Being a student of the late Bola Ige’s siddon look philosophy, I have restricted my outward expression of the state of the nation to the wearing of my lapel broche, in the geographical shape of Nigeria, upside-down.

Indeed, a child born this very minute knows that there is something terribly wrong with this nation. What with being born in pitch dark by, more often than not, a less than qualified, irritable mid-wife, who is bedevilled with thought of how to get home safe, he/she joins the throng of postulating Nigerians who constantly theorize about the problem with this country. As it is, a Nigerian that is not concerned about the state of the nation should be charged with treasonable felony and contempt of Nigeria.

After 20 years of deep thought and wide consultation, I have come to the simple conclusion; Nigeria’s problem is not political but philosophical. Going back in history, we’ve found out through the hard way that political solutions always lead to greater political problems in this country. The wetie saga of the old western region comes as a ready example.

Let’s take our mind away from the present odious state of our nation and use our imagination, because from it stems philosophy and philosophical solutions. Imagine that everything, animate or inanimate, associated with Nigeria is given an intrinsic value of high quality i.e. everything Nigerian whether goods, services or human resource is of the highest quality in the world.

Suddenly, you see a very captivating image of immense wellness and opulence of Nigeria. The possibility is so frightening awesome my brain threatened to shutdown the first time I tried it but I held on for the love of Nigeria. As I know you will even as you join me to examine its element.
You instantly see a government that functions, not on rhetoric but plans and actions. When every civil and public servant brings to bear his/her whole being, both mental and physical, in adding value and creating quality in his/her every deed. Even if he/she is just a sweeper, let him/her sweep as if angels are going to tread on the floor. When the quality is one that can compare and surpass those of first world countries then we will have quality roads that don’t erode away because of poor design and execution, we will have courteous civil servants who will not be the definition of corruption, we will have a Police Force that does not rob us of N20, customs officers who actually stop smugglers rather than collude with them, passport officers who don’t delay you for 6 months because you refuse to pay kola. The list seems endless. And yes, we will have constant electricity supply.

In the private sector, the vision is equally enchanting. When every Nigerian brings his/her mindset to that of infusing quality in goods and services offered by his/her business or job, we will have bus conductors who are not unruly but courteous and civil, banks that are not filled with disconcerted staffs and very long queues, companies without rude receptionist, Aba clothes beating TM Lewin, Gucci etc in terms of quality, Grammy-award winning highlife songs, world’s top designers rushing to Nigeria to ship adire, saayan and aso-oke for use in Milan, Paris, etc fashion shows, demand for our farm produce world-wide etc.

What the above translate to is that on a bad day, you will wake up at 5:00 am, watch TV or surf the internet till 6:00am, pray till 6:30am, romance your toiletries, get out of the house by 7:00am, get to work by 7:45 am though you live in Iyana Ipaja and work in Victoria Island, everyone at work does there job, including you, very well without being cajoled or castigated because of nonchalance, there is no witch-hunt in your workplace because everyone trust the decision of the oga’s , you leave work for 5:00pm, get to the stadium or bar and workout or gist with friends, get home for 7:30pm, visit friends in the neighbourhood who persuade you to go out and you do at 10:30pm to return at 12 midnight and go straight to bed.

You will agree with me that the above scenario reflects a very good day for the average Lagosian. This is simply because their is lack of quality and value in the mindset of Nigerians. Why can’t Nigerians just think in doing things of value? This is the philosophical question that, once answered, gives the solution to our myriad problems.

The reason why Nigerians don’t strive for quality is because they lack the motivation to do so. When someone creates an oasis of quality in this country, the society starts working, covertly and overtly, to subvert such to its own system of values i.e. that of mediocrity and nonchalance. Simply put, it’s not in our national character. That is the Nigerian Factor.

The best way to kill a system, either animate or inanimate, is to injure it in several places, so that its stretched to its tipping point while trying to cure all its injuries. Once the tipping point is reached, there is a spontaneous shutdown of organs that eventually leads to the death of the system. If numerous oasis of value, schools, transport companies, food joints etc springs up in Nigeria, they can successfully harm this system that entrenches mediocrity and provide support for each others.

