Standing alone.
I have written about the challenges that we are facing in Nigeria many times. Considering the enormity of the challenges, one can hardly exhaust writing in this regard.
Many people have listed several factors mitigating against the progress of Nigeria as a Nation.
Some people harp it on corruption while others identify the greatest impediment as stealing.
I have read about a few other's opinions and they blame it on nepotism.
I see all the aforementioned as the children of the same mother.
The group of people that I refuse to agree with are the ones that believe that the problem we are facing in Nigeria is spiritual. Some people said we are committing too many sins and we are not praying enough to God for forgiveness. Majority of the people in this category believe that prayer can do magic. They believe that in the face of reckless stealing of the nation's resources, people can pray the country into prosperity.
I have read about many countries and I can confidently say that Nigeria is one of the most religious countries in the world.
If I replace 'religious' with 'developed' in that last sentence, I will have to replace 'most' with 'least' for the statement to reflect the true state of affairs.
I had an encounter with a fellow Nigerian in a WhatsApp group that we both belonged to. The WhatsApp platform was created for federal civil servants for the purpose of brainstorming and getting information from some officials of IPPIS (the federal payment platform) from the headquarters.
One of the rules of the group is that no religious post is allowed in the group. Those that came up with the rules are Nigerians that know Nigeria very well. They know how every avenue can be used for religious propagation.
A member protested the rule. He was of the opinion that Nigeria's problems eludes solutions because we are not close to God. He said that our solution is beyond any human and Almighty God is angry with the country.
I totally differed with him. The screenshot of my response is shown below.
I was engaged by the man in my inbox and I appreciated the fact that he did. It afforded me the opportunity to elaborate further. I let him know that there is a truth that we are shying away from as Nigerians. The truth of condemning corruption, stealing, nepotism and other vices that are mostly products of abuse of power.
Many people condemn the unpatriotic actions because they are not the beneficiary of the proceeds. I lost count of the number of activists that had stood for good governance in the past but unfortunately joined the bandwagon when they get access to power. If you check their spiritual profile, they are either Christians or Muslims, the two state recognized religions in Nigeria.
The few that stood for the truth did that alone. It didn't stress the majority to push those few patriotic ones aside. Some are haunted out of the country.
I recommended a song titled "You stand alone" by Lucky Dube to him. Dube addressed the problem of neglecting truth.
"If you stand for the truth
You will always stand alone."
The above lyrics played out a few days after our discussion.
A senator of the federal republic of Nigeria accused his colleagues of budget paddling. He revealed on the floor of the Senate chambers that about 3 trillion Naira out of the 28 trillion Naira national budget wasn't tied to any project. That humongous amount is to corruptly fund the extravagant lifestyles of our leaders.
Despite the holy book saying the truth will set us free, the revelation by the senator earned him a suspension from the house for three months.
I mentioned this to my colleague before I was able to convince him that we are the problems of ourselves as a Nation. When you check the religion of the leaders, they are either Muslims or Christians.
The solution to the problem is human just like the causative factors of the problem are man made.
The terrible truth about the truth is that if you stand for the truth, you will always stand alone. Nigeria can't be fixed with prayers. To fix the country, we need patriotic citizens that take the nation's interest above theirs.
Every Nigerian promised to be faithful, loyal and honest when reciting the national pledge. Unfortunately, the majority don't mean what they say. When the majority begin to stand for the truth, the country will turn a new leaf.
I am a practicing Muslim and I believe that my act of worship starts from doing what is right for my family, community and society in general.
If we can hold on to the truth, we will see how easily it will be for the country to move forward.
The freedom of Nigeria starts with the people and their agreement to restructure their mental orientation. Being deeply spiritual does not change anything. You can be spiritual and lack common sense. This is my problem with Naija honestly
I look up to that day when we will say enough is enough. The country is rich but a few group of people (less than 1%) are holding us to ransom. It's pathetic.
The problem of this country does not only need prayers. Change will come when people are ready to stand for the truth like you said.
#dreemerforlife
Yes. When the people are ready for the change that they desire, they will have it without any delay.