"One of the
penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being
governed by your inferiors.” Plato
Not too sure what the above quote has to do with the schematic of this
write-up, whatever it is though, the quote kept haunting me throughout this
weekend of bad news.
I got a call from my mum on saturday afternoon, I agreed to
grudgingly meet up with her (Saturday is my day of rest and I seldom meet up
with anyone). She broke the bad news; a 22 year old boy with a bright
future ahead of him had just died in a road accident involving a motorbike (okada) he was in. He had
gone to town for some engagements and had contacted his father as part of a
routine to pick him up at a junction close to their home, they waited, and he
never turned up.
This young man I can say we are family friends because we have been
attending the same church for years and his parents and mine have struck a friendship.
This young man was someone I knew, he was a good kid too.
A lot of people are sad, a family thrown into mourning for a death
that could have been very well avoided. I blame corruption for this, I
blame past corrupt governments for this, and I
blame lawless Nigerians for this and many other avoidable deaths. May
the blood of those who have died directly or indirectly from corruption related crimes forever
haunt those who have taken deliberate action to divert money meant for the
good of the nation into their personal pockets.
There is a reason why our life expectancy is 54 years old and we
rank 177 in the world life expectancy ranking statistics. Apart
from the chronic diseases that can kill anyone in the world, try driving on
Nigerian roads, you will be lucky to make it to 54 years old. People
are lawless; people have their young impressionable kids in their cars but
still beat traffic lights, climb on curbs and display a very high level of
irresponsibility. You are stupid if you wait for the traffic light to pass
you in some instances in this country you know? If you think I am exaggerating
come towards Shoprite apo resettlement, Abuja area during rush hour
and you will be amazed.
If this young man was living in a more responsible country, I doubt that
he would have died the way he did. Nigeria as we have always been told is a
country with plenty of resources, hell people have been stealing billions of
dollars for years so there must be some truth to that tale right? If we are as rich
as we have been told for ages why don’t we have good roads, efficient public
transportation system, and power etcetera, why? Simple, since 1969, government
has wasted every opportunity to help the citizens of Nigeria develop. So I
blame most problems we face today on Nigerian politicians of the past, if they
did their jobs we would have time to
start Petitions about ‘sexist
pricing’ like the Brits, or some other random luxurious petitions and not
the constant moaning about basic amenities we have to consistently busy
ourselves with.
My theory on corruption related crime is simple, if a government has resources
and refuses to upgrade its infrastructure or refuses to invest in better means
of transportation for its people, when someone dies because of this neglect the
government is to blame. Nigeria has had ample opportunity since we became
independent in 1960 to improve the lives of her citizens, unfortunately successive
governments have continually blown it.
Imagine that we had functioning trains, trams, buses, bicycle routes,
researchers continually working on new ways to improve the public
transportation sector etcetera, I am positive that many lives would not have
been lost the way they have. For one, the option of getting on a motorcycle
will not be in the equation because it will not even be a means of transport.
I just wish people that steal and divert public funds understand that
they are committing a crime with the potential of leading to the deaths of
hundreds of Nigerians. If you work in a public office and you are given money to
buy arms or construct roads please do it, you can never tell who you will kill
if you refuse to.
This
tragedy has affected me in many ways, for one I know I will work to ensure
Nigeria is a better place for my children. L L L L L
RIP young
man, Nigeria has wasted another soul. Sad! Sad! Sad! Avoidable Death..
NB: Next time you vouch for
a thieving politician because he is from your village or whatever remember that
his actions or inactions have led to many deaths.
