What Am I Thinking

What Are You Thinking?

Well I put together this blog Naira & Kobo, and mind you it is my second blog. My first blog Naija Talk kind of went to the wayside when I could not find time to continue blogging. However, and in my excitement, when I told a friend that I started a blog, the first thing he said to me was and I quote… “What are you thinking?” That phrase is what triggered my first post on this new blog and appropriately titled “What are you thinking?”

So, what am I thinking…?

What am I thinking? Why, after so many years and billion of Naira spent on generating steady electricity, we still do not have steady light in Nigeria?

What am I thinking? Why as a people we have been unable to build pliable roads for Nigerians to use to move goods and services. And why the few that we build only last no more than a year before turning into a pothole hell for travelers?

What am I thinking? Why after all these years, a civil war, multiple coups and counter coups, eventual transition to democracy and still we cannot find common grounds to co-exist as members of the same country? Why we hold onto this ethnocentrism that is pitting friends against friends, one religion against the other and one tribe against the other?

What am I thinking? Why, despite having some of the most educated people in the world, we still depend on China and other foreign countries and its citizens to design our roads, construct our bridges, install our power lines, supervise our factories, design our transportation infrastructure, manage our agriculture? In essence, despite our wealth of knowledge, we depend on foreigners to build our nation.

What am I thinking? Why we lack the ability to maintain the infrastructure we paid dearly to build? Why we let those structures slowly degrade and eventually abandoned, while we resort to buying from other makers materials that we have the ability to make for ourselves.

What am I thinking? Why we have over 270,000+ medical doctors and specialists living outside of the country and making tremendous contributions to those countries while our people die every day from the most common sicknesses. Why we have renowned Pharmacist all over the world and cannot produce common aspirin for our people to use relief for common headache?

What am I thinking? Why it is necessary to give that N100 to a police officer for the right to pass on a public road constructed with public funds? Why I have to tip the airport porter for my boarding pass, tip the security apparatus for them to search my luggage?

What am I thinking? Why I have to pay the customs to allow me to carry my locally bought products to my overseas destination?

What am I thinking? Why an elected official could believe that the life of a cattle is worth more than the life of the average Nigerian citizens. Why we have to kill a child for stealing food to eat and maim a lady for stealing a cell phone, while we worship our elected officials who daily pillage our public funds?

What am I thinking? Why in the year 2020, the only way to raise cattle in Nigeria is by grazing them all over the country. Why we cannot create farmlands specifically dedicated to raising livestock? Why we continue to contaminate our environment by the grazing and leaving cow dung all over our public roadways?

What am I thinking? Why we cannot contact our security apparatus without getting assaulted in the process by those charged with protecting us? Why the largest military in Africa is unable to contain Boko Haram regardless of who is their sponsors? Why it is so difficult for our security apparatus to contain the spate of killings, kidnappings, and theft throughout the nation?

What am I thinking? Why our leaders are so thin skinned that any constructive feedback or criticism will elicit the arrest and incarceration of the person giving the feedback? Why despite having freedom of speech, we cannot speak freely without risking arrests and a good beating in the hands of the authorities?

What am I thinking? Why any person in a position of authority can order the arrest and incarceration of the average citizen without making sure a crime was even committed?

What am I thinking? Why Nigerians love to live in poverty! Why the government has to tell us when to clean our neighborhoods. Why we are so keen to spend thousands of dollars to fly to oversea sites for vacation when we have some of the most exotic vacation locations in our backyard?

What am I thinking? Why we are so in love with life that we easily accept our deplorable conditions and be subjected to dehumanizing treatment provided we live to see tomorrow. Why we love our hard life so much that we have refused to do what it takes to seek and push for improvement of our environment?

What am I thinking? Why we will generate garbage, dump them next door and complain that the government is not picking up our trash? Why we will defecate all around our homes and complain about the smell? Why we will drive cars spewing fumes into the environment and complain that our eyes are burning, and our air is polluted? Why we still drive our cars on leaded fuel and wonder why we are developing dementia?

What am I thinking? Why whenever something does not go our way; we want to break away from our own country. Why the Arewa, Afenifere, Oduduwa, IPOB, MASSOB and other groups want to secede from the union whenever they fail to get what they are asking? Where is the compromise?

What am I thinking? Why we have to depend on the government to do everything for us. Why we cannot take responsibility for ourselves. Why we cannot stop building all these mansions without proper drainage? Stop building these big houses on our roads and on public access ways and complain the roads are too narrow.

As you can see, I can go on and on about what I am thinking…but I have to pause and let this sink in for a minute. Until the next time, never ask me or anyone that question again!