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The Nigeria of our dreams, is a collective responsibility. It's one where we create a nation along the lines of what we ALL desire to live by. It is not one that caters to self or to the needs of a few at the expense of others but one we all make a collective decision to maintain
This means if your okada breaks the traffic light, it's your duty as passenger to insist he obeys at the next traffic light otherwise you alight. It means if your danfo faces oncoming traffic to avoid traffic on your side, that u tell him to stop or all passengers will disembark.
It means we all make a conscious effort to protect the environment by not dropping waste on the road or in drains because it could lead to flooding. It means doing your job as a govt official without waiting to be financially induced or told how to do the job you're paid to do.
It means accepting that as a govt official your position of privilege doesn't confer on you the right to use sirens to drive citizens off the road or the right to break traffic rules by driving against traffic. That it in fact places more responsibility on you to "do it right".
It means paying your taxes without being forced because you understand that govt can't function without everybody pitching in. It means accepting that no excuse is sufficient to diminish the fact that "what is wrong is wrong". It means accepting to live by a higher standard.
It means valuing human life such as not building a house with substandard materials. It means not compromising as a civil engr in ensuring that the building you supervise respect the building codes. It means an officer not accepting bribes to certify a building prone to collapse.
It means getting to work on time and not cheating your employer. It means remitting the money you're deducting from staff salary as pension or tax. It means ensuring that as a health care practitioner you treat patients promptly and not leave them to die in your waiting rooms.
I could go on & on and touch every aspect of our lives. But I think we get the message I'm trying to pass. The Nigeria of our dreams will not drop from heaven. Rather, it's going to evolve out of our collective decision to live by certain values and standards we set for ourselves
I was in Germany recently and I spent abt 70eur on trains. At no time did anyone check if I had a ticket before I used them. They trusted that everyone will follow the rules. And they did. It wasn't abt the threat of fines, it was about the kind of country they wanted to live in.
Yesterday I was stuck in that hellish Lekki-Ajah traffic. Many started driving on the other side of the express facing oncoming traffic. Nigerians of all status were represented from SUVs, danfos, police, okada etc. What kind of crazy country is this & what kind of people are we?
If we want to live in a jungle and be governed by Tarzan, then we should bloody well say so. But if we want to live in a country that we would be proud to bequeath to our children's children, then we all need to ask ourselves this que - What kind of country do we want to live in?
