The Nigerian Factor UNMASKED! Use the quick links below to access the sections of content in this report:
If you are a foreigner and have ever wondered(like many have) why a country as richly endowed as Nigeria continues to struggle under the weight of extreme corrupt practices in private and public sectors, bad leadership etc despite boasting of numerous talented individuals recognised across the world, then you have already "met" the Nigerian factor. On the other hand if you are a Nigerian, I may need to apologise to you for attempting to define what this phenomenon means to you. BUT again you could be one of those
Nigerians living in diaspora whose memories of what happens
here have been so clouded by multiple snowy winter seasons OR one
of the even more unusual home based Nigerians, whose comfy
well paying job(and/or over-invoicing facilitated business) effectively
insulates you from the devastating impact of the resultant damage
visited on other less fortunate citizens. In both latter cases,
I am hopeful that the education offered by this article will serve
as some kind of wake-up-call for you to the issues demanding your
immediate attention and urgent PERSONAL action.
1. ERRATIC POWER SUPPLY - Nigerian Factor is why many residents in Nigeria are forced to go without electricity for days, weeks even. And when they do have light, sometimes it is fluctuating(people will tell you woeful tales of damaged appliances like fridges etc). Other times it is too low in intensity - making electric bulbs deliver about as much light as candles.
This has nothing to do with the status or profile of the location or affected person(s). The problem is felt by people in the(so called)high brow Victoria Island, in much the same way as those in the slums do. We all know Nigeria has the money to solve this problem, but even President Obasanjo once remarked in a speech to Senior Military officers in Lagos, certain influential people (possibly those who own generator importation/sales companies??) have vested interest in preventing him from correcting this problem. If the Commander In Chief of Nigeria's Armed Forces can complain, then what hope is there for the ordinary citizens? THAT is THE Nigerian Factor at play! All this, when Togo(ask Stephen Keshi), Benin
Republic, Cameroon , Ghana and other smaller neighbours who cannot
boast half the financial muscle or human resource capabilities of
Nigeria constantly have citizens who find it difficult to even IMAGINE
what it means not to have power supply for a few hours. I know because
I have been to and lived in the last three of the four countries
earlier mentioned between 1997 and 2005.
2. FAVOURITISM - Nigerian factor is why our government seems incapable of convicting(without applying double, or triple standards) highly placed officials and leaders caught re-handed in corrupt deals or fraud. A number of recent instances prompting governments of foreign observer nations like the US to challenge the Nigerian government to reverse the trend! 3. GREED/LACK OF POLITICAL WILL - Nigerian Factor is the reason why people who played shameful roles in our history continue to enjoy flattering coverage of their activities by TV and print media when in other countries they(and their relatives) would have been too ashamed to show their faces in public. Incidentally many individual Nigerians make this possible since, they readily play up to these corruptly enriched persons with the aim of securing "rewards" for themselves - cash gifts, contracts, connections etc. Nigerians are so good at being flattery, that they get these characters to begin to fancy their chances of getting back into office!(Re: 2007 presidential aspirant rumours). 4. CONTRACTS FOR SALE - In both the private and public sector, Nigerian factor often makes it impossible for the most capable service provider to win a contract with a corporation - except s/he is willing to allow those to approve it pad the invoice so they can get a piece of the action - also called "over invoicing". In summary, the Nigerian factor is a maladjusted way of life, a warped manner of thinking perpetuated by an overwhelming majority of mediocre minds who refuse to believe that if everyone does the right and honorable thing, everyone will benefit. It manifests in form of
people(AND IT IS NOT JUST THOSE IN GOVERNMENT, BUT MANY
INDIVIDUAL NIGERIANS, IN THEIR DAILY LIVES) deliberately
choosing to do what is obviously wrong, and not in the best interest
of the majority, because they wish to secure selfish benefits for
themselves. As for those who say the Nigerian Factor does not exist or is no problem, all truth-telling Nigerians who come across them should know them for what they are: BENEFICIARIES OF THE CHAOS resulting from the Nigerian Factor. And that's why this is the only paragraph I will allow them a mention here.
