14th September, 2010
A lot has happened since the last Independence Day celebrations. The whole brouhaha over the Christmas day would-be-bomber which led to Nigeria becoming a pariah of sorts has partially faded from memory, as more recent news have taken its place. Nigeria has lost a sitting president to natural causes and uncertainty hung in the air for a while, as people pondered what the next move would be in such an unprecedented situation. The constitution is very clear on the steps to follow should such a case arise; however, the fear at the time was if the law would be peacefully obeyed. Some people tried their very best to find means of circumventing the law, but in the end, they had to let the constitution reign supreme. The whole speculation over whether the current president, Dr Goodluck Jonathan would run for office come the next election has abated as all signs point to him running for the office of the president in 2011. The focus right now is on the elections as the hopefuls are preparing themselves and the Nigerian masses are wondering if there will be any difference this time around, or if it will be business as usual.
Nigeria has come a long way since its independence from Britain in 1960. So much water has gone under the bridge and now, at 50, it is only right to ask ourselves how we have fared as a nation.
Infrastructure
When infrastructure is mentioned, the first thing that comes to mind is roads. This is because Nigerian roads are overburdened. About 95 per cent of goods and passengers in the country are ferried from one point to the other via the roads. It is the only mode of transport for many people. Air fares are beyond what the average Nigerian can afford. There is no subway system, neither are the waterways an alternative. Many households in Nigeria have at least one car, which means that there are millions of cars on the roads on any given day. These roads take a lot of pounding and the result is obvious for all to see. The airports have none of the sophistication which other countries have become used to. The railroads have lain dormant for so long that market women have turned rail tracks into places to sell all kinds of products, notwithstanding the risk to their lives from the occasional trains that utilise the tracks. Power supply is exceedingly erratic and all the billions of Naira allegedly poured into reviving this sector have yet to produce any tangible results. I would like to say that the one area in which giant strides have been made is communications. The growth of telecommunications in Nigeria has been really explosive in a few short years. This is a very lucrative market and the investors have taken matters into their own hands by providing their own power and other kinds of infrastructure that are taken for granted by investors in other countries.
Security
The simple truth is that security in Nigeria is very poor. It is no longer news that the police are under-equipped, under-funded and under-trained to carry out their job in any meaningful way. There is a dearth of forensic science as a method of apprehending culprits. There are no security cameras placed at strategic hot spots of crime to help deter or apprehend criminals. This is why most crimes are committed with impunity. Kidnapping has become one of those things to live with instead of being fought. People have the burden of providing their own security, even if it means barricading themselves inside their own homes.
Religion
This is still a volatile issue in a country where there are different types of religion, but mostly Christianity and Islam. Adherents of both faiths have not learnt to coexist in harmony but rather, view each other with suspicion and barely disguised contempt. This is why there have been numerous religious conflicts in the past 50 years which have tragically ended the lives of too many souls needlessly. If after 50 years Nigeria has not worked out a formula for the two faiths to live together peacefully, then I wonder when this miracle will happen.
Education
The 1979 Constitution makes it the responsibility of the state and local government to provide education at the primary level. The federal government has concurrent powers with the state government over post-primary education. There is free primary education in Nigeria; however, it has not stopped a lot of people from denying their wards this basic foundation. Househelps are in most cases made to stay at home more days than they go to school; if they go to school at all. It is not uncommon to see very young children in the market hawking different wares when they should be in school. The universities, polytechnics and colleges of education are overcrowded while the private universities charge prohibitive fees. The youngsters who make it through the educational system often find it hard to fit into the job market due to a rather high rate of unemployment. The sad reality is that Nigeria is blessed with truly gifted individuals who will excel if given half the chance.
Healthcare
At the risk of sounding overly negative, it must be said that the healthcare system in Nigeria is a massive failure. You cannot call an ambulance to come to the aid of someone who needs help. Even if there are ambulances just waiting for such a call, how on earth will they get to the person in time through the eternal traffic jams and network of deplorable roads? If the healthcare system is so fantastic, why is it that highly placed government officials or their relatives are airlifted to foreign countries when they have the slightest ailment? The paradox is that Nigerian healthcare professionals are doing exceedingly well in different parts of the world.
Corruption
How can one evaluate Nigeria without mentioning the ever present corruption? Corruption is the major reason why Nigeria has so many problems which have not been solved such as the lack of power, refineries and good roads. Successive administrations talk about the huge sums of money that have been spent on these sectors, but nothing exists to validate such claims. On a brighter note, Nigerians are doing the country proud in different fields. Sports, writing, music, inventions and so on. I suppose if you can make it in Nigeria, with all the difficulties, then you can make it anywhere in the world.
Telecommunications is a very lucrative market and the investors have taken matters into their own hands by providing their own power and other kinds of infrastructure that are taken for granted by investors in other countries.
•Akunna Ejim can be reached on [email protected].