Our focus, individually and collectively, should be to drive this nation to the point where quality is a background hum we see, hear and feel from Kaura Namoda to Kajola, where value is what we teach our kids in school and at home which will in turn be the only kind of life they know and the only future we will live to see. So I implore you, please spread the message; Add Value; Add Quality; In everything.

Great read but the author could have proposed some solutions. He attemted to provide a solution only to say it won't work in the next paragragh.
We know are problem but lack solution.

gorociano:

The reason why Nigerians don’t strive for quality is because they lack the motivation to do so. When someone creates an oasis of quality in this country, the society starts working, covertly and overtly, to subvert such to its own system of values i.e. that of mediocrity and nonchalance. Simply put, it’s not in our national character. That is the Nigerian Factor.

I do understand where you are coming from
But the system is changing slowly
Providing good quality services and goods have their rewards at the end of the day, however tedious and frustrating
National character is based on government induced programmes
Private enterprises are based on quality.
Not on tribe, religion or who you know.
And thats the way we should go

oldie:

I do understand where you are coming from
But the system is changing slowly
Providing good quality services and goods have their rewards at the end of the day, however tedious and frustrating
National character is based on government induced programmes
Private enterprises are based on quality.
Not on tribe, religion or who you know.
And thats the way we should go

I agree, but for this to be a success, we would all have to put all our effort into it. Leave other people's problems alone and focus on the ones we have, so that we can effectively fix them. That would be a step in the right direction.

Orimili:

I agree, but for this to be a success, we would all have to put all our effort into it. Leave other people's problems alone and focus on the ones we have, so that we can effectively fix them. That would be a step in the right direction.

In theory, it sounds nice. But in order to make change, you have to first change the mentality of the people. Alot of the people have this false sense of pride mentality that "if you don't do something for me, then i aint doing nothing for you" we have to first tackle that then start building up the country. Just look at the Civil Rights Movement in America. They first started with the mentality of the black americans to show them they are worth more than what these people are treating them. When they understood that, that is when things started to change.

onyinye2:

In theory, it sounds nice. But in order to make change, you have to first change the mentality of the people. Alot of the people have this false sense of pride mentality that "if you don't do something for me, then i aint doing nothing for you" we have to first tackle that then start building up the country. Just look at the Civil Rights Movement in America. They first started with the mentality of the black americans to show them they are worth more than what these people are treating them. When they understood that, that is when things started to change.

Great response. I was actually thinking about that. The best change is a slow change, but today, people want instant gratification, and that is problematic. The civil rights movement in America is a good reference point, but there has to be an effective way to rid people of such mentality.

Orimili:

Great response. I was actually thinking about that. The best change is a slow change, but today, people want instant gratification, and that is problematic. The civil rights movement in America is a good reference point, but there has to be an effective way to rid people of such mentality.

You would think people will see what happened in Zimbabwe as an example. Their tyrant of a president wanted results so fast that he ultimately set his country back then actually moving forward. To rid people of this mentality takes time, support, and God. I feel if one person would just stand up and see "You know what, im tired of waiting for the gov't to fix our roads. Why don't i just raise a fund and fix them ourselves." But you see people don't want to do that. They don't wanna do anything without receiving something first. I mean the country has so much to offer but all is put to nothing because the mentality of the people and gov't are holding it back.

onyinye2:

You would think people will see what happened in Zimbabwe as an example. Their tyrant of a president wanted results so fast that he ultimately set his country back then actually moving forward. To rid people of this mentality takes time, support, and God. I feel if one person would just stand up and see "You know what, im tired of waiting for the gov't to fix our roads. Why don't i just raise a fund and fix them ourselves." But you see people don't want to do that. They don't want to do anything without receiving something first. I mean the country has so much to offer but all is put to nothing because the mentality of the people and gov't are holding it back.

It's a shame that such a mentality is present, especially on a forum such as this one. People are willing to turn a blind eye to the madness that is going on, only to criticize others on their wrongdoings, without seeing that there is much that we still have to do for our people. If you try to bring the issue to light, others quickly try to silence you, or resort to insults and name-calling. What progress can anyone make if there is so much ignorance? I actually plan to do something. How it's going to be executed, I don't know yet, but it would be nice if I were not doing this in vain. . .

