I might not have travelled out of this country but what I’ve read on the internet and watched on foreign media have revealed before my eyes the acute difference between my Nigeria and the world outside, the difference is clear. My friends who have had the opportunity to reside in foreign countries attest to the remarkable difference that characterizes the gap between Nigeria and others. They sometimes wish they could take a bit of what they see outside into our shores.
Any nation that desires a place up there amongst the top nations of the comity of nations must first find her originality at developing her home grown ideas in solving her problems. She must have foresight, vision and a perseverance to see dreams meet reality. Such a nation must have a drawing board, a pencil, setsquares and compasses to draw out a plan of action and then work towards that plan. It’s never easy but it’s basically a necessity.
We can’t get to where we want to get to without the right picture, we can’t travel without the right map, we can’t build without the right plan, and we can’t see the future tomorrow without today’s dreams. Where we desire to be is dependent on how we have pictured that future point and how we drive towards it with all the perseverance we can garner.
It’s not farfetched the fact that our nation has roamed in the last over fifty four years without a clear cut dream or target. Where is the Nigerian dream today’s youths must accomplishment? There are actually no dreams, the major reason for our zigzag non directional pattern since independence. Where there is no dream, the people perish.
So here is the Nigerian dream!
Who wouldn’t love a land that’s the cynosure of all eyes, whose streets are adorned masterly and her architecture, distinctively attractive, an adventure for even the most creative minds and an attention for the best of the world, a land whose milk and honey flows freely to all and sundry without distinctive class divisions.
Why won’t our youths, our future, stay away from lands beyond when we have a plethora of opportunities to support intellectual advancement and work opportunities to keep them busy, when labor is well encouraged and capacity is considered well ahead of connections.
Who would dare take the risk over the Sahara when our lush vegetation provides more than enough food to serve our ever increasing population, a land where food is a right and not a privilege, where we don’t just eat to survive but survive to eat, where agriculture is a wealth opportunity for the poor.
Won’t you love the opportunity to travel across our cities on well paved roads with cars made of Nigerian made engines, underground train networks with fast speed magnetic rails, and safe brand new airlines designed by our distinguished engineers?
Imagine our cities with hundreds of super high risings sprawling our skies, sparkling lights characterizing our night life, gigantic edifices and magnificent structures scattered beautifully over our landscape, beautiful estates that’s home to all and a housing policy that works.
How about a well trained police force well kitted for the task, an army of soldiers too prolific not to be noticed as a global force, seasoned men of the air-force with state of the art fighting jets, and a Navy that ranks as the topmost in world sea warfare?
Think of our home made goods proudly standing side by side international competitors in world fairs, competing for global market share and becoming leaders at manufacturing best brands. Think of Nigerian businesses becoming household conglomerates in nations beyond our land, creating opportunities not only for our countrymen but for the world.
How about the dignity of having qualified graduates of our universities stand head to head to challenge their peers from the best institutions across the world, considered as first choice in opportunities outside our nation’s shores and inventions linked to our own creative minds? How about our professors gaining global renown, displaying academic brilliance that’s second to none any part of the world? How about our universities becoming global training centers where students from diverse national backgrounds find learning in our academic environment interesting?
What will happen if our nationals are given pride of place in lands beyond our shores, dignified and distinguished because we are called by the name Nigeria? It would be a joyful sight beholding our nationals travel round the world without having to go through rigorous screening by immigration officers of other nations.
Ponder over the unity in spite of our diversity that can be built when we have all working well for us, a nation where political leadership isn’t as profitable as running a farm, where it would be pride of place to serve the nation with the entire might one can garner, where self comes next after others.
Wonder over the possibilities that can happen when creativity is given special place, where our future engineers and scientist have the opportunity at developing their ideas, with our own version of Silicon Valley built for the manifestation of these ideas.
How about our nation supplying aids to more than half the world and being the sponsors of major humanitarian movements around the world, our young men and women taking up volunteering roles as teachers, doctors, engineers etc., in various parts of the world?
Who will love the long distance travel to America, Europe and India for medical operations when our health centers could possibly ease off the health challenge and would be the centers of medical tourism from across the world? Our doctors would be first-class and renowned developing home grown skills in curing almost impossible sicknesses such as Ebola, HIV/AIDS, etc.
Imagine an economy not dependent on crude oil as a means for revenue generation, where our manufacturing and agricultural productivity supplies 90% of our gross domestic product (GDP) and the economy stands tall amongst top three economies in the world. Think of the implications of having such an economy on the quality of life of the average Nigerian.
How about having twenty four hours electric power supply powered by renewable energy in the form of solar panels, wind turbines as well as other renewable energy means, each home supplying to the national grid in their own little way?
Think about a clean environment empowered by adequate waste control mechanisms, with zero tolerance for waste, systems able to convert waste to wealth and energy, and dump sites inexistent.
Think of our own airspace agency sending Nigerians to space, our Nigerian flag having a place in the moon, probes sent across the eternal length of space, building a Nigerian space ship, discovering new life in mars and other distant planets.
Imagine our homegrown languages becoming official lingua franca in business and government premises across the length and breadth of our land and our languages accepted as international languages. Imagine a Yoruba, Igbo or Hausa textbook on mathematics, science, chemistry, physics, law etc. It would be easy training our young minds with our mother tongue rather than having to go through the learning process of a new foreign language.
There is huge possibility when we choose to work with a collective zest. We can do so much and more when we have the Nigerian dream.
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