It benefits anyone who wishes to get something for nothing. Who believes in taking what is not his/hers; who desires to maintain exclusive access to money and resources belonging to a large majority regardless of the negative impact on those consequently deprived. Any person who does not believe in fairness and equity, will benefit from an environment in which the Nigerian Factor prevails - like Nigeria, today, as at the time of this writing - 1st June 2005. It punishes anyone who wishes
to be honest and upright; Who wants to do the right thing; to treat
others fairly, and take only what is his or hers. In Nigeria, to
be this way is usually to sentence yourself to a life of discrimination,
suffering and lack(The exceptions to this rule are often people
who have found a way to "immunise" their means of living
from the influence of the Nigerian Factor, by successfully securing
international patronage, and recognition for their products and
services). If you choose to be good, honest, and upright, especially in a way that "negatively" affects those who benefit from the Nigerian Factor(e.g. insisting on merit-based approval of contracts), they will go out of their way to make sure you do not succeed. They will do this because if they let you succeed, their way will suddenly look less appealing to those who follow - and then people might refuse to follow it! Nigerian factor is the name Nigerians have given to a serious societal malady that continues to destroy the psyche - the very essence - of the average Nigerian.
The Nigerian Factor will bring any true genius to his/her knees. One example: Mohammed Ali, with his "boastful" refrains(e.g."Fly like a butterfly and sting like a bee") going by the peculiar pull-him-down mentality in the Nigerian society would NEVER have become a legend had he been a Nigerian who lived in Nigeria. You can tear your hair out and scream
in outrage at the foregoing assertion, but what I have said is FACT
:-)). The Nigerian Factor is why many brilliant, educated, talented
people FLEE this country when they can get the opportunity, sometimes
never to return. Why do you think our best sports persons are based
overseas? Why do you think our best brains are leading intellectuals/professional
across South Africa, USA and so on? I have been a victim of the Nigerian Factor, and can state from experience - and without ANY fear of contradiction - that it is the number one reason why Nigeria remains a crawling giant. Nigerians are their own worst enemies. They behave to each other like the proverbial crabs in a bucket! One of the strategic objectives of the SDA
is to progressively influence a sustainable change in the thinking
of individual Nigerians from engaging in this kind of behaviour
to one that actively promotes recognition of merit, integrity, honesty
and other positive values that over time will make engaging in activities
that perpetuate the Nigerian Factor unfashionable.
Everyone who sees it and either does nothing
to stop it or actually actively partakes in it is guilty of perpetuating
this destructive way of life. Even YOU could be guilty of this crime
- and you don't even have to be a Nigerian. In fact many foreigners
living in this country today are active collaborators in exploiting
the human and natural resources of this country by playing on the
Nigerian Factor.
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A list of specific ways people perpetuate the Nigerian Factor daily. Below is a list(that will continue to grow) of specific "faces" that the Nigerian factor has revealed in different circumstances to different people - and through different people. By producing and circulating this list, we hope to make it easier for people (Nigerians or otherwise) to understand what they may be doing wrong and how they can correct themselves. It's not that these things do not happen in other countries. They do. The problem is that in Nigeria, rather than be the exception, they are the norm! You have contributed to the Nigerian factor
every single time you..(End of FREE
preview) To read the rest of the report, you need to purchase a one-time, life-time membership subscription of $12.09 US Dollars to our group of websites. The rest of the report outlines a positive
attempt to specifically identify daily actions by individuals in
society that perpetuate this problem, ending with detailed steps
for every individual to take corrective action in his/her behaviour
as necessary. OUR APPROACH TO SOLVING SOCIAL PROBLEMS:- WE ENCOURAGE INDIVIDUALS TO BE SOCIAL CHANGE AGENTS The SDAc does not subscribe to asking Government
to do this or that, because we believe that - in Nigeria - changes
take place too slowly when that channel ALONE is pursued. Instead,
we address issues to individuals who will have
the moral courage to look objectively at them, and take the personal
decisions/ actions(about those within their area of lawful influence
or control) that will yield the most beneficial results for a larger
majority. If you are such an individual click the following link:
Learn
how to purchase your membership |
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