₦airaland Forum

THE HARD TRUTH

By Shuaibu Onakpa

We must stop blaming the government for all our hardship.

Let’s get this straight, the people are the government. Government is not a spirit. It is not some ghostly entity floating in Aso Rock. It is made up of people. People like you and me.

So let’s talk!

Why is a 17-year-old boy doing rituals and internet fraud just to buy a Benz? Is that Tinubu’s fault or bad parenting and warped values? What does he need a Benz for at that age?

Why is a 14-year-old girl leaving her home to sleep over at a man’s house just to bring money back? Is that the government's doing or the failure of her parents?

You're a security guard earning ₦45,000 a month yet you have five children. Who should we blame for your poverty? Tinubu, or your poor decisions?

You’re living in a single room. You got married. You had one child, then another, then another now you’re five people cramped in one room. And you think it’s the President’s fault you're suffering? How?

During COVID-19, Buhari’s government gave grants. What did you do with yours? You chased UK visa dreams that never materialized. Now you’re broke and blaming government again. Is it government that controls your sense of judgment?

You went to university. You were taught entrepreneurship from 100 level to final year. You were told to create value. Now you’re jobless. Instead of creating something, you call yourself CEO of “MUA Collections” because you know how to apply foundation and lip gloss. You think that's enough? My dear, your hardship just started.

You “japa” to Qatar. You refused to learn plumbing or tiling in Nigeria. Now you're on construction sites, pouring concrete under the sun in Doha the same work you called “dirty” in Nigeria. Deportation met you empty-handed. Again, is that Tinubu's fault?

You were advised to invest in the stock exchange, to buy bonds, to save. You refused. You chose sports betting. Now your life savings are gone, and you’re pointing fingers at the government. Please, what exactly is the colour of your problem?

Let’s be honest. Yes, the country is hard. But no, it's not all Tinubu’s fault. We’ve been a nation lazy with ideas for decades. We have the people, but most are not creative.

Your friend who is a tailor buys a car. You rush to learn tailoring even though there’s not a single plumber in your entire community. Can’t you see your school fees went to waste?

I live in a small community of less than 200 houses but we have over 20 provision stores. No welders. No cobblers. No innovation. Why won't there be hunger? Why won't hardship spread?

Leather is manufactured in Kano. Why aren’t you making shoes and exporting them? Why aren’t you producing leather bags for sale?

Oh wait, you don’t have capital. You’re waiting for government grants. But you’re using an iPhone 12.

GET SENSE.

Everything is not about income.

No mention of shedding of innocent blood of villagers and farmers

Everything you mentioned boils down to bad leadership.
If the government have been doing the right things, those vices you listed would have been limited.
It's only a political associate that will absolves those politicians for their wicked acts that have messed up the fabric of the society.

Did Shuaibu hold this view when Jonathan was president or is he now an emergency patriot?

If it comes to copy copy or competition, the general populace is good at that, but creativity and innovation? not many people want to be pioneers, so sad

The government is a pure reflection of who we truly are. We are all blinded by personal interest, religious and tribal sentiments. A rat will not breed a cat.

One thing I've noticed is how much Nigerians love to copy another person's trade. You see that community without a plumber? The moment one plumber moves in and thrives, there would be tens of plumbers moving into that same community. No one wants to build structure. It's why when we have graduates complaining of no jobs, they would rather face menial tasks like POS, etc, rather than leverage their knowledge to fill a gap in society.
Until, we learn to pick a trade, learn the skills, learn to collaborate and build something out of nothing, the situation will remain the same.

9japride:
Everything you mentioned boils down to bad leadership.
If the government have been doing the right things, those vices you listed would have been limited.
It's only a political associate that will absolves those politicians for their wicked acts that have messed up the fabric of the society.

This is my problem with most of you.
Someone else can't have a differing opinion without being termed something. This is a form of bullying in case you don't know. You have a right to your opinion just the same way others do as well. So stop trying to shut people down by blackmailing them.

That said... The government is a reflection of the people. The government isn't the one going to Asian countries to traffic drugs, the government isn't the one doing rituals, the government isn't the one doing prostitution in Italy, etc.

