WHEN WILL NIGERIA MAKE ME PROUD?
With
my sticks firmly gripped and centered within the moving balance of the rowing
bike tire, my white turned brownish pants, naked upright skin and the
excitement filled atmosphere with a couple of other kids rowing along the
streets, suddenly; the outburst, shouting and screaming of excitement
compounded the social atmosphere with jumping and singing soon staging ; up
NEPA!!!!!!!! Won ti mu ina de, up Nepa!!!!!!!!won ti mu ina de...........(Yoruba
chorus). Dropping my tire and sticks along with other kids doing same; I
headed to our room to catch a glimpse of the recap of one of my best cartoon
shows (#tele tubbies , you know nah, lag kids!), after balancing well on the
couching chair with dust covered legs , in anticipation for an interesting
showdown, the TV suddenly turned dark and phased out followed with incessant
wailings, left right and from other corners ; Oloriburuku (unfortunate being)
ni Awon Nepa yio, Aye woon ko ni daaa ooo ( it shall not be well with NEPA people
oo) Chai e. Such wailings have not even ceased after years of my transitory
growth from a kid to adult hood in my own Country.
I
remember my groaning as a kid on public water facilities, most of us whose
families couldn't afford to drill a bore hole or a well, where always at losing
end, as many of those who could, lorded it over us and behaved as they loved on
what they assumed is their self developed water facility.
Our public schools
(mostly primary and secondary)have continued 2 be scary areas as far as the
sanity of educational institutions should accrue to in structure and
quality; quite alarming is the nature of this devastation in Northern Nigeria;
where students are out rightly pushed from one class 2 another whether they
score as low as 14℅or 18%.....
/100. You will hear; u dare not repeat those students. Physical structures are
nothing to write home about, conduct is also zero, as students flee schools
during class periods as act of truancy (which is an inclusive feature of all public
schools in this nation) and teachers row their parole all around, selling
and buying, and leaving school premises for other more important issues as they
deem it. I once had the opportunity to be enrolled in a public school in
Lagos state, and I was all tears because the average treatment and
physical infrastructure were negligent. I tanked my GOD till date that He saved
my head.
Back in school (from primary - university) we
football enthusiast both in play and cheering ; got no chances of progression 2
achieve our football dreams in at least any Nigerian football club or academy;
all we heard was principal's cup that was no longer principal, Aspire Africa
soccer clinic that was impotent. You will soon hear that to enter the golden eagles
team one has 2 know the father of the daddy of NFF's president.
It’s
quite devastating as government regimes have succeeded themselves over the
years, but since I was young and now that I'm getting old; I cannot account for
a profound developmental impact that was fast tracked by any Successive
Government in Nigeria.
I hate it when I remember
that as a kid; I criticized GOD for creating me in a Black man's land, and I
lusted after the lives of the white kids I saw in jumanji, Tele tubbies and
other American and European kiddies show. Up on till now many roads that have
been grossly dilapidated since I was a kid still lie there smiling and saying
we want to outlast you as my Country is a Nation where Problems struggle it out
with people and outlive them, where goodness become seasonal rain and drought
for the masses; it’s a sorry situation; but one thing I know; is that this
problems will never outlive me, Nigeria has only but 1 option; and that's for
her to work for the good of all her citizens.
GOD bless Nigeria.
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