THE NIGERIA WE SEEK ( YOU ARE THE SOLUTION) By Olawunmi Temitope Oh God of creation, direct our noble cause, guide our leaders right , help our youths the truth to know ... , indeed the youths must know the truth and arise to the truth . Right from when I was only a little child, I have heard from my teachers, my parents, neighbors and elders about how the leaders are the source of Nigeria's woes. So I nurtured the hope that when another leader comes, things will change. But did things change?, well if they did , it was only for the worst. Then I pondered and through interaction with great minds , I found out that the solution would not come from the government alone, but from we the youths and every concerned citizen. Yes, there is a lot to complain about, the economy is in total decadence, children are hawking, adults are begging but the truth is that this lamentation will not yield any result, if we don't take position and take action . I mean, we are the ones hurting ourselves with our own little steps. If someone should bring a dress or shoe that is imported to us, even if it is from just Ghana, we'd prefer to spend as much as #20,000 naira on that shoe or dress than a dress or shoe that is made at home by a Nigerian clothing line. The fact that it is expensive makes it quality to you, you've forgotten that the designer is collecting a quota of his county's tax from that shoe or dress. If a well to do couple want to go for their honeymoon or vacation, you can be sure they would choose Paris,Bahamas, or even Taiwan, thereby going to spend the money they could've given to their country to another country, what about celebrities, they show off their Tiffany jewelry and their Mark and Spencer T-shirts, so this way we make the rich countries richer and make our poor country poorer. Because, a country that imports more than it exports will continue struggling. More so, we the youths only go to school to learn how to be job seekers, so we add up to the 9.485 million number of unemployed youths. How about the entrepreneurs, they are just comfortable with their comfort zone, doing the same thing all over again, and not giving a chance to their creative mind to bring forth. Even employees in so many of our industries don't give their best to the organization because they believe it is not their father's business and yet they might have been able to improve that industry, and indirectly improve Nigeria, because that organization might get bigger and better to employ more people. Successful people like Bill Gates, Walt Disney, J.W Rowling, CJ Walker , Steve Jobs , John D. Rockefeller, that we mention today , didn't spend time blaming the government or tossing blames to and fro , they took action and became a solution to their countries. If you look at so many industries in Nigeria today , you'd find out they're owned by foreigners. Indomie noodles by an Indonesian, KFC by Colonel Sanders an American, MTN by a South African and many more. This list of the many problems we have could go on and on. But I found out that if we're going to get a Nigeria that we seek then we must be ready to arise. Firstly, we have to get over this low self esteem we have Nigerians, that is, we must believe in ourselves. Instead of running to other countries and adding ourselves to their population there, you can stay here and invest in your country. This would at least reduce the disgrace of having Nigerian immigrants sent back home as if there were pursued from their own home. It is low self-esteem that makes us believe that, so long a product is made from Nigeria, it cannot be as good as that one made at India or China,even if it is their own discarded product there. Nigerian Universities, should encourage their students to undergo intense research so that we can discover new ways of doing things. How can we make our own sugar, Ketchups, our own jam, our own pasta , our own noodles, instead of exporting our natural resources and then importing the finished product at a very high cost. If some are going into the agricultural sector, others should be technological and industrial minded, so we can have our own manufacturing industries. And no matter how low quality this products are, we should patronize them so they can re- invest to meet up with the high quality we want. Furthermore, beyond National development is individual development. If we (the youths) from now , can decide that we we we would do whatever we find ourselves doing within our sphere of influence with passion and with zeal, then we would be creating value instead of making just wealth. If you're a teacher, teach the children to think outside the box and make an impact, children are one of the easiest people to build with the right ideology . students should look at their sector and find out how they can find solution to the problem in there ,then you can make a difference in that sector. You really do not need to change the whole of Nigeria, just a little here and a little there will do. II Chr.7:14 , says if my people who are called by my name shall humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and will heal their land. So even with all our attempts we must pray because the supernatural controls the physical. We need God to help us with answers. This text says if my people ,and not just the government. Arise O compatriots, attempt being a Leader of Now instead of a Leader of tomorrow.
Olawunmi Temitope Rebecca
