Notwithstanding that the Nigeria of today is not what our founding fathers envisaged, I am still hopeful of a prosperous nation. I dream of a Nigeria with resolute leadership which will prioritise national interests above individual and sectional interests. A country whose leaders are committed to developing the productive capacities of the nation.
A country whose political leaders are not self-centred and do not engage in misappropriation and embezzlement of public funds for their personal benefit. A country where anyone that steals from the national treasury is made to face the wrath of the law, instead of being rewarded with traditional and religious titles. I dream of a country driven by the politics of ideas rather than godfatherism, and ethnic and religious sentiments.
I dream of a Nigeria with leaders like Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela, who unify and inspire the citizens to uphold moral discipline and pursue their human potential.
I dream of a country where our leaders will pursue a specific course of action that will incentivise the economy. A country blessed with leaders that inspire high technological competence to foster economic development through information and communication technology. A country where job opportunities will abound.
I dream of a Nigeria with a diversified industrial sector where the manufacturing of commercial products and innovative ideas are birthed.
A post-oil Nigeria where the manufacturing and service sectors contribute more to exports, employment and the gross domestic product (GDP) rather than dependence on import-based finished products, thereby making our God-given resources remain underutilised.
I dream of a country with inclusive governance, with public policies based on scientific ideas, that is, evidence-based rather than on myths and superstitions. A country where industries observe international standards of environmental safety and protection.
I dream of a Nigeria where lawmakers make laws that are in the best interest of the public. A country where the legislators refuse bribes and lobbying from the privileged elite class to enact laws that benefit their interests to the detriment of the poor masses; where legislators represent the best interests of their constituencies, which aligns with the interests of the nation.
I dream of a Nigeria where the judiciary will be utterly free from undue interference from the legislature and executive; a judicial system that would uphold the supremacy of the law irrespective of one’s social status in the society; a system that is truly the last hope of the common man.
I dream of a Nigeria where citizens are patriotic and where the fundamental human rights of citizens are respected. A country that guarantees the right to private and family life; the right to dignity; the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion; the right to peaceful assembly and association; and the right to freedom of expression and the press.
I dream of a Nigeria where citizens can freely relate with one another in the spirit of national unity without any form of discrimination on the grounds of ethnicity, religion, wealth, or status; where both the rich and the poor can thrive favourably, respecting their individual differences without the unfair suppression of one over the other.
A country that rewards hard work and excellence, where the politicians and other public officials are not the richest among us.
I dream of a Nigeria where democracy can truly be upheld through free and fair elections; where the citizens take their destinies into their own hands through the election of credible leaders that will reflect their collective interests.
I dream of a country where our very best, both in character and intellectual endowment, will dominate the political space; where politicians will have no willpower to change the mandate of the citizens; a country without electoral malpractices and violence.
I dream of a Nigeria where citizens enjoy the dividends of democracy through the provision of social infrastructures such as uninterrupted power supply, good water, and good roads, among others; where Nigerians feel the title of ‘Africa’s largest economy’ in their stomachs and otherwise. A country where the citizens are not fed up and run to other countries to enjoy a quality and tranquil life.
I dream of a country where the leaders make an enormous investment in its transport sector, with a railway network that serves as an integral part of the transport system. I dream of an efficient aviation sector where there will be no operational challenges and flight delays.
I dream of a Nigeria where every child, including the girl-child, has access to quality education at all levels. A country with a well-equipped and well-financed educational system and world-class universities endowed with state-of-the-art research and development laboratories.
I dream of a country where admission to higher institutions will be based on merit. A country where educational institutions will no longer be a playground for corruption, nepotism, and internal rivalries; where lecturers will be accountable for their duties; and where lecturers will not seek sexual gratification from students for a pass mark; where our graduates are worth their degrees.
I dream of an era where our schools will be strike-free; where our students’ unions will prioritise the welfare of the students. I dream of campuses that are free of cultism and secret societies.
I dream of a Nigeria where the government will ensure that citizens have access to quality healthcare; where local hospitals will be upgraded to provide quality healthcare like their counterparts in other parts of the world; and where our leaders and the rich would patronise our local hospitals rather than jet abroad for medical purposes.
I dream of a Nigeria with reduced infant and maternal mortality rates due to a lack of adequate health personnel and facilities.
I dream of a Nigeria with well-equipped security personnel that would safeguard citizens’ lives and properties. A country where the security personnel do not solicit or accept bribes; where security agents are the citizens’ friends rather than subjecting civilians to inhumane and unlawful treatments that dampen our trust in them.
I dream of a country where there’s no safe haven for kidnappers, bandits, Boko Haram, and militias; a country free from ethnic and religious clashes, especially between herdsmen and farmers.
I dream of a Nigeria that truly lives out the dream of ‘unity in diversity’ by promoting the cultural heritage of the various ethnic groups such as sculpture, art, drama, poetry, and dance, among others, and traditional festivals. I dream of a country where citizens will appreciate the beauty and richness of our diversified cultures.
