Everything in Nigeria is going to kill you

Prophets abound in Nigeria- be they false or real. Strangely, they have never been to any theological school or got ‘called’ like is the cliché. They tell what Nigeria will do to you so you are not caught unawares.  Look, Nigeria is an interesting place to live. Yet it is a country that can kill you. It has killed a lot and will still kill so manypeople.
And it is going to kill many.

The inspiration for this piece came from an article and book by Ayo Sogunro in 2014 titled ‘Everything in Nigeria is going to kill you’. Ayo had stated the truth about our docility and lack of awareness of issues concerning us as citizens. Ayo had said:’…the Nigerian nightmare has changed. Nigeria has evolved from “not taking care of you” into “actively trying to kill you“. Human induced deaths are intensifying. And as far as a reasonable layman’s analysis can be relied on, things are going to get worse. Much worse’. Ayo was not done, he also dropped this, ‘…also, Nigerian society in general has also experienced this minutely in the deaths caused by bad roads, fake drugs, faulty constructions, poor health service and other substandard government services…’

Read again and focus on ‘deaths caused by bad roads’ and remember the sad tale of the students who died on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway en route Kano on May 3. The students had travelled to Lagos to represent their schools and by extension, the Kano state government in a quiz competition. The students did the state proud and were returning to Kano when they met their deaths on the notorious Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. Eight promising young individuals (an official of the sponsor and the driver lost their lives too). They were wasted and have become statistics in the contraption called Nigeria.

Nigeria is the only country where we refer to our roads as death traps and the roads have not disappointed us. Just about a fortnight ago, some medical doctors lost their lives on their way to an annual conference in Kaduna. One does not need to reel out figures appropriated by governments at all levels (past and present) for road construction. The figures are humongous yet nothing meaningful to show for it. This for obvious reasons- the money end up in private pockets. In the hands of people who will never ply the roads but rather use chartered aircrafts. Such callousness. Of special mention is the in (action) of ex-president Obasanjo and former Works’ Minister under his administration Adeseye Ogunlewe. The Lagos-Ibadan Expressway connects Abeokuta and one needs special glasses to see whatever was done on that road under that Obasanjo administration. In fact, the acronym ‘LIE’ is befitting of that expressway. So many lies have been told to Nigerians by various governments yet the road is still what it is- a death trap. I digressed.

The death of the students further reveals the priority and callousness of our leaders. The governor instructed that their lifeless bodies be flown to Kano because they must be buried without delay, according to a rite. The governor, cabinet members and top politicians all received the lifeless bodies at the Mallam Aminu Kano Airport. They shed crocodile tears but truth is the lives of those boys were avoidably wasted. The boys represented your state, they did well at the competition, you were aware of their exploits, wanted to score cheap political points with their feats or perhaps credit it to a non-existing educational policy, allowed them travel by road, they met their death and that was when you offered them a plane. What a priority! This country will kill you.

A Facebook ‘friend’,commenting on my post on this sad incident had said ‘it is destiny.’ What a faulty thought process! The UAE and Saudi Arabia propagate a religion that some Nigerians hide under to draw such conclusion but these countries preach excellence, hard work, strategic planning. They do not resort to docility and indolence. They do not claim destiny for their inability, failure or refusal to do the needful. Saudi Arabia produces 9million barrels of oil daily, rakes in more than $10 billion annually from Hajj pilgrimage. They plan to make the holy pilgrimage more attractive by upgrading facilities at Mecca. They are also looking for other sources of revenue via diversification and have specific plans to achieving that. The book ‘My Vision’ by Mohammed Al Maktoum shows what is possible if leaders are sufficiently cerebral to set agenda toward economic prosperity while followers are active enough to constructively engage.
By contrast, Nigeria pumps about 2million barrels of oil; have abandoned agriculture for so long it is hardly attractive to her citizens. Falling oil price means that we are struggling, yet we are treated to the regular dose of ‘we want to diversify’.

Alhaji Lai spoke of 1 masquerade creating 1000 jobs while another minister suggested manufacturing pencils. Jokers! ICT is a tool for economic empowerment but there is no deliberate policy to harness the potential. Nothing is being done to the curricula of tertiary institutions to reflect current realities. The syllabus of Computer Science has not been modified to accommodate ‘coding’ and other endeavours that kids in Asia and the US understand without breaking a sweat. Ditto entertainment sector which is a large contributor to revenue yet little is being done to further harness the potential. One hears of the MOPICON bill and wonders why we are the architect of our misfortune.

There is a law of consequences. That the failure to do what is right will come to haunt you at the appropriate time. Our failure to construct, repair and upgrade roads in the past is what we are seeing in numerous deaths today. We do not need plenty prayers, all we need is hard work and strategic thinking.

 

Oyewo Ishola