Nigerians abroad are very visible on the web, no doubt, but that does not make them more knowledgeable than their compatriots back home. Certainly, it makes them more exposed and it creates in them a better awareness of the other physical worlds . Their experiences go beyond academic or literature inclinations. It is now also a function of participatory experiences. In the last decade, we have seen an aggregate of a pool of knowledge and ideas. Indeed, these knowledge and ideas are expressed daily in Nigeria as well.

So, what has been driving these writings and acts of criticizing from abroad? The answers are many folds. Those who have settled to life abroad have seen how human life is valued and treated as it should be, in ideal circumstances that is. They have suddenly experience a new life that they could not have previously thought was possible. They now live in a world where power failure is historic or archaic, for example. In some countries power failures occur only as a result of disasters like storm or earthquake. Even then, the problem is fixed within hours or a few days. It does not linger.

Living abroad does come with challenges, shortcomings and sometimes failure. Surely, such things are inevitable and bad things do happen in the developed world of course. But generally, living abroad reveals a more acceptable way of life than what millions of people go through daily in Nigeria. Around us here in the Diaspora, we see how people live decently; water runs constantly in homes and the electric heaters are always functioning especially in the winter months. We travel on good roads and the accidents and dangers on the roads are minimal. Generally, the public transportation systems are organized.

Basically, the bus and trains run on a schedule that will almost not fail save for snow storm, accidents, industrial strike action or other circumstances based on local situations. There are adequate buses and additional preparations are made for rush hours in the morning and after work time. In some countries, there are underground trains to take away pressure and congestion from the surface roads. The road transportation is extremely disorganized in Nigeria. It is dangerous and operated haphazardly. It is difficult to know who runs what in the Nigeria transport industry. It is unregulated and chaotic. Up to 1977 Lagos State Transport Corporation (LSTC) buses were fully operational. It seems that anything that is good is historic in Nigeria.

There are several other reasons why we write as Nigerians in the Diaspora. Many of the reasons are associated with our pains and frustrations with the way things are going on in Nigeria. Based on our new (or old) experiences and encounters out here, we are quick to draw comparisons with what we see. We make jokes of most of these things but in reality, we are disappointed and hurt by the system in Nigeria. Sometimes though, we wished we were back in Nigeria but the decision to return is one of the hardest to make. Despite some shortcomings and a few humiliating moments that Nigerians suffer abroad, only few people are bold enough to return back to Nigeria.

It is quite worrying that many Nigerian politicians and policy makers have spent some parts of their lives abroad at one time or the other. Some of them studied abroad while some of them have been travelling abroad since they got into influential positions. Many of them have children studying abroad or just squandering away stolen wealth! But their encounters abroad have not been used to transform Nigeria positively. But of course, the impact is obvious in their personal selfish lives. We can see that.

Writing from the Diaspora will continue to indicate that in Nigeria:

• The people are not properly housed as government has become negligent of this function for several years.
• A lot of infrastructures are missing. Infrastructure with a broad meaning!
• There is no social security for the unemployed and there are no provisions for old people or pensioners. In some parts of the world, pensioners drive the best cars and lived in the best houses.
• Our health delivery system is very faulty; Nigeria has one of the highest infant mortality rates worldwide. The incidences of killers like malaria and respiratory diseases should be a source of concern to the Ministry of Health.
• We have not fully utilized the strength of our work force (more than 140m) to a positive end. Hence some idle minds have taken to robbery and assassination as occupations. They are not justified but the system created these heartless citizens.
• In a similar vein, we have not used our natural resources to the fullest. All eyes are on the Niger Delta to get the oil to lubricate Nigeria. This is not fair to the Niger Deltans at all! We are destroying their environment and giving them little or nothing back
• There are myriads of problems in our country which unfortunately has affected our educational system as well but Nigerian leaders continue to buy or build mansions abroad and cart away billions of dollars for themselves, their friends, girlfriends and families.

