“Excuse me”, our eyeballs met as I turned in her direction, she plead “please I want to drink water”. Her looks portrays a 25 years old cut away from friends and family, a loner who lives in her own world. I saw in her eyes, a soul whose life is shaped by an absence of love and care; she has embraced lack and lives in the moment.

“How many pure water do you need?” I asked, “One” she replied. It is a sad reality that millions of Nigerians cannot afford a meal per day, a condition attributable to ineffective leadership, impoverished mindset and ailing educational system.

An impoverished mindset makes a man crave for “free money” and acquire stupendous wealth through corrupt, questionable means and abuse of office. The proliferation of MMM and it derivatives speaks volume of our values. The Abacha, Ibori’s, diezani and recently Yakubu’s of this world are merely a reflection of our value system. There are millions of them in the Civil Service, the National Assembly etc but what shall it profit a man to acquire so much wealth without owning any business? Not even a pure water factory!

The Dangote’s of this world still access bank loans to expand their businesses, not so with the Yakubu’s who form 90% of the Nigerian population. Kleptomaniac looters who find themselves in government positions, they attempt to steal for themselves and their unborn generation.

In Genesis 1:28, God charged you and me “To be fruitful and multiply”. This charge has been constrained to mean procreation. Our nation is currently experiencing a steady rise in population that is unmatched with good leadership, a development that holds disaster if left unchecked. Is there more to “be fruitful and multiply” than child bearing?

There is a dearth of mentorship in our nation because privileged and successful citizens, entrepreneurs and supposed elders have failed to be fruitful, they have failed to multiply. On a closer look, be fruitful and multiply is what leadership is all about.

As Nigerians, when God buried Iron Ore, Lead, Barite, and Crude Oil underneath our soil, He commanded us to be fruitful and multiply. He meant explore, refine and process these resources, export some to earn foreign exchange, create products for your use and build social infrastructures for the good of all.

In the Parable of Talents (Matt 25:14-30) Jesus told a parable of a master who travelled and entrusted his property to his servants. According to their abilities, one servant received five talents, the second servant received two talents, and the third servant received one talent. A talent was a significant amount of money. Upon his return, the master asks his three servants for an account of the talents entrusted to them. The first and the second servants explained that they put their talents to work and had doubled the value of the property with which they were entrusted; each servant was rewarded:

The master said to the fruitful servants, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’— (Matt 25:14) New English Translation

The third servant, however, had merely hidden his talent, by burying it in the ground, and was punished by his master.

Dear Nigerian, God is saying to you today, “be fruitful and multiply”. It is the only lasting solution to the recession that we face as individuals and as a nation.

Be Fruitful and Multiply!