As we prepared to give our readers a bumper Independence Day edition to mark Nigeria’s National Day celebrations, the Editor came across this interesting question on Quora.com. It’s a question many have asked. Dr. Brai Malik’s response could best be described as ‘loaded’.

Here goes: Why is Nigeria doing so poorly as a nation even though Nigerian immigrants excel when they live in other countries?

I shall be expositing on just three of the many reasons why I think my dear country, Nigeria, is not doing well as a nation. These are:
I. Poor Leadership;
II. Poor Followership; and
III. Faithlessness in the Nigeria Project.

Poor leadership: There is no doubt about the fact that as a nation, we have not had the best of leaders; the quality of leadership has been bad. This has also translated to a bad quality of followership.
Unpaid salaries, a bad welfare system, and poor working conditions for Nigerian workers are evidence of failed leadership in my dear country. Public utilities are not working in our land. The Power Holding Company of Nigeria (mostly remembered as N.E.P.A. (never expect power always), water supply, roads, hospitals, and transportation, are all in a sorry state.
Our leaders have been to developed climes and seen how things work there but the will to make it work here is not in them. Where it exists, the Nigerian system (also consisting of the followership) will fail it. How do you explain a situation where leadership is unable to generate electricity for the nation but the citizen can generate electricity for himself 24/7 by purchasing a power-generating set? Power-generating sets are all over the country. They are imported into the country with reckless abandon. The government issues licenses to corporate entities and individuals for that (purpose). Those in government are making money through such activities as well as those who import them. Then, how will government be able to do the needful?
The same goes for transportation and what have you. We produce oil but are unable to refine it in the country because our refineries are not working. How will they work when there are oil marketers who have been issued licenses by the government to do the refining? Mhennnn! The entire system rots! I can go on and on.
A satirical music video done by Falz, a Nigerian musician and social reformer, aptly captures what I have written here.

Poor followership: When you get to most government offices to transact any official business, you will see the rot in followership; thank your stars if you meet the officer who will attend to you at his table. Even if you do, will he attend to you with dispatch?
Diligence is lost to the winds. Some have turned their offices to sale stores; to eke out alternative means of livelihood since salaries are no more regular. The attitude and behavior of the followership is aptly captured in the true life stories I came across in a WhatsApp group I belong to – which I hereby share:

Story 1
A wealthy man was approached for help by a man in desperate need. After a deep thought, the wealthy man called his driver and said: “Here, take this N50,000 and a bag of rice. Take this man to his house. If he shows you a woman with a newborn baby, give him the money and the rice. If, for any reason you do not see them, return the gifts to me.”
The driver took the man in his car and they drove into the city. They got to a house and the man entered, then came out and said that the nursing mother was not in. The driver said the husband should phone her to come back to enable him to deliver the errand. The man said she had no phone. The driver said he would then wait till she returned.
When the man noticed the driver was bent on doing as his boss ordered, he looked at him straight in the eye and said: “I have a proposal for you. Forget about women or no women. Take the rice and give me the money.” But the driver refused. The man then said: “Ok, let’s do it this way. Take the rice and let us share the money”. Still, the driver refused. The man finally asked him: “How much do you want?” The driver said: “I want nothing other than either to see the woman and hand over the items to you, or I return all to my master”. The man looked at him angrily, hissed, and simply walked away.
When the man walked away, the driver also left but stopped at a roadside shop and told the owner he needed cash urgently, so he would sell his N20,000 bag of rice for N15,000. The shopowner quickly paid and offloaded the rice.
The driver went home and informed his master that he had carried out the assignment. His master asked him if the poor man’s story was true and he said he saw the nursing mother. The master then said: “Now take me to the family to enable me to assist them more properly”.
The driver took the rich man towards the city, but while the car air conditioner was on, the master noticed the driver was sweating profusely, his hands were shaking on the steering wheel, and his speech was incoherent.
The master ordered him to park and asked what the problem was. Seeing there was no point lying, the driver confessed to the other man’s guilt. He handed over the N50,000 and the N15,000 for the rice and pleaded for mercy. He then drove his master back home.
The wealthy man told his friends what happened and opined that: “This is the problem with our society. Someone will seek your help. Unknown to you, he is a fraudster. If you help him, he has cheated you and will continue. If you don’t, you feel guilty because you are not sure. Society will also say you are merciless. Similarly, someone will ask for a job, like this driver. If you reject him, you feel you are fueling social problems. If you employ him, he cheats you. What kind of society is this? How can this problem be solved? Who can correct this anomaly?”
Neither the wealthy man nor his friends could answer the questions because honesty has become a rare commodity in our society.