Though the reality of the nation obscures these dreams, I believe a better Nigeria is possible if we commit to building a structural and sustainable development. The following are my suggestions on how we can get to the ‘Promised Land’.
Effective Leadership
It is undeniable that Nigeria’s political culture rewards incompetent leaders over reform-minded leaders who demonstrate the capabilities needed to adequately address the prevailing problems of bad governance. By implication, the failure of governance in Nigeria is, unarguably, the result of incompetent leadership.
I dream of a Nigeria with leaders like Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela.
Nigeria needs a new model of governance in which political leadership is based on the knowledge and competence of both the political leaders and the electorate.
Leaders should be chosen based on track records – their professional backgrounds and accomplishments, community engagement and service – and views expressed on political, economic and social issues that demonstrate their intellectual pedigree to translate knowledge into effective, transparent, and accountable governance that leads to national prosperity, as well as sound (mental and physical) health.
The electoral commission should make it obligatory for aspirants of various public offices to make public their blueprints for scrutiny and appear during political debates for Nigerians to appraise their vision, strategy, and core values, including resource allocation and management plans.
Voters’ education is also indispensable in enthroning effective leadership. Citizens should be enlightened about their civic roles and rights, which will help in building an effective democracy.
And leaders should develop a decision-making process that starts with the community – involves the people – and represents the interests of the general public. In other words, critical public discussions of policy programmes before their adoption are extremely important in democratic systems.
Structural and Sustainable Economic Transformation
Nigeria needs an economic reformation that underscores the importance of providing public goods such as infrastructure, education, and security for growth and development which is attuned to the realities of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, climate change, and trade integration.
An understanding of regional differences within Nigeria and their distinct but complementary policy demands should be a fundamental cornerstone of this shared vision for economic development.
The fact that different regions require different approaches to economic management is demonstrated by the existence of an oil, industrial, and service economy in the South and an agro-industrial and solid mineral economy in the North.
Therefore, a stronger state engagement should aim to coordinate a more balanced distribution of resources, including labour, capital, and technology.
The government should also increase foreign exchange drivers in areas of competitive advantage, for instance, cocoa, rubber, palm oil, and cotton. A focused plan in each of these areas with an appropriate subsidy structure should be designed.
This will encourage high-quality production and provide backward linkages that help create small-scale enterprises, generate employment, and reduce poverty.
The economic transformation would also entail proactively tackling market failures, which include supply-side constraints on the productivity of firms and workers, such as unreliable power supply, which is not only a major inconvenience but also undermines productivity, especially of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and the informal sector; and demand-side constraints on people’s incomes and capacity to consume goods and services.
Nigeria can no longer afford to postpone the necessary but difficult endeavour of comprehensive public service reform.
Additionally, the government should increase social spending and expand the coverage of social protection programmes across the less privileged population.
Human Capital Development
For an all-embracing development, the government should not prioritise building infrastructures only – not that they are not important – building people should be prioritised as much. And the key actions here must include an investment in education at all levels.
The federal government needs to increase the annual budgetary allocation to the education sector, and be committed to teachers’ training, recruitment of qualified teachers, and curriculum review or redesign. An educated populace will unlock the nation’s potential and champion development on all fronts.
Public Service Reform
Nigeria can no longer afford to postpone the necessary but difficult endeavour of comprehensive public service reform. A hollowed-out, ageing, and incompetent bureaucracy cannot take on the daunting tasks of addressing administrative failures, especially in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Nigeria requires a capable government that can design and implement effective regulations while remaining responsive to the ever-changing global environment.
Training and capacity-building must become an integral part of the management of the nation’s human resources. The quality of public service must be improved by attracting the best and brightest from our educational institutions, the private sector, and the diaspora.
United Fight Against Corruption
Corruption is a major barrier to sound and equitable development. For Nigeria to win the fight against corruption, individuals that are unable to expose corrupt acts and fight corruption in all its ramifications should be considered unfit to hold any public office.
Reforms need to be made at all levels and arms of government. Policies such as the Treasury Single Account (TSA) and the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) that limit or make corruption difficult must be extended to the state and local government levels where impunity prevails.
Provision of Adequate Security
National security is of utmost importance because it guarantees the protection of every citizen, resident, and public and private infrastructure, as well as the economic stability of the nation. Nigeria needs a homegrown national security strategy that involves all institutions, including both state and non-state actors.
Preventing crime rather than apprehending criminals after they commit a crime remains the best way to combat crime. Hence, the security agencies should be adequately trained to handle violence, with the needed equipment to manage a crisis and curtail the proliferation of arms in the country.
The government also should monitor and evaluate the operations of the security agencies, allocate adequate financial resources to the security sector and ensure the accountability of security personnel. ♦️
Masha Allah 🥰 with such mind setters like you Nigeria will one day become a safe heaven to live
Good article, we all dream of such a country and we pray that my we or our children enjoy it.This is supposed to be mass circulated so that at least it will spark a fire in the upcoming generation OUR GENERATION.GOOD WORK PRXX.
Well, we pray that Nigeria will one day change, the change that will stay forever