Nigeria is an African country located on the Gulf of Guinea. A nation vastly enriched in culture and tradition as well as in mineral and natural resources such as crude oil, iron ore, coal, limestone, cocoa amongst others.
Nigeria boasts a landmass of about 923,768 km² and is generally referred to as the ‘Giant of Africa’, as it is the most populous country in Africa and ranks seventh in the world at large.
Along with its large population comes big problems or deficiencies which include and are not limited to poverty, human trafficking, high rate of unemployment, insecurity, harmonious tensions, and underdevelopment in some strategic areas to mention a few.
A country where over 14 million children are out of school and uneducated, and is only going to lead to jeopardy as growth and development remain stunted due to low access to facilities that breed and promote inventions and innovations.
The Nigeria of today is one in which insecurity seems to be the order of the day, and, there is little or no substantiated effort to protect lives and properties due to negligence.
The once peaceful rest enjoyed has become unrest, the happiness, love, and joy once shared are being threatened; our villages and treasured heritage in Northern Nigeria silently goes into extinction at the rain of bullets and thumping sounds of IEDs from barbaric raids perpetrated by terror groups such as ‘Boko Haram, ISWAP, and the likes’.
The Nigeria of today where the menace of police brutality, extrajudicial killings of unarmed citizens, extortion, harassment thrives within the force.
We are been killed by the same set of people who swore to protect our lives and properties.
A country where people don’t have access to basic amenities such as stable electricity, good road networks, running water (etc). Citizens don’t enjoy anything from the government; rather they are oppressed and subjected to hardship.
The Nigeria of today filled with corruption, where the electorates are led by selfish, greedy, and corrupt leaders who continually betray their trust in putting them in power.
Rather than build the country, they have decided to embezzle, mismanage, steal and misappropriate funds and ‘pocket’ these funds into their personal accounts.
A country where a large chunk of the citizens lives below the poverty line yet runs one of the most expensive governments in the world.
Welcome to Nigeria where the majority of the youths are still unemployed.
A country where universities have been on strike for more than 8months in 2020, struggling with low standards of education, poor medical facilities, bad infrastructures that clearly depicts the decay of the educational system in the country.
The Nigeria of today!
Omomayowalefunmi Olatunbosun, graduate of Public Administration from Lagos State University, LASU, writes from Lagos
