the people from the opposition party came and left the position of power, claiming that they have achieved a great feat for the past 16 years of leadership but I personally have not seen the productivity of our caliber because this country is exceeded the level of at which they claimed that they have done something spectacular for the country however I have seen substandard development which have not in any way meet the standard of a country which have every opportunity to be developed but some political “Shylock” have hampered her from moving forward.
In the aspect economy, when they were in power, our economy was fluctuating because of our over dependence on oil, they did not diverse our economy as if that was not enough, they were absent mindedly joyous about the fact that the so called crude oil was refined, without letting Nigerian know about where the oil was refined, this oil was refined overseas not on our own soil. The then political blights in power were not able to process through their minds as regards how we can site and locate our own refineries and refine our oil all by ourselves instead of paying extravagantly to refiners, at the end, negotiating with our myopic leaders that on the oil we so depended on. Is that productivity in a long run and of our caliber? Is there not fire on the mountain as Asa have said it?
In addition, the funds gotten from oil sector which are meant to be utilized maximally like using it to pay workers and be used for national infrastructural development and some other things that will benefit the citizens of the country and generation yet unborn are squandered and siphoned by this political actors and they were claiming that, something unique has been done, to me categorically this is not productivity in the long run and this productivity is not of our caliber as an affluent nation. In the security aspect of their 16th years of self-acclaimed good leadership and good governance is nothing to write a home about, during their time is when the dreadful terrorists Boko Haram came to existence, 2014 to be precise, during their tenure we had the highest crime rate in the country.
Fellow Nigerians will look and will ask them some sort of questions, with all these things happening as at then, is this the productive Nigeria we are expecting? As is in any case bring praise to the democratic system of the country?
For the sake of this paper, I have mentioned some few points at which there are many costly blunders committed by the opposition party, thereby hindering the productivity of the country to be maximally utilized. In the case of the ruling party, the government of the day, before assuming the office, they promise us a change but fellows Nigerians did not know that the word called change can be ambiguous and can be arbitrarily used, this does not presuppose that there is no change. We have seen many drastic changes in the country, but these changes are doing more harm than good for the country. This administration initially came with the idea of whistle blowing some misguided and corruptible political actors as regard to the carting away public funds to suit their interests. I think that was their sole aim of coming on board, without knowing that they are accountable to the people.
From my observations, I think the last administration and the incumbent one are very similar to some extents, they are very similar in they aspect at which the process issues about the removal of oil subsidy and hike of fuel pump price. They are similar too when it comes to the issues of security and terrorism, we had problem with the Boko Haram abducting the Chibok girls and Dapchi girls which we have not totally settled, now another 21st century local terrorists Fulani herdsmen have come on board, which the government of the day are yet to solve.
These humans of perdition coming from the north are killing innocent lives, the obvious one was the massacre of about 200 lives which were claimed by this dreadful sect in Jos which in any away helped the country in making her a better place to live. Our educational sector is in its abysmal state, in a case where lecturers and teachers are not being paid salaries for month, there by going to indefinite strike and pose a great danger to the future of our wards, and we expect the country to be productive? There many challenges facing this present administration that have hampered the nation’s productivity such unemployment, it was in this administration we exceed India as the largest people with high rate of poverty on this planet, glaring in a way, have not helped the country’s productivity in any case.
Moreover, taking an authority from what a time U.S president in person of Theodore Roosevelt said and I quote (paraphrase) “You should not think of what we can collect from your country, rather, you should think of what we can do for your country”. Fellow Nigerians, we should not solely blame the government about the thing happening in the country. We also have our own role to play in taking this country to her pinnacle of greatness. A productive Nigeria of highest caliber we ought to be pursuing at the moment, when I said the productive Nigeria of the highest caliber I mean a better Nigeria where people will be happy with the government as regarding their great works in the long run at which the unborn generations will come and see their works still trending. A productive Nigeria of the highest caliber is when government and people of the same equals come together and deliberate on what next and where are we lagging behind as a nation not complicating issues for ourselves. We must contribute to the productivity and the development of the country, even this is speaking to the writer of this paper.
From the words of the Ikene-born lawyer and the then Premier of the western region, Obafemi Awolowo, in his lecture “Need for reappraisal: Ideological Reappraisal” that was delivered in Kumasi, Ghana on the 17th November, 1976 about Africa’s problems and challenges’ immediately after the African states got their independence. One of the solutions he proffered to the problem of African was that since man is a solo creative, dynamic, causative and purposive agent at which all means of production takes effect and with his inherent forces of the physical and the mental state make thing that is the means of production turns around in the society, so therefore man is prime mover of every economy and he is indispensable for things happening in the society either good or bad.
With regards to the above, we are the reason why this country have not be productive in the long run since we and the so called government are the prime mover of anything that happens in the society, therefore the lasting way out is in our hands (we and the people representing us). In order to bring a new epoch and panacea of great productivity of the highest form, we need to change our ideology and mentality. We need an ideology that supersedes that which we claimed is helping Nigeria as a big family to be productive but not fruitful in the long run. We need an ideology that makes us to reach and to be a developed nation through the things we are involved with.
Deductively, giving it a closer look, the mentality of bribery and corruption have been in our veins, the writer inclusive, which have not in any way helped the nation to be productive, so we must do without this heinous act especially our leaders. The second mentality that is affecting us is the mentality of unaccountability and irresponsibility, this goes to the leaders too, the reasons why this country is not moving forward as the country (which is the state) wished for is because they believe that they not accountable to anybody, so to speak if they are accountable, why are so things be left undone, why did they not pay the working class their salaries, why did this country so depended on only oil or why did they not build our own refineries or why did the Fulani herdsmen engaged themselves in some series of massacres nationwide? Instead, they are accountable and responsible on how they will siphon and loot the nation’s coffer and run it dry for another new administration to come and generate another one, this is not mature and a major setback for the nation at large, honestly speaking, let leaders of this country change this mentality.
The mentality of disunity have beclouded our minds and our eyes to the extent that the welfare of the nation is of no concern to us anymore, why must we break up, though we know that the reason why the western capitalist unite us together was because to maximally exploit our natural resources, but I see this as a blessing in disguise, at which one ethnic group cannot do without another ethnic, that is beauty of unity, the clamor for breaking Nigeria as a country will not take the country anywhere. Let the Biafrans stop this attitude and be thinking of how the country will use the challenges we are facing now as a stepping stone to greater heights. Without these we cannot be productive maximally. We must be self-conscious of things happening around, we should not be complacent with the situation that very strange and seems unproductive to us, in order words, we should make drastic, immediate and lasting solutions to the problems at hand, we should not wait for the insidious problem to became enormous and difficult to be eschewed, take for instance bribery and corruption and drug abuse were insidious before, it became an issue of frightening proportion.
With these few points I have mentioned above, I think that Nigerians will be moving closer to the cadre of a developed nation in which her productive feat will experience no bounds.
OLATUNJI S. TOLULOPE (SAMTOL)
A student journalist with OAU KILONSHELE News Outfit, Obafemi Awolowo University.
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