"Ask not what your country can do for you,ask what you can do for your country"......These were the words of assassinated U.S. president,John.F.Kennedy. These words paint a clear picture in my heart with sincere confidence & hope how we can get our dear country Nigeria to be the "heaven on earth" we all envision. We have everything we need to build & develop our country into an advanced community but we just never pay attention. We are too carried away complaining about what we are not & what we would never be & admiring other people's developments & forgetting that their countries did not fall down from heaven "already made".....whatever their country is today,they worked hard & persistently together as a people to make it such. This simply means we can also do it (they don't have 4 heads while we have 1). The 1st step to receiving is giving out. If you're stingy &selfish,nobody would like to give you anything. If you're generous & give out a lot,it always has a way of coming back around & people would love to give you. Likewise,the change we need in Nigeria is only a mirror of what we all are. Our country is what it is today only because it is a reflection of who we typically are as a people......selfish,corrupt,stingy,dirty,careless,etc. We complain our government is corrupt.Truth is our government is not occupied by aliens from space but Nigerians like us so they are just a reflection of who we really are inside of us.In our private lives,if we drop these bad characters,it would have a ripple-effect in the whole of our country & government & we would be on the path to "the promised land".
  Bringing back the words, "Ask not what your country can do for you,ask what you can do for your country".....believe me nothing is too small to give....if you're done drinking bottled/sachet water for instance it's only right to not just dispose off of the empty sachet/bottle indiscriminately on the road or on a footpath. It doesn't take anything to just "inconvenience" yourself for a minute(if at all that is even an inconvenience) until you find a bin to throw it in. This "little inconvenience" is still a sacrifice & in your little way you have given. Now,imagine if every Nigerian gives as little as this in this regard,don't you think the streets would look like gold? This example just goes to paint a picture not only in the cited area but in all areas of our lives as a people....."little drops of water make a mighty ocean" so they say & true it is. Our little sacrifices & sincere love for our country would eventually build up to greatness. The change we desire would come only as a result of a change in ourselves. Some people have given up & some people say "change can never come,na today?" I always tell such people "change would only come when you fight for change & never give up. When you give up,that's the end." Martin Luther King Junior fought for change for the U.S. & never gave up until he died. Guess what? Change eventually came. I hear people always say "our leaders are bad so change cannot come." Well it is true that many of our "leaders" are corrupt & evil but change is not left to be brought by leaders only but also followers alike. 50/50. If we the followers & people of Nigeria change ourselves first from within us,& start to care more about ourselves & our country with all of our might,it would have a strong,strong,strong,strong "purge effect" on our leadership & government." If all we do is sit & complain,nothing will change. It's high time good,selfless visionary people also stood up to get into the affairs of running our country.If we continue to say "e no concern me",well nothing will change & our children will still suffer for what they didn't cause.IF WE KEEP WAITING FOR A MESSIAH,THE MESSIAH WOULD NEVER COME BECAUSE WE ARE HIM.   GOD BLESS NIGERIA.

I was reading your post and stopped where you said "we have everything we need to develop". I want to believe you're referring to the numerous resources at our disposal. is that all we need to develop considering the fact that these resources is the curse that have pummeled this country into a water tight corner. What about having the enabling environment to thrive. What about security, what about electricity, what about good roads. When John F Kennedy was making that statement people in public office love to use so much, i don't think he had Nigeria in mind. he was obviously talking to countries like the US, UK, Germany, Ghana etc. When government have done their part then you can expect something from the citizens.

afam4eva: I was reading your post and stopped where you said "we have everything we need to develop". I want to believe you're referring to the numerous resources at our disposal. is that all we need to develop considering the fact that these resources is the curse that have pummeled this country into a water tight corner. What about having the enabling environment to thrive. What about security, what about electricity, what about good roads. When John F Kennedy was making that statement people in public office love to use so much, i don't think he had Nigeria in mind. he was obviously talking to countries like the US, UK, Germany, Ghana etc. When government have done their part then you can expect something from the citizens.

See what I always say? Who is the government? Isn't the government made up of Nigerian people like you &me? You're talking about environment,those countries you mentioned,did their "environment" fall from heaven? Didn't they build their environment to what it is today? Did you even read the post completely? Or you displayed the character "if you want to hide anything from a black man,put it in a book." Exactly what I talked about in the above post is what you have just displayed. It's sooo sad. GO BACK & READ THE POST.

I see, your optimism has not been cured. If people like you and me were in position to make things happen,then you can tell me this.
Who doesn't want a great Nigeria? I cannot economically manufacture my own electricity,I cannot build my own roads,I cannot regulate businesses to prevent sharp practices,I cannot build rail lines, I cannot force government to do this things because I did not put them there. I can only make the best of the situation and live a good life. That is an average Nigerian mentality. Everything up there is unfortunately true. So for now, your write up will remain what you called it, dreams.

Please try to paragraph your article(S) next time. Thanks.

BTW, i thought that paragraphing of works were taught in all schools?