THE TRAGEDY OF A GREAT NATION

Titi Bakare-Adesina

Nigeria is the most populous black nation in the world. With a population of approximately 200 million people.

Blessed with natural resources, with hardworking and resourceful individuals.

Sadly, the wealth the Nation possess does not reflect in the livelihood of it’s people, as the people have been further impoverished, with the Nation being a developing country and one of the poorest country in the world according to United Nations Statistics.

We basically have a long way to go as a nation.

Permit me to make the following suggestions to the people in realm of power, if peradventure you might find them useful.

First and foremost, I will like to suggest to the people in the saddle of authority to revive and reform Nigeria social services and make it functional and if not up to international standards, to be close to it.

The Government needs to work closely with the social services and the community mental health workers (nurses, Doctors, psychologists, social workers, occupational therapists), also currently not actively functioning in Nigeria, together with the Correctional Services.

Work on containing these bandits, catch them young before they become hardened criminals.

Taking a clue from the quote the late Elder  statesman Obafemi Awolowo “The children of the poor you failed to train today will never let your children have peace tomorrow”.

The social services includes the benefits and facilities such as: Education, Food subsidies, Health care, Police, Fire services, Job/ vocational training, subsidized housing, Adoption, Community Management, Policy research, Lobbying.

We can as well the breakdown of how each can be supported and make functional in each states and our dear country Nigeria to alleviate the suffering of the masses and to allow everyone live in peace.

Secondly, the need to build Hostels, Night shelters and Day centres for homeless youths, build more Prisons, high, medium and low secured facilities. Furnished hostels with single beds like Dormitories or even single room with basic facilities to lay their heads at night.
For the Homeless, they make use of the night shelter at night 7-8am in the morning, they have to be out to go and work, if you offer them any.

For the jobless, they can attend day centres to go and eat and do some activities just to keep them occupied.
Get them registered with their unique reference numbers, and give them pocket money on a weekly basis. No matter how little, even if it’s N3000 per week.

Make sure it gets to their account, directly, you can open a micro finance for the purpose. Pay directly into their accounts as so many government officials are too corrupt, they are quick to rip off the less privileged off and you will not know.

If after making these provisions they offend, they get charged and locked up if found guilty.

Depending on how long they have to serve, while in Prison, or secured units they go through a period of rehabilitation either studying or learning a vocation, most of the time, they are degraded from Prison, to high secure units, to medium and to low secure units and back into the community.

These will take years, by the time they come out they are more matured and they would have learnt one thing or the other. When they are released.

Thirdly, Security in Nigeria is pathetic. No one is actually save, except the grace of God.

Many people are scared to come back home for the fear of being killed or kidnapped. People are actually keeping vigils to protect their lives and properties, yet will be going to work and their various businesses the next day. That is not healthy at all. Please sirs, We can step up our security through the following ways:

1. Federal government to work in collaboration with the state governments to put unbreakable street cameras on our major roads and local streets.
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Few suggestions:

Federal government to allocate, state governments, local governments and all landlords are to be compelled to contribute towards this. Contract to be allocated directly to reputable security companies, not politicians (sorry to say), not the ones that will see it as an opportunity to amass wealth and do rubbish jobs.

It’s terribly sad to see that, only few people has the interest of the people at heart. No one is actually safe in Nigeria. Look at the scenario of the kidnapped twins in Ibadan, hmmm this was an eye saw. They brought the twins back after collecting ransom, meaning, no one is safe in Nigeria.

Meaning, if there are cameras on each street, it would have helped the police to quickly trace the abductors, the culprits would be caught easily and made to face justice immediately, you lock them up in the prison.

 

Economy wise, we can boost up our economy by training and investing in these jobless youths, encourage them to obtain a form for free in each state.

Train them through the Technical colleges, even if they are not learned at all, they should be allowed to start somewhere according to their capability.
Get them the raw materials to train with and they produce certain equipments, household items, as they are learning and as part of their projects.

All finished projects to be displayed in show rooms, and to be sold to the general public, once the products are quality, people will definitely patronize and buy them thereby generating income into the state accounts and improving economy by investing in them and keeping them occupied.

On the long run, the larger community is at peace, they are kept busy and made to feel belonged, they get certain benefits(monetary) to be able to feed themselves and as well as working to generate income into government accounts.

Please, don’t feel offended, to jump start these projects, please make a massive campaigns across the country to constantly be reminding everyone, not to sabotage governments ‘ efforts by accepting bribes from the beneficiaries, in fact ensure you commit the tasks into the hands of Independent bodies, not politicians or their family members. Commit such into the hands of NGO, well meaningful Nigerians, volunteers especially from the developed nations to assist in the screening process.

Do not commit them into the hands of politicians as they will sabotage your efforts and make them fail.

We have few meaningful networkers who are abroad and genuinely not happy with the situation of Nigeria.

We can encourage them to support( Volunteers Group), who are indigenes of each states, or you may decide to use some NGOs, International charity organizations Volunteers.

Please let’s strive to save Nigeria from sinking. What we see and read on social media is so disturbing, disgusting and worrisome. To some of us yes our families are not there, but what about the people and our extended families living there.

What is the future of Nigeria? Should we keep on looking until it collapsed? Where is our conscience?

I then feel compelled to write this piece, per adventure, it might help if we start from somewhere. Where we live abroad, to our white colleagues, they see all these news and feel sorry for us, in fact, some even think we are monkeys that came from ‘Shithole’ country (Permit my language usage).

Why do we allow the Chinese, whom are most illiterates take over our economy.
Why can we not be a bit more proactive and take over the business from them by creating government plastic industries. These are consumable items that can attracts millions of naira per day, if not billions.

I can confirm this because I have had to patronize them.
They do not allow room for negotiation and we have no choice than to patronize them.

Establish such industries and employ all these youths. Install cameras in all government establishment with enough security officers.

There should be no carrying of cash around. Customers pay directly into government accounts and if you’re caught receiving bribes through the cameras or physical, you get sacked immediately and pay back or get locked up.

There are lots of ways to boost up our economy internally, agricultural growth is another, occupy these jobless boys by sending them to farms and pay them. With that there will be no excuses for attacking or robbing people.

Massive monitoring of the police forces very essential.

Most of them are criminals, I am saying this with no apology and from personal experience .

Highest grade cameras and close monitoring of ammunitions.
It’s a lot to do but I will like to stop here for now. I will be releasing the second batch of my suggestions as my own little way of contributing and giving back to my country.

I have never presumed to write you all a letter but
But I am forced to write now because of the pathetic situation of the nation.

I observed during this Covid 19 that many of the states did try support their citizens but I can confirm that your so called politicians did sabotage your efforts by sharing the relief packages among their families, friends and it did not reach the actual needy. I can confirm these with evidence.

I do tell people that the President and Governors cannot do it alone. You and I have a role to play. Play your part.

For example, governor announced to give N5000 to citizens. They went and gave N4000 to 4 families or house on each streets, recorded their videos to make it look like they have done a perfect job. Why?

Where is our conscience in Nigeria? Which way Nigeria?
Let’s all join hands to save Nigeria from sinking.

Mrs Titi Adesina is the President and founder of Blossom Hands Care Foundation, based in the UK