"Where Did We Get It Wrong As a Nation?"

Why do we often ask this question

whenever Nigeria dismays us? It's becoming nausiating to me because I see it as a cheap escape from taking responsibility by those who ask it.

Usually, after asking it, the questioner walks away and does nothing, waiting for another perfect occasion to ask the same question. It's like a cracked record. Very irritating!

Often, it is senior citizens who ask this question because they know where Nigeria has once been.

If the senior citizens ask this question, from who do they expect the answer? If they don't know, then who knows?

The Tokyo Olympics just ended and Nigeria, with a population well over 200 million, and 7th in the world, ended with 2 measly medals, a silver and a bronze. The development prompted that annoying question again this week. Gosh! How I hate that question!

Comparatively, Liechtenstein, the smallest country in the world with a population just over 38,000, had previously won 10 olympic medals--2 gold, 2 silver, 6 bronze. That's remarkable isn't it?

Among the largest nations, Nigeria is growing the fastest (by population please!), and is projected to surpass the United States by year 2050. Yet it has less than 10% of the land area of USA. That is frightening, isn't it? Dey shake head there. I know say nothing dey fear you. Me I dey fear. Giving birth to human beings appears to be our strongest performance. But what a performance! Even animals do that.

Hmm!

Even as I write, someone is still asking, "Who do us? Where did we get it wrong?" Nonsense! Who else?

We can't pretend. We know exactly where we got it wrong.

As I always say, the answer is in each of us. If you're looking for the importance and criticality of personal responsibility, let me tell you that 70% of the Olympic medals ever won by Leichtenstein were won by just one family!

We must ask ourselves individually what we do when no one is watching; what we say when asked to take responsibility; the direction we choose to follow when someone points the right way; the deafness and obsession with self when we hear a neighbour crying; the breaking of simple rules just for the heck of it; the shutting of our mouths when we see wrong perpetrated around us.

Where did we get it wrong? From the day you killed your conscience. From the day you began to lie about little things. From the day you personally gave and accepted bribes to circumvent responsibility and chart a shortcut. From the day you judged your own wrongs fair, and the wrongs of others an abomination. From the day you whitewashed your dirty standards with religiosity.

What I'm saying in a nutshell is, the blame is not with the other person. We know exactly where it is.

No one person is going to change Nigeria. It's simply not possible.

Let me tell you what is possible. One person is going to have to change himself, herself, and Nigeria will change. That person is YOU! You can't defecate in the public square under the cover of darkness and wake up the next day to criticise the government for not cleaning your shit! Who do you think you are?

(For more articles from my blog take this link: https://www.chrisekpekurede.com/blog)