It was a short trip from the popular Berger park Lagos to Orilemo, Ogun state. The driver was a fine jolly fellow in his early forties perhaps. I never asked him why he was picking passengers like myself by the road side. I just assumed that it was for economical reasons. A lot has changed in here. Many more Nigerians have since fallen under the poverty line due to human made causes.
Another passenger waved at the driver. He slowed down and quickly demanded to know where the passenger was going to- “shagam interchange” the passenger replied.
“One thousand naira” said the driver.
In time past, it only cost five hundred naira or less. Times have changed indeed.
I was going to blame President Tinubu but the fine man I told you about had a few words for me.
“You see” he bagan “Every state in Nigeria has a minimum of ten resources in commercial quantity. What this means is that we all have what it takes to be buoyant.”
“Sir, the selected rulers over us know this,” I queried.
“Exactly my point. It will interest you to know that they know. They know about the palm, cashew, coal, limestone, forest reserves, iron ore, gold deposit. They know all about it and what it can do for the good of all. Howbeit, the people thought them the unwritten rules of taking it all. Yes…take as much cake as you can because tomorrow, you may never get a chance at power.”
My host had so much to say. “When you go overseas, you’d be surprised about the level of efficiency. The roads are maintained, hospitals are functional, justice system does her best, the train system are reliable. Boy! There’s so much I cannot talk about in minutes. During my stay in the UK, I saw and had no reason to own a car. And that was because, the trains were cost effective. Owning a car wasn’t a fancy thing. Back here…” We both laughed.
“Alright listen! you think that these men aren’t smart enough to effect development? They are! But they know how to beat the system. For instance, when they intend to manipulate the judiciary, they throw away the constitution and adopt technical definitions. When they want to take funds away, they talk loftily about luxury cars and refurbishments of kitchens and wardrobes. If they really cared, they would have put in at least half the energy they put into siphoning funds for personal aggrandizement towards bettering the welfare of the people. Remember, they were taught by the people”
“But Sir, what more can we do?”
“A lot! It starts with the family and all other social structures. A child who is hailed for bringing back home a Mercedes GLK for instance without caring to know the source will one day emerge as the leader of the nation”
“God forbid,” I said
“Well, that is why God wants us to deal with root causes so that we don’t go about praying aimlessly. The Bible admonishes us to train up a child in the way they should grow. It never said we should pray a child in the way he should go. Where do bad leaders come from?”
“Certainly not from some strange land,” I replied.
“They come from amongst us. The APC or the PDP or LP are a reflection of who we truly are. An apple doesn’t fall far away from the tree. Bad leaders are made from bad societies”.
“Unfortunately, I will be alighting here.”
He dipped his hands into his pocket and handed me a card.
“Here, that is my number. I hope we get to talk some other times”.
– Olayinka Kayode writes from Jibowu, Ogun state.