It came down to choosing between our lives & livelihoods but we chose livelihood not cos we don't value our lives but cos millions are drowning in the ocean of acute poverty due to years of utter mismanagement of the nations resources by those we entrusted the resources of the nation to.

I'm not by any means comparing Canada with Nigeria. That will be unfair at this point but just trying to point out how resources can affect our thinking and values. Most of the nation has been under lockdown for 7 weeks. 90% of Canadians believe it is the right thing to do. 64% of Canadians believe COVID-19 is a greater threat than financial crisis. 70% against opening the economy if the virus is not fully controlled. Why the difference in mindset, the economy was not just good before the virus, virtually every facet of life of everyone affected are being sorted out for 4 months. Long term approach. From paying those affected monthly, 75% of payroll wages, 75% of rent for SME, payment to students everything is for 4 months and so many can still work from remote areas without being in the office.

Our people are not different. I believe we are as risk-averse people than others but when a people are on survival mode, when 80% of the economy is shadow economy that most depend on daily income with no savings, when a whopping 92.1% live under $4.5 a day equivalent of buying mocha or latte, there is virtually no other option but to take a risk and damn the consequences.

If after 60 years of independence we have nothing to give our citizens to stay at home just for a month so that they can be protected from public health crisis in spite of all the resources God has bestowed us with, that is shameful. If after 60 years only less than 8% of our population earn $165 per month it is shameful. If after 60 years, only less than 4GW of electricity is what we can offer our people, that's the equivalent of what some cities consume then it is shameful.

We can change the trajectory of the nation. The next 50 years can look differently from the past 60 years. We can start by changing these sets of leaders and stop being their cheerleaders whatever party but make them accountable irrespective of their parties. A nation with over 70m illiterates can't prosper. A nation where out of school children are over 13m can't prosper. We will have to invest heavily in education and healthcare. A healthy nation is a prosperous nation. We will have to declare a state of emergency on poverty and come up with substantive poverty eradication projects not palliatives.
Our people surely deserve better

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mynd44
lalasticala