My country my not be the most developed country in the world but there is something we are known for which is the availability of natural resources. Nigeria is so blessed in all kind of ways possible. We have almost every form of natural resources that is capable of bettering the life of citizens. Starting from crude oil, Coal, Cocoa, rubber, rare gems, clean water supply e.t.c the list goes on and on.
I remember a lecturer of mine always joking about something, he said there was a time he grew so tired of being a Nigerian and he decided to find a way to get out of the country but he still couldn't. One day he was opportune to get a job at the airport, so he said to himself, probably he might get a chance to get out of the country through here, at least this is the closest he could get to getting out.
He said the strangest thing he discovered changed his mindset for the rest of his life. He said while working there, he discovered that there were more foreigners getting into Nigeria than Nigerians going out of the country. So he kept wondering, if the country is so bad, what are these foreign dudes coming in every day to do? There must be something worthy of traveling all the way here for. From there he realised that, it is not that the country doesn't have enough resources that can elevate the masses from poverty, it is just that the ruling class greed wouldn't allow it.
The availability of natural resources in my country is not a myth, everyone knows it as a matter of fact. Which one of the reasons why we are considered giant of Africa till today, we might not look like it but we are. The thing about natural resources is that, it only favours a country that knows how to manage their natural resources appropriately which is one thing my country lacks, which brings me to something bad my country is known for.
Apart from the abundance of natural resources, there is also something we have abundance of, it is corruption. We have so much of it around here, even if we should bleach the country with detergent, there will still be plenty of it left. This is not just about the ruling class, a citizen of Nigeria would rather take advantage of a weaker citizen and then blame the government. This is the sad reality of most citizens in my country, we believe the reason the country is in a bad state is due to our corrupt leaders, which is partly true but we all play a part in it.
Most workers in the private and public sector would never willingly do what they are employed for without taking bribes, is that also the government fault? Humanity has finally met its end, it is either the righteous once are all dead or they are yet to be born because it is getting harder to meet someone in my country that would genuinely help another without any selfish desire. Corruption is like a plague around here and sadly we are all infested by it, the few who have not been infested by this virus are getting plucked out everyday because in the face of mass wickedness and corruption, what hope does the righteous have?
This write-up was inspired by weekly featured content titled My dear country in hive learners community.
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