MAINTENANCE CULTURE IN NIGERIA

It is indeed heart-breaking that the world is talking about global warming and climate change and issues such as preservation, recycling, and maintenance are big deals. Here in our nation, the reverse could be said to be the case.  Do we keep wondering why we are where we are? We keep blaming everything on our leaders and really, some have asked if they are not responsible for many of the evils bedeviling our nation.  

A wise one once said, ‘’he who wishes for a clean street, should endeavour to keep his closet clean.’’ So the next time you feel like playing the blame game, be sure you have played your part. Many people are comfortable as mediocre on the issue of maintenance culture because they think only the government has a role to play here. Whereas, Maintenance culture is your attitude not just to public property but also to your immediate environment. In Nigeria, you find people waiting for the government officials to lock up their houses and shops before they clean their drainages – a supposed direct hazard to their health. Some even allow their waste bin to get filled up and constitute an environmental hazard to their neighbours. It is very rampant to find people trash things anywhere and everywhere including empty plastic bottles, sachets of water, banana peels and what have you. This is the height of indiscipline people exhibit. If you fall into this category of people, please change!!

In the educational system, we all know our schools especially some of the tertiary institutions are living on past glories. These days, there are so many schools in every nook and cranny. It is no longer about the quality of education but the revenue made.  There are so many schools but little education. How did we get here? We could really attribute the laxity to the system and her poor sense of maintenance.

On Infrastructural development, it is so easy to find a new leadership abandoning a project and starting up a similar one or an entirely different project just so that he scores a cheap political point. There is no sense of continuity! No sense of long-term! No posterity plan! It is always quantity over quality, all the time.  This clearly indicates lack of foresight and a flair for wastage. Public properties get poorly managed because people do not take responsibility for things entrusted to their care: people are simply greedy! We have four(4) refineries, yet none is functioning to its capacity because of our poor maintenance culture. The question therefore is, ‘are there maintenance culture policies’? If yes, why are they not being enforced?

Whichwaynaija believes that when the head is well, the sick body could get healed; we also believe that the wellness of the body can heal the sick head. You could call it ‘’Power of Collective Energy’’. As a people, we need to change our attitude to our environment; place patriotism above self-interest in order to develop our dear nation.  Indeed, no tree ever makes a forest. This means that all hands must be on deck – we all must be involved. As an individual, what are you doing to keep your environment safe and healthy?! Do you wait to be compelled to clean your drainage and trash your refuse? It is time to change for good – start doing something that will benefit everyone around you.

Whichwaynaija believes that all stakeholders involved need to come together to set a Blueprint. With a blueprint, the continuity mindset is given by default. If you are in the position of authority, having a continuity mindset may be all you need to contribute to moving the nation forward to self-sustenance.

As a government, there is a need to take recycling more seriously. With policies implementation, make people recycle things; empower people to become creators, not consumers. There is a need to make policies that work and leverage these policies to make the system work. We must walk the talk as much as we talk the talk.

The government must learn to prioritize. First thing First! Setting up infrastructures is not enough, there must be a clear definition of roles for proper maintenance; checks and balances for the purpose of accountability.  It is not healthy for nation building if we keep allowing government infrastructures to deteriorate. There is no need to focus on all problems at the same time to score temporary political points. It is really not about how much but how well!

Another key area that needs to be reviewed is the allocation given to the education sector by the government at all levels. There is really no value in issuing licenses everywhere with poor maintenance for the existing ones which more often than not has been attributed to the poor allocation given to the sector. Poor allocation affects the maintenance of the infrastructures; making avenues for research that would facilitate the expected quality inaccessible.

To all well-meaning Nigerians, let us begin to think about the wellbeing of our beloved nation and allow change to begin with each of us. The earlier we begin, the better for us as a people and as a nation. Remember, Integrity is what you do and how you do it when no one is watching or compelling you to do it.

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