On a different note, it is possible and quite easy to highlight the thousands of problems that face Nigerians. But how can we begin to make a difference and change things for the better so that we can pull back all the brains that have been drained and encourage progress, success and needed development in Nigeria? The first step towards progress in Nigeria is a change of the prevailing conditions; we need a purposeful leadership. What Nigeria needs is leadership that can show good examples and positive actions and not just empty words. We need complete abolition of the dreadful combination of greed and corruption in both public and private places. Until we take this first step (of enthroning purposeful legitimate leadership), we may not be able to move Nigeria forward. These phrases have been repeated and overflogged, yet no significant changes or progress has occurred.

There is a need to sit down and draft a purpose for the entity called Nigeria. What I have learned about Nigeria is that nothing has worked for good so far. Babangida’s Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) just like Shagari’s Austerity Measures left Nigerians poorer. The purchasing power of the naira is very low and this has made a mess of our lives. But maybe if Babangida and his likes have not been corrupt, perhaps things could have worked. If they hadn’t stolen the money that Nigeria made especially during the gulf war, maybe we would have succeeded. I am still looking forward to Babangida returning more than 10 billion dollars of the money that he stole so that we can build Malaria Research Institute at the College of Medicine of the University of Lagos, for a start at least.

The need to sit down and talk in Nigeria is again reverberated by the failure of Obasanjo’s administration and all the mess created in 8 years of wanton recklessness. The level of suffering in Nigeria today is worse than in 1999. The implication is that we still need the right brains that will discuss and move the country forward. It is an exigency! It is not optional because we need to discuss about our lives without relying on the opportunists and thieves in power.

Nigerian writers and critics at home and abroad and the real civil society should continue to emphasize the need for proper governance, adherence to the true rule of law and the promotion of the welfare of the states for the benefits of all and sundry. Wherever possible our active participations should be seen as proper models or acceptable norms.

aderounmu@gmail.com

Thy Glory O’ Nigeria…!

Robot  # 1 | 19.01.2008 10:54

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NWANZA  # 2 | 19.01.2008 14:23

There is a need to sit down and draft a purpose for the entity called Nigeria. What I have learned about Nigeria is that nothing has worked for good so far. Babangida’s Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) just like Shagari’s Austerity Measures left Nigerians poorer. The purchasing power of the naira is very low and this has made a mess of our lives. But maybe if Babangida and his likes have not been corrupt, perhaps things could have worked. If they hadn’t stolen the money that Nigeria made especially during the gulf war, maybe we would have succeeded. I am still looking forward to Babangida returning more than 10 billion dollars of the money that he stole so that we can build Malaria Research Institute at the College of Medicine of the University of Lagos, for a start at least. The need to sit down and talk in Nigeria is again reverberated by the failure of Obasanjo’s administration and all the mess created in 8 years of wanton recklessness. The level of suffering in Nigeria today is worse than in 1999. The implication is that we still need the right brains that will discuss and move the country forward. It is an exigency! It is not optional because we need to discuss about our lives without relying on the opportunists and thieves in power. This article is concise and right on the point of how things are viewed by Nigerians in Diaspora. More could be added to this to make a good shot book or blog. The things in QUTOE can be left out of the article or just your "bone of discontentment". It is better to move forward in finding solutions to the root causes of our lack of "Faith", and the acceptance of bad leadership for years and years without "IMPEACHMENT". I know that soon I will get of track, but we need to find intelligent solutions not quick solutions. Nigerian writers and critics at home and abroad and the real civil society should continue to emphasize the need for proper governance, adherence to the true rule of law and the promotion of the welfare of the states for the benefits of all and sundry. Wherever possible our active participations should be seen as proper models or acceptable norms. It is good to continue the criticism of bad policies and short comings(lack of vision) of our present government, so they can have that second voice. We have to be careful while making suggestions, so as not to appear like an attack. Sometimes it is the packaging of the proposals that is more powerful than the viability of the proposal. Let us package our ideas, and sell it directly to the government or indirectly through a grass root campaigne. Thank you!

