It is no longer news that while some people are complaining of inadequate basic amenities such as good road, electricity and clean water, there are a good number of people who have never slept without light in this country. Do you know there is a big gap between the rich and poor in Nigeria? Of course, in almost every part of the world, there is always a gap between the rich and poor; however, the gap in Nigeria is huge, very huge. If you live in the centre of Lagos, it may be hard to notice this because we have so many people who the poor think they are rich, while the rich think they are poor, thus bridging the gap.
Last weekend, I went to one of the estates in Abuja to spend the weekend and almost forgot that I was in Nigeria. Everywhere was clean and calm; PHCN/NEPA did not blink the light once. My friend had to admit that everyone living in the Estate actually pay about One hundred thousand naira (N100, 000) per month to enjoy such basic facilities (minus other cost of living there). So you see? That means if you don’t have N100, 000 per month, forget about enjoying stable electricity, clean water and good road!
In another area, not too far from this Estate, the people are denied the privilege of drinking cold water from their fridge or fetching clean water from their own tap. Their electricity transformer blew up a couple of months ago and since then; PHCN officials who have gone round collecting contribution are slow in taking action to rectify the issue.
Lets imagine a man who was poor yesterday, who never enjoyed stable electricity or water supply, who struggled to provide a qualitative education for his children, who moaned along with others about the bad leadership structure of Nigeria suddenly finds himself in a better position to make things right, what does he do? Does he take action for the benefit of everyone? No, instead, he buys himself a bigger house with high fence to shut out the voices of others, buy a bigger generator to put an end to the epileptic electricity in his home etc. and soon, he forgets how life use to be on the other side. No wonder it is taking so long for Nigeria to bounce back!
There is a need for us all, whether rich, poor or the in-between to begin to think from me to we because if we must move forward and really bring about the total reformation we so much desire for Nigeria, then we have to really begin to get rid of selfish attitude. Know that there are others who are less privilege than you and try to make life better by also reaching out to them and take decisions that will benefit all! For a start, if you or your parents are in leadership position, tell them to look beyond the rim of their glasses and influence legislations for the better.
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