Written By: Afolabi Dollars

The popular slogan of "good people, great nation" has been in the societal airwaves for a while now, but as initiative as this slogan is, its reality has been hindered or slowed down by divisions and irresponsibility among the leaders and people of our nation.

There is no way we can know what will unite us as a NATION, when we don't even know what is dividing us as a PEOPLE!

I recently read through some Nigerian youths’ comments across social media, and it is obvious that our politicians/political rulers have overtime used the "politricks” of religion, tribal jingoism and ethnicity to enslave many of us, and until some of us taste what true FREEDOM looks like, we'd continue to act and think that slavery is the best and only option! Instead of our education to bring us light, we have rejected the light, and we keep plunging deep down the pit in darkness of ignorance; instead, what we do with our education is blow all kinds of big grammars mixed with calumny and vituperations! So painful for us to admit but many of the NIGERIAN YOUTHS fulminating against POLITICAL SLAVERY are still suffering from MENTAL SLAVERY which is even worse; we have become victims of the worst of all slaveries, and if we don’t emancipate ourselves by ourselves, our political rulers would continue looting and sabotaging our future while we keep fighting ourselves with big grammars, insults and irrational differences along ethno- religion axis!

In the words of Carol Moseley Braun “in politics, there are no permanent enemies, no permanent friends, just permanent interests”. Our very own legendary Fela Anikulapo Kuti even established this fact in his 1985 studio album where he sang about “padi padi government” to show that politicians are friends, they are not divided as long as their interest align, they meet at exotic parties and events, they hug, they shake hands, wine and dine, discussing about their next political agenda, but the people who are supposed to be more united especially against any political Mafioso, are even the most divided.

The Hausa hates Igbo, the Igbo hates Hausa, the Yoruba hates Hausa, the Hausa hates Yoruba, the Igbo hates Yoruba, and the Yoruba hates Igbo! The Christians disdain the Muslims while Muslims attack the Christians! But the most disturbing is that the youths hates themselves; SOME YOUTHS OBLIVIOUSLY HATE THEIR FUTURE! And a nation with shallow Minded Youths is on the verge of collapse.

An American author, James Cooper said “individuality is the aim of political liberty”. The liberty or the change we earnestly crave as a nation must begin with us individually as a people because the truth is, there's a NIGERIA/NATION in every home, school, office, church, mosque, group, organization, market, etc. where different INDIVIDUALS such as the father, the principal, the manager, the carpenter, the vulcanizer, the MD, the pastor, the Imam, the youth leader, the iyaloja, etc. are individually the "president/commander-in-chief" of these mini NATIONS within the nation, so before we start complaining about any democratically elected president of the nation with our prejudicial criticisms, let's start with ourselves as INDIVIDUAL "presidents" in every mini "Nigeria" we personally govern or preside over as individuals.
Many of us complain about OUR HEADS OF STATE, but we don't complain about the STATE OF OUR HEADS; we need a dynamic shift in the frequencies of our thinking as a people, towards accurate Nation Building. The house of rep members, the senators, the ministers, the governors, the special advisers, the custom officers, police officers, etc. are all different reflections of the character of the average people of a particular society or nation. So if we point accusing fingers that we don’t have good people as candidates, as political office holders, as governors or as presidents, we are actually pointing to ourselves as a people because those we are accusing are not from other countries or outer space.

We can only become a GREAT citizens when we are first of all a GOOD people; good to one another regardless of tribe, ethnicity or/and religion, as this promotes and ensures peace, unity and progress which remains the strength of any nation.

There is no way we can amplify our STRENGTH as a nation when we have not been able to identify our WEAKNESS as a people; We can only become a GREAT nation by first being a GOOD people; not just by paying lip-service to the slogan "good people, great nation"!
The nation's LEADERSHIP of the people should know that a LEADER that want to deliver a nation must first be delivered from people!

The place of Leaders in NATION BUILDING is therefore to first be delivered from godfatherism, ethnical jingoism, despotism, nepotism, GREED, religious sentiments, CORRUPTION, etc., before he/she can have the moral and judicious capacity to deliver the people!

Our place as a people in NATION BUILDING is NOT about political party affiliation or pointing fingers of accusation against an opposition party; our place is in having a PARADIGM SHIFT; the RIGHT ATTITUDE towards growth & DEVELOPMENT for the benefit of all!

Let us therefore VOTE wisely because OUR VOTE IS OUR VOICE as a people! As long as we keep voting for the wrong leadership for wrong reasons as a PEOPLE, we can never see the better NIGERIA we hope for as a NATION!

The bottom line of what I've been saying is, we are greater and united as a nation than what is dividing us (wrong votes, tribal, ethnic, primordial sentiments, religion etc.) as a people!

Wrong votes every 4years will always divide us as a people and can never unite us as a nation!
Also, talking about the issue of irresponsibility among both the leadership and the people of our great nation, most of us have shown a high level of irresponsibility every 4yrs towards casting votes for the fate of our great nation; we need to understand that anyone who has decided not to vote has already voted, and that "vote" may end up being in favor of the wrong candidate!

#NationBuilding
#Leadership
#interfaceafrica

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