With all the peculiarities
inherent in this nation , successive Nigerian governments have done very
little, to say the least. Nigerians are very religious people with
deep rooted God based attribution system, which has not transformed them
into honest and law abiding people and nation. The evidence clearly
shows that the more religious Nigeria became, the more corrupt the
government, the higher the rate of crime and worse the country. This can be
measured by the number of churches and mosques in Nigeria which has a
direct correlation with the worsening Nigerian society. This relationship
between religion and deterioration of Nigeria can no longer be ignored.
It would seem that religion is perpetuating ignorance, poverty
through exploitation, underdevelopment, prejudice and intolerance in ways that
are not helping the development of a culture of honesty,
tolerance, peaceful co-existence. Therefore, Nigeria cannot develop,
if it does not break the hold that religion and toxic ethnic nationalism have
on the minds of the people and enable them develop a balanced
moral attitude that ensures the rightful place of God in their lives.
Nigerians must be set free to question their religious beliefs and
orthodoxies and understand their religious prejudices, and allow knowledge to
inform whatever they choose to believe or think about others and the
transident. This is enlightenment. Without it, we will continue to grope in
darkness of ignorance, irrational religious dogmas, traditional beliefs,
self-consuming greed and magical thinking.
We
will have to enforce the existing Nigerian secular constitution and ensure
freedom of thoughts, beliefs and expression. The idea that people offend
by expression of their thoughts, would be abolished in the new Nigeria.
The new Nigeria would Train and equipe the security forces to crack down in
lawful ways and manners, on religious intolerance and bigotry in
any form or shape. Encourage Christians and Muslims to establish
Christian and Islamic association to look at religious tolerance and beliefs
and relationship between faith and science in a way that would enable
Nigeria develop, without being poisoned by religious intolerance and
self-induced and perpetuating ignorance in the name of faith. Without
this, religion that teaches the western education is sin will continue to
ground and Nigeria would be consumed in religious conflict like
Afghanistan and Pakistan, while the rest of the world moves on. Nigeria
should pursue moral values and principles founded on the time tested wisdom
of good religions.
One
of the greatest dieses is to be nobody to anybody, on our part as individuals
we can also help reduce poverty. If you can't feed hundred people then feed one
person. Strength does not come from physical capacity; it comes from an indomitable
will. Whatever u do will be insignificant but it is very important that u do
it, to give pleasure to a single heart by a single act is better than a
thousand heads bowing to pray. The best way to find yourself is to lose
yourself In the service of others. Hope is when what u think, say and do are in
harmony, an eye for an eye would only make the whole world blind.
No
country can have peace and development, if it does not have effective and
sustainable ways of creating jobs for its young people who graduate from
its various institutions and training programmes. In this wise,
the new Nigeria would priorities sustainable job creation. The
strategy would be to open up the economy, encourage creativity,
entrepreneurship and provide assistance to the people in a fair and
equitable manner. In this wise, the government will create more jobs in
the health, financial, construction, and legal professions for many other
professionals and clearly define the roles of professionals to avoid diffusion
of roles and ensure that other people other than the professionals
benefit from the sector. For instance the health sector should create
more jobs for, economists, administrators, health secretaries,
accountants, lawyers, architects, engineers and ICT specialists, in
addition to health care professionals. In the legal profession
minimum standard should be set for the opening of chambers that would
require a law practice to employ a minimum number of people and have a
minimum number of lawyers to operate. The same will be applicable to other
professionals. This alone, will create millions of jobs for young
graduates who are currently roaming the streets. With the granting of
university autonomy, change of land use act, restoration of state funded
education and social investments, the economy would be given the need
boost to generate and sustain growth. In addition, the government will
embark on the development of rail transport in Nigeria to link all the
regions and national capital will provide more jobs in the transport
sector than Nigerians can fill, kick starting the emergency of Nigeria as a
true economic power. This can only happen, if those who know how it
can be done are elected into office, which is the reason
why, Nigerians should allow the quality, content and plausibility of
the manifestos and plans to solve the Nigerian problems of the
parties or candidates, to determine who is voted into office. Nothing
will change in Nigeria, as long as Nigerians continue to determine those
elected as leader, on the basis of ethnicity, religion and wealth alone.
In 2015, Nigerians should cast their votes for honest Nigerians, who have
better plan and manifestos, irrespective of their religion
or ethnicity.
Victory will
come either peacefully by the powers that will be listening to the wisdom
of history and reason, or violently because they made peaceful
change impossible. This freedom is not only possible in a nation of
one’s ethnic group. It is possible in a multi-ethnic Nigeria. It is important
to understand that the reasons why those who fought for the overthrow
of colonization in Africa appeal to ethnicity and religion
to rally the people against the colonial masters, no longer exists. In
this post-colonial struggle, we cannot afford but emphasize what divides
us because victory depends on unity. It is a struggle for universal
values, which are not limited by ethnic boundaries or
religious convictions. It is a struggle for what makes us human and
we must unite to win.The fight for a better Nigeria can't be fought
successfully under ethnic and religious banners, to do so is to lose even
before the battle begins.
Nigerians must unite or perish. If a slave swears that
he's no longer a slave then he's delivered of slavery. There is still hope if
only we can stand to it and do what is right. I would drop my pen as I give u
the needed space to ponder even as 2015 is on the corner. Thanks
Maleeks Elisha......
