THE EFFECT OF THE PANDEMIC ON AFRICAN AMERICANS
May 3, 2021
STORIES ON RECENT TRAVEL
May 3, 2021THE EFFECT OF THE PANDEMIC ON AFRICAN AMERICANS
May 3, 2021STORIES ON RECENT TRAVEL
May 3, 2021NIGERIA. THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE UGLY
Nigeria, our country, cannot be jaga-jaga like a rapper wanted the world to believe. The singer sang the way he did to get the attention of his fans but naturally hurt the feelings of many. In reality, it is not only Edris who spoke ill of Nigeria. The late Fela also went out of his way to highlight the bad things that the then military administration was doing at the time. Fela Ransome Kuti had his reasons for insulting the people who were in charge of affairs at the time, particularly the military regime that attacked his sanctuary and destroyed his property that even his beloved mother fell victim. So, you can see the ugly part of the situation that is manifested to which prompted a singer like Fela to express his disappointment with the then authorities.
If all Nigerians are good, if all Nigerians are loyal to the country, the 61 years of its independence will be more heights of development than we are witnessing today. Like any other developing nation, Nigeria must go through unpleasant times both economically and in different sectors of human endeavor.
The former military ruler IBB went out of his way to discredit the constant attacks on the army as the cause of Nigeria's slow progress, economically and politically. General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida had said that the people are always accusing and punishing the military for slowing down their progress. Simultaneously, civilians instigated the army to overthrow any entrenched government, especially the civilian government. One is quick to criticize such a claim. But politics aside, this IBB claim could be true, as we witnessed the causes of the first coup in Nigeria on January 15, 1966. Politicians in Nigeria then were behind the coup because they weren't patient and they wanted their turn as we see in European countries and America. America has a sophisticated military, but no one will dare to approach them to overthrow whoever is there as president, no matter how poorly they perform.
In the United States, the whole scene remains very cordial. The political environment is bearable until a new election where the people will decide with their overwhelming votes who to choose. This is the actual civilization and democracy that we all believe has been going on in western world for many decades up till now. But in Nigeria, politicians seem intolerant of the actual provision of democratic norms because everyone wants to be in charge.
From 1960 till date, Nigeria has seen the good, the bad, and the ugly, but not much has changed with the level of education and the elite among us. Nothing tangible to show for each one for himself and up to his neck on the scale of hopelessness. It is time that we think twice about what Nigeria will be, without progress for so long; nothing to put in our hands as tangibly as practically; economically, socially, and politically as well.