From the up-north to the down-south, there is slow pace of human capital development, yet billions of naira were being budgeted for the renovation of the National Assembly, which somewhat have been tagged as the “snoring center” for some of the nation’s lawmakers who obviously have no motion to move or bill to sponsor after looting the funds meant for their constituency projects. Their legislative matters call for concern.
This is January where hefty resolutions are being pronounced but that of ‘vision 2020” has been defeated from the catalogue of vision in broad daylight. So where exactly are those behind the wheel driving the nation to?
It is indisputable a national discourse that there is an exigent need for developing the people, building the nation, which calls for a collective responsibility between those at the helms of affairs and the concern patriotic citizens.
Of course, the latter is the conscience of the nation whose inclusiveness is a national plus to development within the hemisphere of the society.
Sufficient knowledge on contemporary issues is germane in placing issues into proper perspectives to guide the unsuspecting members of the public against irrational thoughts and actions; to project and promote the spirit of nationalism, and to guide the young and juvenile minds to align with the vision of creating a brighter rewarding future in consonance with the ideals of a strong and virile economy as being orchestrated and laid by our founding fathers whose labor shall never be in vain.
The need for a clearer goal orientation in nation building; the movement away from the undertaker economics that have warped national possibilities for far too long; the non-reinforcement of failing policies; the enforcement of well strategic policies; and the relevance of addressing military disengagement in the pages of democratic memoirs are viable for better national upliftment.
Yes!!! The unfitted garment of a nation developmental status is chiefly ascribed to the reflection of the degeneration of our leadership standards.
The failure to curb the dysfunctional social policy framework that fails to keep the government intention abreast with the genuine democratic expectations of her citizens especially in terms of infrastructural deficit like power supply, good roads network, well equipped and sound health facilities, and promising educational status – is alarming and disgusting, and thus to the point of constitutional reaffirmation.
Fellow Nigerians – We are seen as “Giant of Africa” not necessarily because of the quality of our national institutions and values, but simply because of our large population and oil wealth.
In reality, the greatness of a nation has to be earned, which in turn can be somewhat achievable through the vision and resolve of exemplary men and women, and it is not determined just by the size of its population or the abundance of its natural resources.
It is so heart aching that Nigeria is still not out of the woods even in the advent of civilization, this should be a matter of concern to all of us.
We ought to reflect on our journey so far, by doing the needful in the now and leave a better legacy for posterity.
The aim of building a National identity that will served as a common sense of purpose, a sense of shared destiny, a collective imagination of belonging, and the building of tangible and intangible threads that holds a political entity together and give it a sense of National integration should be considered.
The struggle for a better Nigeria has reached a dimension where the unification of the people within the State is politically stable and viable in the long run, which can be achievable and developed through better governmental policies and programs, including military conscription and national content mass schooling.
The rise of a State capable of providing public goods evenly across a territory, and the emergence of a shared medium of communication are keys in seeing to the rejuvenation of her drowning and declining energies.
The siege mentality that cut across ethnic and religious divides must be closely and properly addressed through reorientation exercise and reviews notions that pitched us against others.
The struggle to curb the preponderance of immoralities in our societal corridor must be challenge with an objective to ameliorate justice and tranquility in order to shun the scourge of chauvinism and bigotry.
The idea of tapping into the potentials of its human resource, reducing social and economic disparity that exists within the corridors of our porous society and creating an enabling environment for entrepreneurship, wherein individuals can live freely and attain their best in life can’t be overemphasized nor boxed to a tight corner.
Without feigning ignorance that a strong and powerful nation is built on dedication and hard work of its citizens and some amount of smart work from the part of the government: the youth are the conscience of the nation as we possess the inherent skill, vitality and energy to drive governance towards collective benefits of all citizens.
Truth be told – inequality in the society is one of the major roadblocks to building a better nation.
In a situation where top public opinions are product of wishful thoughts and vendetta, the pursuance of collective agenda suffers serious setbacks especially when laws are twisted due to inequitable discharge in the justice system.
Sanctions and convictions are designed as deterrent measures to keep the populace at bay, but the misapplications of such has increased crimes and criminalities in our societies with clear realities on the state of insecurity in Nigeria.
An important aspect of nation building is the building of common citizenship.
But how can we have a common citizenship when the person in Kaduna has a radically different quality of life with the person in Enugu?
Or when a woman in Yobe is more likely to die in childbirth than a woman in Lagos?
Through the development of the economy and equal opportunities for all, a base-line of social and economic rights can be enjoyed as part of her national identity.
Against the backdrop of evil machinations as being propounded and perpetrated by political runners willing to plunge the nation into perpetual ruin days again, the glowing propensity and positive actualization of a better Nigeria is still possible.
Adeyinka writes from Lagos
yinkopet@gmail.com
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