“The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
But in ourselves, that we are underlings”
(Cassius in William Shakespeare’s Julius Cesar)
I’m a full-blooded Nigerian. One of the numerous lot that are disconsolate with the state of our nation. One voice out of the many voices that condemn the leaders and blame Nigeria’s retrogression on government. But recently, I realized that the fault lies not only in our government but also in us as citizens of the Nigerian state.Truly, our leaders and government have failed us but the bitter truth is that we as followers have also failed ourselves. You, I and other Nigerians, home or abroad are also culpable for the knotty situation we have found ourselves in.
Do you think the government will govern well when they lead individuals that are ethnic dogs and religious hypocrites? How will leaders lead aright when they lead individuals that are weak and corrupt? “When citizens are good, they get good leaders and when they are bad, they get bad leaders: every nation deserves the kind of leaders it gets.”How many of us are free of corruption? How many are good fathers /mothers /husbands /wives /brothers /sisters? It all boils down to the individual. I have learnt that for my country to progress, I as a patriotic citizen must as a matter fact straighten my crooked ways and strife to become a better, more responsive and more responsible individual. When I and other Nigerians become better individuals, our journey towards building a new Nigeria is already half done.
Nigerians crave an end and seek a beginning; we crave an end to corruption, social injustice, poverty, illiteracy and we seek a beginning that will herald a dispensation of profuse prosperity. To achieve the aforesaid, we have to stop whining and start acting.
Be the change you want to see. It begins with YOU!