WELCOME TO MAIN STATE

Welcome to Main State, a beautiful place so blessed with resources so precious as silver and gold, but sadly most are abandoned, laid to waste, even the human resources are not well equipped or managed.

When I take a stroll through the place, I always stop to catch my breath, what catches my eye, a sight not so easily forgotten. The mad man of Main State are at it again, with reckless abandon they carry out their act, with selfish motives and sugar coated lies to serve, they ascend to the office, the place of power; looting the treasury is a number one priority, the welfare of the people who put them in power is not their major concern, their avarice takes center stage, we need help the Eagle is falling.

Corruption wears a crown and has dug its roots deep into the system, spreading vastly like as contagious virus, the butterfly effect is crippling, bringing down every aspect of the economy. To mention but a few; health is failing; for the love of God, the health sector needs to be revamped, just because a lot of us have access to basic medical care either through public or private services does not mean that it’s the same story for the rest of us.

How many are walking around like living corpses?

How many will fall before the issue is grabbed by the jugular?

Concerning the issue of fake drugs, everyone can attest to the battle fought by the former Director General of NAFDAC, Late Professor Dora Akunyuli, thinking that it would soon become a thing of the past. What’s happening now? The people responsible for this must be snuffed out and not allowed any room to operate.

Education is crumbling, it is no secret that the educational sector needs to be revamped, and the culture of reading to pass amongst majority must be dethroned. Apart from the mandatory industrial training, I think the government should liaise with companies and industries in the locality of the school and engage the students in a course for community development projects on or off campus which are related to their course of study. The students could be grouped within the department or across departments, for example, after studying the terrain, students from the architecture and civil engineering departments can form a group to embark on a mini-project such as the design and construction of a pedestrian bridge; a large percentage of the project should be provided from the university funds, this would help give the students added experience and would help community development, it can also help to develop and churn out well baked graduates.

Power is sick; it is an important aspect of the economy and has become a case of different strokes for different areas. Now you see me, now you don’t, they have been playing this game since I was a child. Some areas are just more fortunate than others, I guess it rotates. I can’t begin to buttress the negative impact upon the economy, it’s crippling. The name re-birth didn’t change much; character is like smoke, you can’t hide it.

Housing is poor and most roads are in a deplorable state. Sports development is just another sector that needs more input. When I think about our problems as a nation, sometimes I think about probable solutions. In the area of sports, if at the State or Local government area level, the government holds an Olympic event which encompasses all active sports and gradually with time include new sport event either every two years or at a four year interval, it would help to develop and encourage sports men and women and this could also help to properly utilise the State sports facilities. Just imagine if each state should implement something of this nature, it would tremendously improve sports development. I figure that it would be easier for the government to get corporate sponsorship and be more financial viable to handle a project of this magnitude. Let the truth be told corporate organisations are indeed playing a good role and some leaders are trying in that regards.   

This big issue called corruption has eaten too deep like a cancerous cell; it would cause chaos and mayhem. Even when proper funding is provided from the top, down the ladder, things fall apart because somebody somewhere will not take the right action and do the right thing. Disaster looms and we are still suffering and smiling, the pain behind the smile would soon show on the face, many have fled in search of greener pastures, but have not been as fortunate as they soon find out that the grass is not always greener on the other side.

 Is there any hope for Main State? Will it ever become the best place to live in?

Only time will tell, if we only join hands and rub minds together, we could achieve great things for the betterment of all and Main State the envy of all.

The fire is raging and not many are bothered enough to try and put it out. This action begs me to ask, where are the patriots? Those selfless serving leaders, who value the people, uphold strong morals and cherish having a good name above silver and gold. Though there are some worthy of note, who are exemplary, establishing laudable projects, but their strength in numbers is much desired, desperately needed. Where are they now? Or have they all gone with the wind?

My mother used to tell me about the groundnut pyramids that have disappeared a long time ago. The agricultural sector was booming and was the mainstay of our economy but the discovery of black gold which should be a blessing seems to have done more harm than good. Easy money has breed cancerous corruption, many are in neck too deep to even start any righteous battle against corruption, and their silence over this matter is deadly. How long will we remain this way? Unless we come together to build our home, we may never know what it is like to experience true stability. The recent whistle blower initiative by the government is indeed a most welcome development.

We are blessed no doubt, with abundance of natural resources, land and manpower but sadly this has not translated into an almost perfect economy. If only many of our leaders who strive to be and stay in power, would look at the big picture and set attainable developmental goals to change the face of the Nation, we would continue to run this same rat race and never get out of it.

We can complain all we want about a lot of things, but the bottom line remains the same “Don’t wait for the government”, it is really not advisable to wait for the government to put necessary machinery in place before we can actualise our dreams. Our goals, our passions, our desires are diverse, to each his or her own. So as we work out our salvation, we need to work a way out for ourselves, each individual’s definition of success is quite relative; it all lies between you and your God.

On their part, people in power need to pay good attention to true governance and ensure to properly sensitise the public on services rendered, there’s a lot of work to be done to move this Nation forward.

On our part, we must work to ensure that in our niche, we practice what we preach and be the change we seek, and also never fail to always pray for this Nation and her leaders.

May God bless this Nation, may God bless her people and make us GREAT.