Adeola Aderounmu.

Like more than 50 million Nigerians who will probably go to bed tonight without a decent meal or with no food at all, I am sitting up late and looking deeply into the situation in Nigeria. It gives me great concerns. All the members of my Nigerian family still live in Nigeria. Those of them who have travelled abroad have always returned to Nigeria. They love home.

Indeed there is no place like home! However, I know there are millions of Nigerians that would also have loved to leave Nigeria if they have the opportunity. I remember those days on Eleke Crescent at Victoria Island where many of the embassies where located. Many of the embassies have relocated to Abuja now. You could see thousands of Nigeria on a daily basis struggling at the embassy, seeking visas to escape Nigeria. I do not know what the situation is now but I knew then that some are genuine travelers planning to go to school abroad. Some are just going to visit and others are going as tourists.

There is no way I am going to stop thinking about Nigeria. Home is always home and a river that forgets its source will surely dry. “Always remember the son of whom you are”! This is a daily expression that my father sang into my ears in Nigeria while advising me on friends, moral and academic matters. I will not forget the son of whom I am.

As I have refused to forget the son of whom I am, my mind has also not departed from my dear country of birth-Nigeria. In this vein, I have not stopped reading certain Nigerian newspapers online almost as a daily routine. I have read and read about the situation in Nigeria. What I read most are the articles that are contributed by great minds. Recently, I have not only written in a popular Nigerian newspaper, I have also contributed articles to nigeriavillagesquare.com.  

I have been asking many questions in my life and the new one is: what more to write about Nigeria? All the problems in Nigeria have been highlighted and re-highlighted over and over again. People have been writing for many years and some newspapers have been fateful over the years as well.

Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora have added voices and online news to press for the return of sanity in governance in Nigeria. To this moment, what I see in Nigeria government is pure madness. How can a country of more than 140 million people be ruled by an illegitimate government? This is one of the realities in present day Nigeria that I cannot comprehend. It has been explained in many ways but I don’t get it. Something like: you can’t have a vacuum OR sworn in by Chief Justice.  Why should a Chief Justice lend a hand to illegitimacy? I will never understand. Please don’t help me.

Anyway, what problem in Nigeria has not been overflogged? Is it NEPA/PHCN? How it is impossible to have a 24hr uninterrupted power supply in Nigeria.  Is it that probably the worst road in the world is in Nigeria? Is it that the politicians just want to steal and loot? Is it that EFCC is a toothless bulldog? Haven’t we waited endlessly for our past leaders and politicians to return the monies that they stole so that we can start planning for our children? Have we not complained about the recycling of all these corrupt faces in government? What about recovered loots also disappearing? Is it lack of refinery for a country rated as the largest producer of oil in Africa? Are all these the meaning of a sleeping giant?

How many times have we complained about housing, water, unemployment and schools? What about the rise in the cost of living running parallel to low standard of living? Hasn’t it been said and written that the Niger Delta is rich with oil deposits while its inhabitants are among the poorest people globally? What about the pollution problem? Have we not complained about negligence of Agriculture to the detriment of our economy?

Have we not asked for our constitution to be reviewed or rewritten? Haven’t we asked for the jobs to be given to the best person on pure merit and knowhow instead of using National character? Do we not know why our higher institutions are frequently under lock and keys? Haven’t we asked for functional health system? Are we not tired of governors running on two terms and still going abroad to treat headache and stomach ache? Didn’t we tell them to build hospitals in their states?

Is there anything adversely affecting the Nigerian society that we have not discussed openly or in print media? So, when will the job be given to the best people who will start the process that will begin to transform our existence so that we and our children can return home in the nearest future? Doing things the right way will not only bring us back home to motherland, it will also prevent future mass emigration.

The bottom line of all write ups and criticisms of the Nigeria government is that we all want a place to call our home. A place where we can always be appreciated. We want a place where our lives mean something to other people. Some us of criticize only but I have read articles that criticizes and also proffer solutions.

It is difficult to know when or how Nigeria will take that Turning Point back to the Glorious days. Some of us were born after the Glorious days and all of our experiences of living in Nigeria were a life of bad to worse. For example, I still had milk, egg and Bournvita when I was very little. These things became luxury to me in my teens. Sardines, geisha and uncle Bens went away forever!

What more can we write about Nigeria? It seems that things are bound to be the same. Is Concerned Nigerians Worldwide (CNW) the first step forward in many years? Perhaps I am wrong. Are there other individuals, groups or associations that are seeking the common good of Nigeria? Maybe I am impatient (afterall Nigeria is just 47 years!). Time will tell.

One thing I am sure though is that living away from home brought me back to the luxury that evaded me for many years. Just last week in London, my cousin was swearing loud as he fried almost a half crate of egg for us for breakfast.  “God will punish those who made egg a luxury in Nigeria”! He went further: damn with cholesterol! The only reason he was saying all these was because egg is available abroad at a giveaway price, yet something in Nigeria made it a rich man’s food. Or is it just a case of one man’s meat is another man’s poison?

May the glory of Nigeria come, soon!