Orimili:

It's a shame that such a mentality is present, especially on a forum such as this one. People are willing to turn a blind eye to the madness that is going on, only to criticize others on their wrongdoings, without seeing that there is much that we still have to do for our people. If you try to bring the issue to light, others quickly try to silence you, or resort to insults and name-calling. What progress can anyone make if there is so much ignorance? I actually plan to do something. How it's going to be executed, I don't know yet, but it would be nice if I were not doing this in vain. . .

I understand what you are talking about. Alot of people esp. this forum rather be deceived on only the good and bypass the bad. The country needs to be helped and now. That country has so much to offer and it could be one of the top. But some many people are waiting for some leader to come and deliver them from their trouble. But they don't understand it is not the leaders that do the work it is the people. With out the people, there is nothing. Look at the military. The Admirals are nothing with out the troops. Because the troops are the one who go and change things and make things happen. not the leaders. I know you want to help but it is going to take alot of time and patient. If you can get through these people mentally then you are ready help them change. As for me, im trying to help the youngsters here in the states and change their mentality and making them aware of world affairs. so one day their generation could help change history.

onyinye2:

I understand what you are talking about. Alot of people esp. this forum rather be deceived on only the good and bypass the bad. The country needs to be helped and now. That country has so much to offer and it could be one of the top. But some many people are waiting for some leader to come and deliver them from their trouble. But they don't understand it is not the leaders that do the work it is the people. With out the people, there is nothing. Look at the military. The Admirals are nothing with out the troops. Because the troops are the one who go and change things and make things happen. not the leaders. I know you want to help but it is going to take alot of time and patient. If you can get through these people mentally then you are ready help them change. As for me, im trying to help the youngsters here in the states and change their mentality and making them aware of world affairs. so one day their generation could help change history.

That's definitely a good move, getting to younger people. I should be able to do something similar soon, provided I get my time management together. What is beginning to happen here, as well as in most African countries, is that the people are not seeing that they are the key to making a difference. There is no white knight who will swoop down and make things better. The more the people know this, the more likely it is for real progress to be made.

We are talking about Nigeria here. The playground of the devil.

Orimili:

That's definitely a good move, getting to younger people. I should be able to do something similar soon, provided I get my time management together. What is beginning to happen here, as well as in most African countries, is that the people are not seeing that they are the key to making a difference. There is no white knight who will swoop down and make things better. The more the people know this, the more likely it is for real progress to be made.

I personally believe people know what is going on but rather sit around with their friends eating kola nut then do anything. It is hard to change the mentality of the elders.That is why i think you should try and target the younger generations. I mean look at the Obama Campaign. the younger generations are the ones getting involved and getting the word spread. That is what im doing. i strictly target the young because when they what they are capable of, then there is no stopping them. But on the real, if that country doesn't change and soon. The country will demolish and the people with it.

onyinye2:

I personally believe people know what is going on but rather sit around with their friends eating kola nut then do anything. It is hard to change the mentality of the elders.That is why i think you should try and target the younger generations. I mean look at the Obama Campaign. the younger generations are the ones getting involved and getting the word spread. That is what im doing. i strictly target the young because when they what they are capable of, then there is no stopping them. But on the real, if that country doesn't change and soon. The country will demolish and the people with it.

Very true. If not by itself, other opportunists are willing to lend a helping hand in the destruction. You think European colonization is bad? Wait until the Chinese begin taking advantage of the mess that is going on. If people continue as they are now, we will have nothing. The best way would definitely involve the younger generation, especially with education of developing situations. I'm actually going to have a talk with a couple of people about putting something together in my area.

Orimili:

Very true. If not by itself, other opportunists are willing to lend a helping hand in the destruction. You think European colonization is bad? Wait until the Chinese begin taking advantage of the mess that is going on. If people continue as they are now, we will have nothing. The best way would definitely involve the younger generation, especially with education of developing situations. I'm actually going to have a talk with a couple of people about putting something together in my area.

