Mo tiju fun Naija?
Sometimes the above caption is true especially when I see Naija through the eyes of non-Nigerians. Remarks not meant to hurt but just stating the bare facts are like barbed arrows through my sensitive heart.
When you come froma country where 'everything' works, well almost everything landing in naija not just gives you a huge jolt but an attendant destruction of those organs that should act as shock absorbers to delicate souls,(well im exaggerating!)
How can a countries health care system be so disorganised they wonder, Services the govt. should be providing is non-existent. Why are their roads so bad? Do the citizens not pay their taxes to help with road repairs? Why are hteir streets so dirty? How come there are so many accidents with motorcycles? Why didnt this patient get a CT scan as soon as he came in? Why is there so much corruption?
What answers do I give to such questions? Attempting to explain the ineptitude of our govt to deal with issues that pertain to life leaves them with bewilderment on their faces so obvious you give up. Trying to explain the indifference of our people to making a change in their immediate environment also leaves them very puzzled.
Its amazing that many places in Naija are just on the same level London was not too many centuries ago. The only difference is that we dont have the plague!. Garbage heaps are equivalent to the paths to houses where we live, work, go to school. Many places still have their sewage control limited to the open drains, Roads are so bad, they are sometimes not recognised. Power supply is non-existent, Health care is a farce and largely in the hands of traditional health care practitioners.
Am I ashamed of my country? Sometimes I am but I choose not to be part of the rot associated with it. I decide that I will not be a part of mediocrity or blatant indifference. We have the human resources to amke a change. In the health care sector, most have been taken away by the lure of the golden fleece in foreign climes. About 5000 fully licensed medical doctors are in the US and Canada alone, what about Australia, South Africa, T&T etc. If they contributed to our health sector I bet we would be singing a different tale now.
Our govt officials train their children abroad, seek medical care abroad, some even buy their clothes abroad and its supposed to be considered the chic thing to do! Tuufia!. If they ate from the same pot as we did by now the Lagos-Ibadan, Ijebu-Ode-Benin expressway would be comparable to the streets of New York, our hospitals would be up to world class standards and NUT would certainly not be on strike!
I choose to make a change and to inform and educate others to do the same. It starts from the individual then the community and then if the Govt wishes they can shamefacedly applaud the efforts of the peopl. It may require a revolution to bring this about.
There are of course many things to be proud of in NAija but sometimes 'ituju' can overwhelm the obvious good there is and becloud your vision so you cry out and ask what is there to be proud about NAija! Someone pls tell me!
*THIS PIECE WAS WRITTEN WHEN I WAS IN A FOUL MOOD
When you come froma country where 'everything' works, well almost everything landing in naija not just gives you a huge jolt but an attendant destruction of those organs that should act as shock absorbers to delicate souls,(well im exaggerating!)
How can a countries health care system be so disorganised they wonder, Services the govt. should be providing is non-existent. Why are their roads so bad? Do the citizens not pay their taxes to help with road repairs? Why are hteir streets so dirty? How come there are so many accidents with motorcycles? Why didnt this patient get a CT scan as soon as he came in? Why is there so much corruption?
What answers do I give to such questions? Attempting to explain the ineptitude of our govt to deal with issues that pertain to life leaves them with bewilderment on their faces so obvious you give up. Trying to explain the indifference of our people to making a change in their immediate environment also leaves them very puzzled.
Its amazing that many places in Naija are just on the same level London was not too many centuries ago. The only difference is that we dont have the plague!. Garbage heaps are equivalent to the paths to houses where we live, work, go to school. Many places still have their sewage control limited to the open drains, Roads are so bad, they are sometimes not recognised. Power supply is non-existent, Health care is a farce and largely in the hands of traditional health care practitioners.
Am I ashamed of my country? Sometimes I am but I choose not to be part of the rot associated with it. I decide that I will not be a part of mediocrity or blatant indifference. We have the human resources to amke a change. In the health care sector, most have been taken away by the lure of the golden fleece in foreign climes. About 5000 fully licensed medical doctors are in the US and Canada alone, what about Australia, South Africa, T&T etc. If they contributed to our health sector I bet we would be singing a different tale now.
Our govt officials train their children abroad, seek medical care abroad, some even buy their clothes abroad and its supposed to be considered the chic thing to do! Tuufia!. If they ate from the same pot as we did by now the Lagos-Ibadan, Ijebu-Ode-Benin expressway would be comparable to the streets of New York, our hospitals would be up to world class standards and NUT would certainly not be on strike!
I choose to make a change and to inform and educate others to do the same. It starts from the individual then the community and then if the Govt wishes they can shamefacedly applaud the efforts of the peopl. It may require a revolution to bring this about.
There are of course many things to be proud of in NAija but sometimes 'ituju' can overwhelm the obvious good there is and becloud your vision so you cry out and ask what is there to be proud about NAija! Someone pls tell me!
*THIS PIECE WAS WRITTEN WHEN I WAS IN A FOUL MOOD
I feel u very much Tomi. One begin to wonder what we do with our Oil wealth and what curse reigns in our dear country. Other Oil producing countries swim in prosperity and beauty - UAE (Dubai), Saudi, e.t.c are just few of those places you visit and want to slap our corrupt officials. The sad part is they are always visiting those countries and come back home not feeling ashamed of themselves. Smaller African countries without Oil wealth fare better than us in terms of Infrastructure. All I can say is - one day we will reach the boiling point and the ensuing result might be the end of this malady. It is well. For the record - it is Itiju and not Utuju :) lol
ReplyDelete"*THIS PIECE WAS WRITTEN WHEN I WAS IN A FOUL MOOD" not at all, on the contrary it proves that the Nigerian Revolution is gaining more proponents by the day. Welcome aboard.
ReplyDeletelike "rethots" said, we need more angry people to fast-forward the long overdue change... our people have gotten complacent due to decades of militant battery and most of us now have a poverty mentality - note the difference between being poor and having a poverty mentality. so, if you can spread your "foul mood" and "anger" around, that will get more people asking questions and insisting on a change from the status quo.
ReplyDelete