HOW MUCH IS THE LIFE OF A NIGERIAN WORTH IN NIGERIA?

Is it not pathetic to note that human live in Nigeria has been reduced to that of an ant? What other explanation is there to give about how much the life of a Nigerian is worth if people are afraid to move around freely in their beloved country called Nigeria? The news of death recorded in the name of insurgence and ethnic cleansing are sufficient to make one wonder how much the lives of Nigerians are really worth in Nigeria.

It is also stale to talk about all the allegations that have been made against herdsmen; and if Nigeria was a country where things really worked, one would expect to see the intruders and invaders that pretend as Fulani Herdsmen apprehended and their activities nipped in the board once and for all. We could only but understand why there is so much politicization of issues and absence of apprehension when we understand how much lives of Nigerians are worth in Nigeria. In the words of George Orwell, ‘’All Animals are Equal…but some are more equal than the others’’. If ‘’python dance’’ had effect in Southern Nigeria, perhaps, ‘’cat mewing’’ should work for some other miscreants making a mess of our national grace.

Another appalling thing to worry about is the number of deaths recorded on Nigerian roads. Roads are myopically constructed that in less than two years, the roads return to worse states. The display of mediocrity is so alarming that at the local government level, they pretend to fix the bad roads only when the governor or any other renowned politician is visiting and might query their activities. It is in Nigeria that heavy duty trucks and tankers cause untimely death for Nigerians. Perhaps, if our leaders place value on the lives of those they lead, other means of transportation would have been created to curb such menace. The devil is in the details.

Another critical aspect of our nationality is the health sector. The attitude of the poorly motivated medical practitioners that often culminates into incessant strike actions have in reality led to the death of people with emergency cases as they are usually neglected. On the flip side, Nigerian leaders jet out of the country when they are sick for best medical care for themselves on tax payers money. Little wonder, they feel less obligated to fixing the health sector and care less about the brain drain that ensues.

For us at Whichwaynaija, we believe that anyone who comes for equity must come with clean hands. We believe that someday, Nigeria will get it right. Some day, every life would matter.  Nigerians wish for more! Nigerians deserve more!! We desire that things might change; we desire that lives be valued. We also know that desiring something is not enough; deliberate efforts and energy must be put into it. We must create the Nigeria that we want for the unborn generations.

Like President Trump would say, ‘’American First.’’ Let our leaders be able to say – ‘’Nigeria First’’ and really mean it when they say it. If indeed the many deaths attributed to herdsmen are caused by non-Nigerians, let us begin to prosecute and deport these foreigners and secure our borders. Let us have the cat mew to end the endless nefarious acts, as against a solidarity seeming silence and inaction.

Nigeria, a nation lacking natural disasters and blessed with natural resources instead needs to be able to account for each of her citizens. Knowing the actual number of human beings in Nigeria by way of solving our data problem is a sign that we know where we are going and with time place value on the lives of every citizen. This is a function of true leadership. We must make our democracy a collaborative and an all encompassing one.

Similarly, there is the need to set up infrastructures that would stand the test of time with proper maintenance policies in place and duly executed. What is worth doing at all, is worth doing well. There is no value in not maintaining our medical facilities and demotivating medical practitioners. Brain drain breeds a mediocre society and a mediocre society is not the Nigeria we desire and wish and hope for.

It cannot be over-flogged, fixing Nigeria must be done by Nigerians. Good leadership accompanied by good follower-ship is the way forward. Those who change the beats of the drum to a soothing melody, do so by following the rhythm. Getting it right is a collective choice – we must focus on looking out for one another, killing our selfish tendencies