Good luck with what that idea. But i do fear that such countries like China will see the country as another dollar to add to their pocket. The country has potential but potential as to be in act at some point and time. Before what little potential you had before is demolished.

onyinye2:

In theory, it sounds nice. But in order to make change, you have to first change the mentality of the people. Alot of the people have this false sense of pride mentality that "if you don't do something for me, then i aint doing nothing for you" we have to first tackle that then start building up the country. Just look at the Civil Rights Movement in America. They first started with the mentality of the black americans to show them they are worth more than what these people are treating them. When they understood that, that is when things started to change.

i totally agree with you,we nigerians especially are very big on the media sound bites and the solutions formular for a better nigeia,yet when it comes to being pro actively doing our bit,thats when we withdraw into our shells or side step the issue by blaming the government and the usual mantra of"there is economic decay and nothing will work"
i dis agree totally with that,i can name 10 20smth year olds who schooled abroad and are taking it upon themselves to change the status quo,olisa agbakoba's daughter is doing a fantastic job with her sister amongst others that i personally know and its working, the day the average nigerian either literate or illeterate stops the buck passing and actually does something,things will start to change,for all of pat utomi's many speeches and what not,i dont see him using his wealth or connections to set up a boys club or adopt a couple of children and send them to school,its all speeches,speeches same goes for the rest of the moral crusaders who are all talk

for all of pat utomi's many speeches and what not,i don't see him using his wealth or connections to set up a boys club or adopt a couple of children and send them to school,its all speeches,speeches same goes for the rest of the moral crusaders who are all talk

Including you.

lucabrasi:

i totally agree with you,we nigerians especially are very big on the media sound bites and the solutions formular for a better nigeia,yet when it comes to being pro actively doing our bit,thats when we withdraw into our shells or side step the issue by blaming the government and the usual mantra of"there is economic decay and nothing will work"
i this agree totally with that,i can name 10 20smth year olds who schooled abroad and are taking it upon themselves to change the status quo,olisa agbakoba's daughter is doing a fantastic job with her sister amongst others that i personally know and its working, the day the average nigerian either literate or illeterate stops the buck passing and actually does something,things will start to change,for all of pat utomi's many speeches and what not,i don't see him using his wealth or connections to set up a boys club or adopt a couple of children and send them to school,its all speeches,speeches same goes for the rest of the moral crusaders who are all talk

It will take work, and the ones willing to do it will do so, but you must find and encourage anyone willing to bring change to the status quo. The youth sees that things need to be different, so the best bet is working with them. Anyone else is a lost cause.

Delivering Nigeria out of its total outcry has to be a collective, leaving it to the government will not do it at all. The Awareness has to be there…people (everybody) have to understand and accept that there is something wrong with our dear country, then together as a country we can figure out how to elevate our economy. Until we realize what the problem is as a team…then we can move on to the next stage. We can then create certain policy that will combat/reduce/eliminate our so called barriers; where nobody will be above the law, people will be held accountable for their specific actions. People shall be patriotic enough not to get caught up in any form of corruption and also be bold enough to report any form of injustice that might plaque our surroundings. We shall speak as one (Nigerian) and not as tribes.

Everybody keeps saying, it’s going to take a lot of work…and I’m pretty sure we all know that. But where do we start? How do we start?

To get the best value in life, you must strive to work with the best and the most qualified at all section of public and private life. But Nigeria of yesterday, today and the future is based on quota and not on merit. So you ended up with a quota president, senate president, speakers, IGs, Service Chiefs, Governors, quota Ministers, Commissioners and the list goes on and on. You also built quota Airports, Seaports, Roads, Railways and quota sports men/women and administrators.

In Nigeria, someone will come out and propose building a navy base right in the middle of a desert, and guess what? I t will be carried through because the proposer comes or hails from the desertarea and no one will find it bizzare that the navy operate on water, not on a sand. In Nigeria nothing is not done based on economic merits but on quota system, a melt pot of ethnic /national rivalries, that bring lack of continueity, everyone works with his brothers and classmates.  And it's not about to change tomorrow and soon, quota is even constitutional and it's called federal character,
In the 60s, your colleague in the office will one day come to work and say his goodbye because he has been transfered to a different location of the country to do his/her job, but today, everybody works in his endigineous area, where he got the job from his brother, inlaw or his father's classmate 6o years ago. And then you have unqualified people doing jobs they are not qualified to do or should be doing. If not because of quota obsessed nation, will Yar Adua in all honesty be your president today or Jonathan as Vice president or the worst case David Mark, a junta disciple making law for you as senate president?