Story 2
An old man carried out a social experiment. He was walking along the pedestrian sidewalk at Utako, Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city, when some cars (in a bid to avoid traffic) turned on the sidewalk, driving towards him.
Everybody gave way to the vehicles, but the old man did not. The driver almost hit him but he stood his ground. The driver honked. The following ensued:
Driver: Oga, common for the road! (meaning “Man, leave the way”).
Old Man: No, Sir; this is the pedestrian walkway. You should go back to the road.
Driver: Are you blind? You no see traffic?”
Old Man: I see it sir, but that doesn’t give you the right to drive on the pedestrian sidewalk, Sir.
A man and a woman came down from the vehicle.
The Woman: Respect yourself ooo! If not for the white hair I see, I for deal with you!
Old Man: But ma’am, your driver is in the wrong lane. Your anger should be directed at him, ma’am.
After a while, about thirty people gathered.
They all saw the old man as an irritant person, causing trouble. People in the vehicles in the stand-still traffic also joined in the verbal assault.
Baba! Why are you embarrassing yourself in public? Don’t you have shame?
Old Man: It’s not about me, guys. It’s about this driver driving on the pedestrian sidewalk!
The mob came for the old man and pushed him around; someone slapped him, and he saw anger and bile in the eyes of the mob. He tried to explain to them why he was not wrong in the incident, and how the driver on the pedestrian sidewalk was the offender.
They wouldn’t have any of that! They pushed the old man out of the way and the driver drove off. The people stood there, jeering at the old man. The old man stood there, taking it all in: he allowed them to have their fill.
To them, they had just carried out justice!
Silly, frustrated old man! They chorused.

Folks, these are the average Nigerian people. They are angry at the government. They are angry at the Police. They are angry at everything. These are the naira is useless folks.
But they don’t see the irony in their action against the old man, a very sincere and upright Nigerian. They are usually united against oppression. But this time, they identified with the driver breaking the law and were against the old man, trying to uphold it.
Truth be told, the problem with Nigeria is not completely the government nor the police. The problem with Nigeria is Nigerians. It’s interesting to note how the average Nigerian talks about how those in the corridors of power oppress the people. He talks about how those in government are ‘fantastically corrupt’.
But if he ever gets the opportunity to be in power, he’ll do the exact things he condemns! All through the twenty or so minutes on that road at Utako, not one person saw things the old man’s way. Not one person was enlightened enough to understand the pedestrian sidewalk is strictly for pedestrians.
Until we understand these simple lessons in Civics, we won’t go far as a nation.
The summation of the problem of Nigeria, as a nation, is not necessarily only the government but it’s the people as well. They are the same people that complain every day about the leaders. They are the followership. They keep complaining as if they are saints and do not have a part in the poor performance of the country. We pray for change but do not work out the change we so much desire. Prayer without works will lead us to nowhere.

Faithlessness in the Nigeria Project: Anything we do not believe in, we do not attach any value to it. So, we would not strive to make it work. The Americans have so much faith in their country. The same can be said of most developed climes. Therefore, they value their countries and do all things in the interest of their countries. Former American President, Donald Trump said ‘America First’ and everyone keyed into it. John F. Kennedy, also a past American President, is credited with this popular quote: ‘Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country’; and the citizenry embraced this because they had so much faith in their country. Faithlessness by the people in their country can not achieve this. Because many Nigerians do not believe in Nigeria, they migrate to other climes where things are working out. But past and present leadership and followership in these other climes worked out their countries and are still working them out, for generations. They did and are still doing because they have faith in their countries. They stayed and held the bull by the horns. And indeed, they are now better for it. And migrants, the world over, are now enjoying the fruits of their labour. We can replicate the same in our country. The bottom line is faith in the Nigeria project; then a re-birth in our thought patterns and processes and a general re-orientation of our psyche will follow. Nigeria can be great, once again. It can. It all depends on you and me; as major stakeholders in the Nigeria project.
Editor’s Note: This piece by Dr. Brai Malik was culled from Quora.com. The title “THE PARADOX OF NIGERIA: Struggling Internally, Winning Externally” was given by “Accomplish Magazine” as the author only provided the question in the second paragraph of this article.