Nigeria Content Online

We’ve
all seen them before – chunky, encyclopedia-like, statistical
publications that annually tell you how the world’s poor are faring. In
what would appear to be a celebration of poverty, these rather
dispiriting and scary books are ironically launched in ceremonies by
the international development agencies in Nigeria and in all other
developing countries. Disputes over authenticity of figures between
government and development agency are not uncommon.

If you come from
Nigeria, don’t expect to enjoy reading a book that reveals the
comparative scales of infant and maternal mortality, the scarcity of
drinking water, the infestation of men, women and children with
malaria, polio and HIV/AIDS, and many more evils on earth. Officials of
government very often do not know what to make of these statistics.
More importantly their realities are never adequately interpreted.

As we prepare to
celebrate 50 years of independence, the quality of life in our country
should be honestly evaluated in order to determine how Nigerians will
face the challenges of the 21st Century.

On that humid
October night at the Lagos Racecourse, not many Nigerians imagined that
they could be living without water and light, two of the basic
components often classified as “necessities” of life in the year 2010.

Great nation?

During the reign of
Shehu Shagari as president of the republic, he often punctuated his
speeches with the phrase, “this great country.” Later, someone said he
had been a poet, which had to be believed. The only misgiving could
have been that he obviously had no idea what the word “great” meant at
the time. Nigeria’s leaders are often sober and much wiser in
retirement, a factor that tempts them to plan a return to Aso Rock.

Later there was a
hilarious debate in the Obasanjo era over who would die for Nigeria.
Not many recall what led to the arguments, but only the rich declared
they were ready for the sacrifice, which is understandable. The poor
would of course be too weak to take up arms and die for a country that
has refused to recognize their existence.

Surprisingly many
Nigerians will easily tell you they come from a royal family, that they
are princes and princesses. It is not necessary to dispute these claims.

However, by the
percentage of the population claiming this status the country must be
dotted all over with shining palaces. Instead, over 40 percent of
Nigerians live without running water and regular electricity in their
homes, despite over a hundred research institutes and universities in
the country . If all black people were Nigerians we could be forgiven
for believing the racist thesis of the inferiority of the black man.

Waiting on Nigeria

The Israelis are
growing bananas in the desert; Arabs are desalinating sea water for
drinking. We read in history about efforts by the ancient Greeks and
Romans to build aqueducts for water supply. Many industrialized and
developing countries have explored and installed innovative and
auxiliary means of poverty alleviation – rain and floodwater
harvesting, solar, small hydro and wind energy. Everyone seems to be
waiting for Nigeria to arrive.