These are there not because of their quality, vision or inspiring ethics, but they are there because the quota says that it's their turn. And when they finish another set of nonentities will replace them through the QUOTA/ OUR TURN system.

airegin:

Delivering Nigeria out of its total outcry has to be a collective, leaving it to the government will not do it at all. The Awareness has to be there…people (everybody) have to understand and accept that there is something wrong with our dear country, then together as a country we can figure out how to elevate our economy. Until we realize what the problem is as a team…then we can move on to the next stage. We can then create certain policy that will combat/reduce/eliminate our so called barriers; where nobody will be above the law, people will be held accountable for their specific actions. People shall be patriotic enough not to get caught up in any form of corruption and also be bold enough to report any form of injustice that might plaque our surroundings. We shall speak as one (Nigerian) and not as tribes.

Everybody keeps saying, it’s going to take a lot of work…and I’m pretty sure we all know that. But where do we start? How do we start?

Good point. Knowing where and how to start is the largest obstacle that has to be overcome. A good suggestion would be for people who are successful here to contribute in a positive manner back home. I'm not talking about just sending money. Let us bring what we learned from abroad, our education, our worldview, our outlook on the issues going on. We will have to teach the people about our situation, making them more aware. We will have to teach them that waiting for a leader is not going to work. We have to show, by example, that the only ones who can help us are ourselves, and the power to change begins not with the government, but with the people. Eventually, people will see the ones who come back, and learn from them directly or by example, becoming empowered themselves. If it is done right, give it a generation or two, and Nigerians would slowly begin to think as one people, with all tribal issues being secondary. Eventually, the role of government will get smaller and smaller, as the people get more knowledgeable. What's left of the government will eventually be held accountable for everything they do, by a more empowered Nigerian people.

It can all start now, but we need for us abroad to realize what we have to do. As long as we ignore this and focus on issues that shouldn't be important to us, no progress will be made at all.

Seun:

Including you.

you are right on one hand,but then again nigeria has given more to their likes than me,anyone over the age of 45/50 has no excuse doing his/her bit for the less priviledged because they grew up in an era where they got 3 square meals in university,immediate employment with car loan and acommodatn e.t.c

Orimili:

It will take work, and the ones willing to do it will do so, but you must find and encourage anyone willing to bring change to the status quo. The youth sees that things need to be different, so the best bet is working with them. Anyone else is a lost cause.

true but the people who are supposed to are not doing it,can you imagine people that went to nigerian universities when it was still almost free,got free state sponsired feeding and accomodation e.t.c and after thy left jobs were waiting for them now turning round and telling this generation about what to do, its only speeches speeches without being pro active,can you imagine if wole soyinka can pass out with a third class these days and go on to becomea nobel laureate,if he was in this generation , thats enough reason for them to go beyond speeches,newspaper columns e.t.c

The solution is easy but selfless and may be dangerous. You can sacrifice your personal dreams and start the struggle for change even if it is at the village level. You don't have to be a millionaire to do this. Surely, the consequences can be dire or even death but that's the price we must pay for posterity. Do something today if you really care or just shut up. Is it in you?

BlackMamba:

The solution is easy but selfless and may be dangerous. You can sacrifice your personal dreams and start the struggle for change even if it is at the village level. You don't have to be a millionaire to do this. Surely, the consequences can be dire or even death but that's the price we must pay for posterity. Do something today if you really care or just shut up. Is it in you?

I understand your plight my brother. By contributing on forums like this can only bring one thing which is awareness. Let’s talk about it; you never know who will be moved by your constructive response; so therefore we all don’t have to shut up if we’re not doing something today. Only united can we free…only with courage can we liberated our people from Hugo Chavez.

airegin:

I understand your plight my brother. By contributing on forums like this can only bring one thing which is awareness. Let’s talk about it; you never know who will be moved by your constructive response; so therefore we all don’t have to shut up if we’re not doing something today. Only united can we free…only with courage can we liberated our people from Hugo Chavez.

I like that. Even if posters on this forum don't like what you have to say, you've already said it. Your words are already out in the open, ready to inspire, or, at least, raise awareness. I say keep posting if you feel that you have something constructive and insightful.