For over 65 years, you have existed, more than a century, as old as the creation of the world. When God created the universe, you were that part of the universe that came to be. He didn’t create separately from the earth. The word let there heaven and earth, formed what is today called Nigeria. An ancient of days but made to look like 65 years from the lenses of independence.
My beloved country, a land richly blessed and abundantly endowed. From the fertile plains of the Middle Belt to the oil-rich creeks of the Niger Delta, from the solid minerals hidden beneath our northern soil to the golden opportunities of our southern coasts. You are a masterpiece of divine generosity. Vibrant, creative, and resilient. No matter where a Nigerian goes, we shine in science, in art, in enterprise, in courage. Nigeria born for greatness. Yet, amid this abundance, there is a part of you I do not like.
That dark side where corruption thrives like a stubborn weed, choking a fertile farm. That side where leaders chosen to serve become masters of manipulation, feeding fat on public resources while the people groan in hunger and despair.
It is that painful reality where positions of power are treated as personal businesses rather than sacred trusts and responsibilities.
I do not like that part of you where the same people who should be protecting the masses are complacent, looking away while insecurity festers. Where insurgency is not just a war of the gun, but a business venture for those profiting from the chaos. Where lives are lost daily, yet committees are formed, budgets are inflated, and the circle of deception continues.
I do not like the Nigeria, where many of the masses, too, have become corrupt in spirit, excusing wrongdoing because “everybody is doing it.” Where shortcuts are celebrated, honesty mocked, and greed mistaken for wisdom. Where the system teaches survival by compromise, and the upright man is left to suffer for standing alone.
But I love the Nigeria that could be. Nigeria that should be and the Nigeria that ought to be.
The Nigeria, where justice is not for sale. Where leaders lead by example. Where the young are given hope, and not hollow promises. Where our natural resources are used for national progress, not personal profit. The Nigeria that rewards diligence, punishes corruption, and rises on the wings of innovation, hard work, and unity. That is the Nigeria we must build together.
We must rise above complacency and demand accountability from those in power. We must stop glorifying thieves and start celebrating integrity. We must reawaken the conscience of our nation.
Because the Nigeria I do not like should never become the Nigeria we accept. 2027 is by the corner, let the Nigeria we all crave for be that Nigeria that we would all vote for in 2027 without selling our conscience either for a kobo or a porridge of yam. We have, for years, eaten this porridge without getting satisfied and accepted this kobo without using it to pull ourselves out from the threshold of poverty. An act performed in same way and manner for many years wouldn’t have different result different from the result it is known for. Until we decide collectively to change mode, tactics and style, our results would always be same.
We are still being bent and forced into frustration, wallowing in pains of lack and abject poverty. 2027 is another window. Either to liberate ourselves from the strangulation of our perennial wolf leaders or to embrace them the more, suffering and smiling in the valley of lack, hunger, and starvation. The question is can we afford to act differently? Shun any kind of Inducement that would buy our conscience and tie us to the stake of hunger and starvation.
Dr. Jarlath Uche Opara Jarlathuche@gmail.com
