Ka:
In our daily lives, there are things that we can largely control, and things that are largely outside our control (which I'll refer to here as externalities).

However, we hope that these externalities do not impede our pursuit of happiness on this earth.

Unfortunately, in Nigeria, externalities DO impede our pursuit. For example, a person would like to get from A to B in a short time, but the poor state of roads and the chaotic state of transport (outside his control to do much about) mean that his hopes are not met, and he is not has happy as he could have been.

So why is this so? How is it that many of the things that an average individual can do little to change are in such a state that they hinder his pursuit of happiness?

I'd say that the blame should lie primarily with those people who have the most power to change these things, i.e. the leaders of Nigeria.

But how did the leaders end up with the personality traits and the lack of skills that render them unfit to change the way things are? Well, they must have adopted SOME of their personality traits from the culture they grew up in (like the conservative attitude towards change; the undue deference to elders that quashes good ideas; the lack of a scientific approach in their thinking; the need to be seen as powerful and wealthy which leads some to acquire more wealth than they are legally entitled to. . . you get the picture.)

In addition, the educational system in Nigeria does not properly equip students of today to be good leaders of tomorrow.

So how did this culture develop? And how did the educational system become so inadequate?

Well, poverty is a factor - the poorer people in a society are, the more likely they are to defer to powerful and wealthy people (and to aspire to be wealthy, too!). Also, the more likely they are to scorn science in favour of the supernatural in the search for material well being. In the same way, a lack of funding for education means that students do not receive the good quality education they need to be good leaders.

And how come there is this lack of money at a private and public level? Well, it's because there are many externalities that prevent an individual from reaping rewards for his hard work (like poor law enforcement, weak infrastructure, etc.). The same kinds of externalities mean that government funds are poorly allocated and managed.

But we've already established that when externalities do this, they are a manifestation of NIGERIA NOT WORKING.

So in short, Nigeria does not work because Nigeria does not work.

Eziachi:
Nigeria is not working for the same reason a class of 250 pupils will not work with one teacher but structure the class to about 30 pupils per teacher, the teacher will have more individual time with each pupil and whatever their special need is.

If you bring United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy and Spain and throw them together as one single country, do you expect it to work, no matter how civilized they are? Who do you think will produce the leaders? Where will the capital be? Do you ever expect an Englishman to vote for a German in an election of any sort? Even within the United Kingdom, the Scots, Welsh and the Northern Irish had always guarded their independence with such a vigor that they have their separate national emblems, anthem, sports teams, devolved govt, currency etc.

Nigeria is country of at least 5 nations that has little or nothing in common until they discovers oil wealth and the oil kept their leaders together as they enjoy the oil booty without the rest of the population. That is why Nigeria is not work, a marriage of people that love to hate each other but pretend they never notice just to keep the oi money flowing for the few elites and rest of their sheep without shephered.

Eziachi:


My brother, thank for your last post but the difference between us is that I am not akin to sentiment but reality. Anyone who is honest to him/herself will know that in a million years, Nigeria structured as one individual entity will never work and cannot work. I will love it to work but all sorts of unammendable circumstances has made Nigeria impossible to function as a single entity.

How can you say that we had almagamated too deep to separate? Go and tell an abused and bruised man or woman in an abuse marriage or relationship that it's too late to separate or divorce. Or more practically, go and tell nations like Ukraine and others that because Soviet Union was over hundred years old, that it's too late to separate.

No man, institution or any nation is expected to solve a problem with the same method all the time and expect a different result. A nation that still bring the likes of Rilwanu Lukman into govt and expect to flourish must be living in a cocoon land. Rilwanu who had been in the corridors of Nigerian power even before you and me were born is back becuase of Nigerian structure as one nation, where, where you come from is the onions of all thing than your ability to perform. Nigeria as one nation is the reason a no hoper like Yar Adua is the leader of over 150 million people.

Those people who had conviniently ignored this glaring fact that Nigeria is a man made cosmetic country structured to fail from the start should one day be truthfull to themselves, and until them, you guys must continue to ask questions everyone must knew the correct answer but tent to ignore it thinking that one day miracle will happen.