Photo credit: historyville
I wonder what else can shock Nigerians. When, in the second republic, Mr Umaru Dikko said Nigerians were yet to start picking food from the dustbin, most of us thought he was taking things too far.
We never knew he was a prophet, not of doom, but of our impending reality.
Another person who spoke the bitter truth was Mr David Mark, a soldier. When he was the minister for communications, he told us point-blank that telephones were not for poor people. His prophecy was a reality for just some time.
With the second coming of Mr Olusegun Obasanjo as head of government, the curse that only the rich could afford telephones became a non-issue. Obasanjo liberalized the communication industry and brought in private-sector participants.
And we became happy ever after!
The legendary Afrobeat king Fela Kuti sang himself hoarse about Nigeria’s and Africa’s problems. The interesting thing is that most of the things he sang about are still with us decades after his death.
Water, light, food, housing, etc remain problems in our society.
We generally lack health care facilities. This situation is so bad that government officials and those who can afford it travel for medical tourism abroad.
What about those who do not have the means? They may die. Does anybody care?
The world’s status as a global village does not favour us. You know the rest of the world is laughing at our wobbling and fumbling. The result is that we don’t have any results because we hardly achieve anything.
Take the case of Mr Sadiq Daba, a man who made all of us happy. He is now ill.
Unfortunately, he is reduced to asking for donations from Nigerians to treat himself abroad.
I believe there’s some element of shame there. I mean, shame on the part of the system that prevents us from getting the most out of our country.
If the Citizen Mudas of this country should fall sick, what are their lots? They have no choice but to start having a feeling of hell from the consulting places that we call hospitals. That’s if they can afford the bills.
Health personnel are rushing outside the country for the proverbial golden fleece. Those who decide to brave the situation by staying can hardly get the materials to use.
One can go on and on.
Unless we decide to rethink, the situation will continue to deteriorate. We should not keep assuming that Nigerians do not ask questions. That will definitely be trying our luck too far.
If the elders fail to ask questions, what is the certainty that our children wouldn’t?
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