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(Codewit) — People are corrupt. The elite don’t care. The leaders steal from the people. Everything is falling apart and no one is doing anything about it. These are just some of the complaints regularly made by Nigerians about Nigeria.
There’s no doubt that these are valid complaints. Indeed, the car bombs which hit the capital Abuja Friday — — as the president and other heads of state gathered to celebrate the country’s 50 year anniversary — have highlighted that there are serious unresolved issues that Nigeria is contending with.
Widespread corruption, disenfranchisement of the people, greed and fraud have profoundly impacted the nation for years, resulting in a country that is operating well below its full potential in nearly every area.
Just last year, Princeton Lyman, the former U.S. ambassador to South Africa and Nigeria warned that the country risked becoming irrelevant if it did not catch up with other, better-managed African countries, such as Ghana, who are gaining prominence on the international stage.
As Nigeria celebrates 50 years of independence, it is clear that a major social and political transformation is needed if Nigeria is to move from being one of the poorest 20 countries in the world.
It will take more than a reshuffle for Nigeria to capitalize on its oil revenues (it has the capacity to produce over 3.2 million barrels of oil per day, yet only produces about 2.224 million due to unrest and security concerns in the Niger Delta); advance its technology sector, and massively expand the overall wealth and health of its general populace.
The old defunct way must be replaced with a new way, based on collaboration, a focus on the greater good and a bottom-up, citizen-oriented approach to leadership that will propel the country to greatness.
Nigeria’s transformation goes deeper than just changing leadership, building new roads, creating new policies or even having consistent power. The real transformation lies in the hearts and minds of every Nigerian, regardless of socio-economic status.
Lee Kuan Yew’s transformation of Singapore from a colonial outpost, poor in natural resources with no real national identity, to one of the most developed nations in Asia was based in large part on his ability to unite the Singaporean people and to engender in them a sense of pride in themselves as the ones to make the difference for their country.
Singapore provides a good example for the country and Nigerians must take the focus off the country’s problems and start talking about and working towards the country’s possibilities. It is time to start looking at Nigeria’s gifts rather than its deficiencies.
We Nigerians can provide a litany of opinions about what’s wrong with the country and what its problems are. Indeed, doing so has become something of a national sport. However, if regurgitating problems led to a solution, Nigeria’s issues would have been solved a long time ago.
Focusing on possibilities is not about re-branding — something which many Nigerians are skeptical about — nor is it about pretending that Nigeria has no issues. It is about looking at what can be done, what works, what is possible and what resources are available right now.
The real wealth of a country lies in its people and people is one resource that Nigeria has in abundance. It is with the people — all people — that Nigeria’s real promise for the future lies. Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew has often said that the country’s most valuable resource is its people and their work ethic.
Unfortunately, what Nigeria also currently has in abundance is disempowered and disenfranchised people, who are despondent, resigned and cynical about their country.
I assert that the continued focus on problems has led many Nigerians into what psychologist Martin Seligman terms “learned helplessness.” This is a sense of despondency and resignation whereby people come to relate to themselves as victims, locked into a system in which they are unable to make any difference or have any control.
In this state of mind, the situation becomes self-fulfilling — apathetic citizens do not take the actions needed to make a difference which allows those who do not have the country’s best interests at heart to continue doing business as usual, thereby reinforcing the powerlessness felt by the average person.
Looking at possibilities awakens people to the opportunities, resources and openings for action which can be hidden from view when we are feeling helpless. It awakens people to the knowledge that each of us must accept personal responsibility for having our communities work.
More than anything, it is about realizing and awakening the power of the human spirit as the key catalyst for major social transformation.
Empowered people take empowered actions. Focusing on problems has never been proven to empower anybody. It’s now time for all of us Nigerians to commit to looking at what is possible for Nigerians, to envision her future and to commit to working towards that.
Nigeria’s possibilities, not her problems, her strengths and not her weaknesses are where the key to a new future lie.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Lola Adesioye.
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