NewStats: 3,262,152 , 8,176,247 topics. Date: Sunday, 01 June 2025 at 01:04 AM 2x2n70

Certainly, there is large-scale and deep-seated corruption, but corruption ranks very low on the list of Nigeria's problems.

Let me illustrate with Nigeria's power supply. Imagine that in the 70s, when Nigeria started experiencing sporadic power outages, the Federal Government had disbursed sufficient funds to States, and tasked them to produce their own Power.

Predictably, some States would have done better than others in this regard. Industries would have relocated to those States that provide uninterrupted power supply. Inevitably, some States would experience economic boom, and, unfortunately, some States would lag. But, more significantly, the entire Nation would not be economically crippled.

By extension, imagine that every State was empowered to develop their own natural resources and control their resource wealth! Nigeria would have long had a diversified economy, and the Government won't just be talking about diversification as they have been doing for decades. Economic diversification creates job opportunities. Massive job opportunities improve economic well-being of citizens. Economic well being enhances quality of life, breeds happiness and contentment, and brings peace and security.

Allowing States to control their resource wealth would not have been a radical, new concept, but a tried and tested system that is practiced in most advanced economies. But Nigeria's centralized system effectively hindered diversification of the economy, and prevented advancement. Basically, Nigeria ran an economic system that strangled progress, and nationalized poverty.

Economic centralization has also been effectively used by Hausa-Fulani oligarchs to control the national wealth. In fact, the conspiracy of Hausa-Fulani faction has retarded Nigeria's progress more than corruption. Since the 1966 counter coup that followed Nzeogwu's coup, all National plans and decisions were made with the interest of the North, leading to continued decline and ruin of the country. Allowing States to develop and control their resource wealth would have been the sensible thing to do. But it would have clashed with the interest of the North. A centralized economy empowered Hausa-Fulani power structure to brazenly siphon resource wealth from the South.

However, Nigeria's biggest problem is cluelessness of leadership!

Consider the fact that Nigeria has remained exactly the way the British left it: a collection of tribes, rather than a cohesive entity.

Nigeria is not a Nation. Consequently, there is no patriotism. There has to be a Nation for patriotism to flourish, because patriotism does not exist in a vacuum.

Yes, periodically, a sporting event would capture the collective attention. But, at the end, tribal affiliation still holds sway.

The main problem is that Nigerians who inherited power from the British were utterly CLUELESS about how to fashion a Nation. With no ideas about what to do, they simply used the country's wealth to give themselves luxurious life, leaving the country to drift. Successive istration sheepishly following the same pattern, and the country has been drifting since independence.

I used NEPA (National Electric Power Authority) to illustrate the disadvantage of economic centralization. Talking about power supply, t is insane for the Government to have privatized such service of optimum importance in an emerging economy which has no protection for consumers. You don't get the services you pay for, and there's no penalty for the supplier!

(I've heard rumblings about the creation of regional police force. It is a form of restructuring and diversification. However, there's no economic benefit to this restructuring. If the salaries of State Police are not paid, like State civil servants are often unpaid, we would have created uniformed armed robbers. Just a thought.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eE0rbxuDkJw&t=425s

Click on the link, instead of the video.

The interviewee (at 7:05) is basically saying that he does not belong to the culture he practices and the language he speaks.

It shows the devastating effectiveness of Northern Strategy of DIVIDE and CONQUER.

Most people are unaware that Divide and Rule was the original objective behind creation of States.

Rivers people are the worst victim of Northern tactic of divide and conquer. Rivers people were carved out of Eastern region, given a special identity, made to feel special, and empowered to isolate themselves from Igbos. Then, they became powerless in isolation, and their petroleum resource was easily taken from them, and divided up.

Every development in the North, including Abuja, is largely from the natural resource of Rivers State.

When we were in the University, Northern students received bursaries and other financial from their State Governments, but students from Rivers State and other parts of Nigeria did not receive grants from their State Government. Meanwhile, the financial for Northern students came mostly from oil wealth of Rivers State!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twzvrSXKrdI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twzvrSXKrdI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twzvrSXKrdI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twzvrSXKrdI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9_v5hX11Kg

Mind your business!!

You are one of those fools who think you know what god wants. If god doesn't like anything, he or she can strike the person down with lightening or thunder or heart attack.

Tell your Pastor to tell everyone to mind their business

Satan.

I refused to give bribe when I was departing Nigeria in December. The immigration officer decidedly held on to my port, and kept stamping out people who gave bribe. I was not embarrassed to wait. I stood there, and watched money briskly change hands. I noted that many travelers appeared to be traders. And they seemed to accept bribery as a normal part of life. Eventually, the immigration officer tired of my quiet presence, and threw my port at me.

The situation at the Airport mirrors the scene at Marriage Registry in Ikoyi. Couples are shuffled from one desk to another. At every desk, you are expected to bribe clerical workers to complete processes that should have been finished before the day of marriage. The people who collected most bribe are the officials who ister the solemn oath of matrimony. My bride feared that we would not get through the process because of my stubborn refusal to give bribe. She did all the bribing.

Bribery in Nigeria is alarming and embarrassing. To me, the scary aspect of bribery is that our people have casually accepted bribery as a part of life, and inevitable course of events

If I acquire the type wealth that I am targeting, I will come home, and try to get the Government to do things differently. We are doing the very opposite of things that help Advanced countries move forward.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_o7xoAxEDA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_o7xoAxEDA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7o4dDoEh0Fw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7o4dDoEh0Fw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InbJrdO7akI