Nigerians need to start taking responsibility for their actions. A child from a well-to-do home doing yahoo... That's not governmental failure, it's parental failure. If the government decides to have zero tolerance for crime today, I can assure you that Nigerians will complain even more than before because most of us are criminals and we've seen it as a way of life. Anyone not doing it is not "smart". Nigeria is the only country where the victim will be blamed for not being smart enough. It's crazy.

We can blame the government from now till next year, it won't change the fact that the fabric of decency in Nigeria has been torn to shreds mostly by the people and not the government.

erad:
This is my problem with most of you.
Someone else can't have a differing opinion without being termed something. This is a form of bullying in case you don't know. You have a right to your opinion just the same way others do as well. So stop trying to shut people down by blackmailing them.

That said... The government is a reflection of the people. The government isn't the one going to Asian countries to traffic drugs, the government isn't the one doing rituals, the government isn't the one doing prostitution in Italy, etc.

Nigerians need to start taking responsibility for their actions. A child from a well-to-do home doing yahoo... That's not governmental failure, it's parental failure. If the government decides to have zero tolerance for crime today, I can assure you that Nigerians will complain even more than before because most of us are criminals and we've seen it as a way of life. Anyone not doing it is not "smart". Nigeria is the only country where the victim will be blamed for not being smart enough. It's crazy.

We can blame the government from now till next year, it won't change the fact that the fabric of decency in Nigeria has been torn to shreds mostly by the people and not the government.

[color=#006600][/color]

Regarding having an opinion, for example a criminally minded people is also right to have his/her opinion too.
If the government had done the right things, there would have been limited occurrence of social vices.
A lot of people result to social vices to survive.
Tell your politicians to do the right things and stop looting the common wealth of the masses.
It's as simple as that.

9japride:
[color=#006600][/color]

Regarding having an opinion, for example a criminally minded people is also right to have his/her opinion too.
If the government had done the right things, there would have been limited occurrence of social vices.
A lot of people result to social vices to survive.
Tell your politicians to do the right things and stop looting the common wealth of the masses.
It's as simple as that.

Evil people are evil regardless of government or circumstances.

I schooled in ife and I can authoritatively tell you that OUI(private uni) has a higher percentage of yahoo boys than OAU(federal uni) even though there is a higher percentage of people from poor homes in OAU.

We can't keep excusing criminality. No matter how poor someone that resorts to crime is, there's someone poorer that still chose not to go into crime and the fact that we keep justifying criminality shows there's something wrong with our psych as a people.

erad:
Evil people are evil regardless of government or circumstances.

I schooled in ife and I can authoritatively tell you that OUI(private uni) has a higher percentage of yahoo boys than OAU(federal uni) even though there is a higher percentage of people from poor homes in OAU.

We can't keep excusing criminality. No matter how poor someone that resorts to crime is, there's someone poorer that still chose not to go into crime and the fact that we keep justifying criminality shows there's something wrong with our psych as a people.

[color=#006600][/color]

I understand your point. What we are seeing is as a result of years of consistent damages by the leaders.
Why are our youths Japa to other developed countries?
The truth is that if our leaders do the right things a lot of vices will reduce.
The bad eggs out numbered the good ones.
The kids in expensive schools might be a product of criminally minded politicians. So won't see nothing bad in doing evil.

9japride:
[color=#006600][/color]

Regarding having an opinion, for example a criminally minded people is also right to have his/her opinion too.
If the government had done the right things, there would have been limited occurrence of social vices.
A lot of people result to social vices to survive.
Tell your politicians to do the right things and stop looting the common wealth of the masses.
It's as simple as that.

What of the Nigerians that goes to countries with supposed good government and still end up committing crimes. Should we still blame Tinubu for their actions?

ModernAncestor:
What of the Nigerians that goes to countries with supposed good government and still end up committing crimes. Should we still blame Tinubu for their actions?

[color=#006600][/color]

Those who traveled abroad to continue with social vices were already brought up in a messed up environment.
The solution is for the government to start doing the right things now; by teaching the young ones good behavior and they themselves should show good example.
How do you expect an adult to change?
There is a popular Facebook page that keep updating news of €ult activities in the country, do you expect those miscreants involved to change if they travel abroad? The answer is no.
Next election is in 2027, a lot of people will still vote in funny characters and be expecting magic.
The solution to the present problem is to raise kids that will change the image of the country for the better.
We should all do away with the 1999/2000s era of politics, it does no one any good.