What really makes a place developed? Is it the skyscrapers? Is it the good roads? Rail lines? Or is it the provision of social amenities that guarantee minimum basic welfare for the citizenry? What makes a country developed?
As I juggle with answers in my mind, I remember a movie I watched sometimes back where one of the actors said that “politicians don’t like people who do good just because it is right. They get nervous.”
I ruminated over this quote and I began to understand why the rich protect their club from being crowded. It occurred to me that the more a society creates super rich individuals in material wealth at the expense of a greater majority with rich mindset, the poorer the society will become.
A country is as developed as the vision of the leaders. Every other thing is an add on and a given. Wealth does not create vision, it is the other way round. Visionary leadership propels quality mindset of the citizenry.
The big question had been whether it was the hen before the egg or was it the egg before the hen? Who or what gives visionary leadership to shape the mindset of the citizenry? A question for you and I.
Perhaps you are still wondering why we are struggling to make things work in Nigeria. One good reason is the relegation of the middle class and the growth of poverty index. For as long as politics remains a lucrative business in Nigeria, we cannot fix anything. You know why? The rich don’t like competition.
Look around, a society where political leaders compete with industrialists and entrepreneurs in material wealth cannot expect such leaders to fix the problem. If they fix the problem, they will not be able to flaunt their wealth. The rich don’t like competition.
A country that has regard for the middle class will produce a better informed citizenry. An informed citizenry knows what visionary leadership entails. It’s a cycle.
Things worked in Nigeria when the children of the rich and the not too rich attended the same schools and received medical attention from the same hospitals. The day things will begin to take shape in Nigeria is when the rich don’t have anyone to oppress with their riches. That is when politics will be of service and not a route to economic prosperity.
Let us be frank with ourselves. However beautiful your ideas are, if we don’t all get involved and fix the politics as repeatedly canvassed by Dike Chukwumerije, we can only wish that things get better but it will remain in the realm of wishes. Ask me why. Wishing is not a strategy.
©️Akin Oluwadare Jnr
10 January 2022
