I was in a taxi with my elder sister some weeks ago. On route to the hotel, a particular vehicle kept making noise with his horns which was quite loud, but that wasn’t the problem. The problem was that, it was releasing this very thick black smoke (I hear it is called Carbon mono-oxide) as it sped past so much so that my little nephew was coughing. We had to wound up our windows. So I said, “this car is not meant to be on the road, its constituting a health threat to the public, what kind of nonsense is this?” the taxi man replied, “well, the people in authority do not get affected by this kind of things that is why nothing is done about it.” This singular incidence/discussion was what made me think about it, how did Nigeria manage to stop Ebola from spreading across the nation? Then it occurred to me, it started killing the rich first.
I mean look at it, our educational system has been on the rocks for a very long time and nothing is being done about it. Our rich politicians and other wealthy citizens quickly send their children abroad to live and study there. Then when they return home, they take over daddy’s company or through the high connections of their wealthy parents and family friends they quickly land a very good job in the best companies and with the best work benefits and life goes on.
Our roads are never built until a bus full of passengers fall into a river or a very catastrophic event occurs on the highway, that’s when they bring their huge equipment to start construction that may last for another 10 years. Meanwhile, our rich leaders rarely travel by land, and their children either live abroad or they never travel by land too. Minimum wage is not paid or increased until students have to stay at home for at least 4 months, while the rich kids are graduating in their private or oversea schools. These and many more are the way things happen in our dear country. When it doesn’t affect the rich or the who is who in the society, the rest of the populace can go to hell.
Now back to Ebola in Nigeria, Ebola started at the airport that’s one place to find rich people. I mean the tendency for it to get to the rich from there was higher than if it was discovered in Ajegunle or the poorest districts in the society. The speed and response at which the government responded to this disease is evident in the fact that if it spreads through those who can’t afford the medical bills, it will be worse and uncontrollable, worse off, If it spreads through illiterates who can’t even understand English or what they are saying in the news, it would have taken a while before it will even be discovered. That is why the whole salt and water thing spread like wild fire…I pity the educated people who indulged in that.
The point of this post is to encourage our people, in the little way we (as civilians) can and the leaders whose responsibility it is to build our nation. Millions don’t need to die before we fight boko haram, families don’t need to be wiped out before we fight flood, accidents don’t have to happen before we build our roads, buildings don’t have to collapse on people before the minister for housing will do his job, etc. just like we nipped Ebola in the bud, let’s do the same for every problem that surfaces in our nation. It will help us a lot and go a long way to build the people’s confidence in their leaders and in our Nigeria.
Just a thought.
I mean look at it, our educational system has been on the rocks for a very long time and nothing is being done about it. Our rich politicians and other wealthy citizens quickly send their children abroad to live and study there. Then when they return home, they take over daddy’s company or through the high connections of their wealthy parents and family friends they quickly land a very good job in the best companies and with the best work benefits and life goes on.
Our roads are never built until a bus full of passengers fall into a river or a very catastrophic event occurs on the highway, that’s when they bring their huge equipment to start construction that may last for another 10 years. Meanwhile, our rich leaders rarely travel by land, and their children either live abroad or they never travel by land too. Minimum wage is not paid or increased until students have to stay at home for at least 4 months, while the rich kids are graduating in their private or oversea schools. These and many more are the way things happen in our dear country. When it doesn’t affect the rich or the who is who in the society, the rest of the populace can go to hell.
Now back to Ebola in Nigeria, Ebola started at the airport that’s one place to find rich people. I mean the tendency for it to get to the rich from there was higher than if it was discovered in Ajegunle or the poorest districts in the society. The speed and response at which the government responded to this disease is evident in the fact that if it spreads through those who can’t afford the medical bills, it will be worse and uncontrollable, worse off, If it spreads through illiterates who can’t even understand English or what they are saying in the news, it would have taken a while before it will even be discovered. That is why the whole salt and water thing spread like wild fire…I pity the educated people who indulged in that.
The point of this post is to encourage our people, in the little way we (as civilians) can and the leaders whose responsibility it is to build our nation. Millions don’t need to die before we fight boko haram, families don’t need to be wiped out before we fight flood, accidents don’t have to happen before we build our roads, buildings don’t have to collapse on people before the minister for housing will do his job, etc. just like we nipped Ebola in the bud, let’s do the same for every problem that surfaces in our nation. It will help us a lot and go a long way to build the people’s confidence in their leaders and in our Nigeria.
Just a thought.
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