Nigeria: structured to fail?

Worth a Read

The Nation

9 October 2011

Nigeria: structured to fail?

By Sunday Oguntola

The nation’s current political structure appears doomed and needs rethinking, writes Sunday Oguntola

Once upon a time, Nigeria was peaceful and prosperous. Its citizens walked with their heads tall everywhere in the globe. They travelled overseas without hassles. They schooled abroad and returned home immediately. There was nothing like visa scam and there was no Boko Haram. There were no bomb explosions. Nigeria had money. There was cocoa, hides and skin. Cotton was in abundance. There was groundnut, palm oil, and other agricultural products, all of which made the country one of the richest in the world. In short, Nigeria worked. And life was good.

But with the discovery of black gold, otherwise called crude oil, things have taken a full cycle. Nigerians are poorer. There is political tension. There are more bombs than foods. Nigerians fear Boko Haram more than the federal government. There is intense rivalry among the ethnic nationalities. Nigerians are fleeing the country as desperate passengers seek to get off a sinking boat. They make news for the wrong reasons everywhere in the world. No part of the country is secure and safe. The nation appears heading to disintegration. Nothing is working again.