Amy  # 3 | 19.01.2008 15:45

The fundamentals of how to break the jinx of regression in Nigeria have been sufficiently expounded on in the last 47 plus years of our independence. What I think is left is the singular opportunity for Nigerians to finally elect a group of radical leaders that will not look back as they finally embark on the process of completely overhauling the current system in our nation. We need a system overhaul that is self sustaining and that calls for outright radicalism of sorts. There's just too much at stakes- this is serious business! More than enough theories have been expounded, both from foreign writers and home-grown commentators. My sole prayer is that we get to that day when we will have the good fortune of electing a set of leaders that will take extreme measures to curb endemic and equally extreme trends. The answer is not necessarily found in advocating that those in the Diaspora return home, ASAP, to insert themselves actively in the process of change, even though I think that is a very worthwhile move. After all, the ilks of Andy Uba and Dr. Chimaroke Nnamani had extensive sojourns in cultures where accountability is the order of the day, yet their antics upon returning to Nigeria marked a new low in the area of responsible leadership. The author, no doubt, had a number of interesting observations but I really do not think our problem is as the author put it, "a need to sit down and draft a purpose for the entity called Nigeria." From the times of the phenomenal doyens of Nigeria's independence struggle to date, tons have been written on worthy purposes that we should be pursuing as a nation. Enough said already. Time now to actively agitate and pray that we somehow hit the jackpot and elect radical and visionary leaders with a conscience. Nigerians are clearly politically conscious enough to know their civic responsibilities and abide by them, so the problem is not ignorance but rather the fact that indiscipline and corruption largely go unchecked in Nigeria. Leaders with the backbone and exemplary qualities to hold Nigerians accountable are all we should be praying for. Obj had the backbone/radicalism but lacked the moral rectitude to effect long lasting changes. His story will always be one of a lost opportunity in my books. When that happens, I reckon we will need more prisons for a period of time as government radically descends on those that intentionally trample on the laws of the land with reckless abandon. Enough of the beating about the bush. Indiscipline on all levels is our problem, starting from the corridors of power, so I pray we have the good fortunes of landing ourselves an electoral body, unlike Iwu's INEC rigging machine, that will make for the emergence of credible reformers that will go beyond rhetorics and enforce the laws of the land to the later. That day will not come without a dialectics of confrontation at some level, so we better be mentally prepared for the tough struggles ahead. Someone needs to raise the standard and slam corrupt officials and lawless citizens with long prison terms and we will be en route to national self-recovery and self-healing. Until leadership is made unattractive to these unpatriotic criminals that continue to be attracted to leadership for the sake of filth lucre, we will be perambulating in circles with no significant progress made. We need nothing short of radical leaders that will have legitimacy, having won popular support of the masses, to be able to break the jinx. Until then, the transitional journey to the promiseland remains a long and despairing adventure with horrid turns and curves. Later o.

Enforcer  # 4 | 20.01.2008 03:38

=Amy;4294981724> Indiscipline on all levels is our problem, starting from the corridors of power, so I pray we have the good fortunes of landing ourselves an electoral body, unlike Iwu's INEC rigging machine, that will make for the emergence of credible reformers that will go beyond rhetorics and enforce the laws of the land to the later. That day will not come without a dialectics of confrontation at some level, so we better be mentally prepared for the tough struggles ahead. Someone needs to raise the standard and slam corrupt officials and lawless citizens with long prison terms and we will be en route to national self-recovery and self-healing. Later o. Amy Reading your post filled me with hope. At present, the people have the kind of leadership they deserve. When the people really want good leadership they will get it. Have you been following posts after posts by some villagers about Ribadu? Did you notice the nature of the ridiculous accusations levelled against Ribadu in an attempt to frustrate him? Did you notice these critics never considered the inherent risk Ribadu was taking in fighting corruption war Nigerians claimed they needed to fight in a country of unsolved assassinations? Did you notice how under the guise of the rule of law these critics rise up against anyone who dared to say anything positive about Ribadu?