I pledge to Nigeria my country, to be faithful, loyal and honest…

Very deep right? It’s sad that the very people who make this pledge are the same ones who are unfaithful, disloyal and very dishonest. I can’t say I understand Nigeria very much, but like everyone else I have an opinion to give.  

When I was younger, all I had to do was go to school, live the baby girl life, pass my exams, collect prize (if possible). We were told that if you study a professional course you will be very rich when you grow up. I remember wanting to be a surgeon as at Primary 2 yet I was the newscaster for my primary school. 

My family was a typical Nigerian family, daddy always at work and mummy shuffling work and children care. My mum was just learning to drive when I was in primary school so it usually took us double the normal time to get to school. She was so careful with her driving because her precious babies were in the car. I read the news every Friday on the assembly ground dressed up in Yoruba attire and it was surely one of my high points.

Fast forward to senior secondary school I was so sure I was going to study law. Very active in press club, always talking, most punishments I served then was because I was making noise during class. Definitely I would have been a lawyer, until my school asked us to do 2 weeks internship in our dream career. This particular law firm I spent my 2 weeks internship was the most boring period of my life. It was so dry, I fought with my dad to change his mind about law because the man had plans… petroleum law, working in shell and things like that.

At the end of the day, I ended up studying something I loved and more than a year after I have come to realize it was all a farce. Every year, many graduates come out from the universities and colleges of education in Nigeria with little or nothing to contribute to the society.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, more than 200,000 alumnae graduate from Nigeria tertiary institutions yearly, but only very little number of them secure jobs after years of their graduation. The reason is because there are little facilities and ill-equipped lecturers/instructors who rendered poor services to the graduates when they were in their institutions.

And so, the graduates come out of school half-baked, without practical background to make good impact to the society, neither are they able to defend the certificates which they are holding.  The result is that they add to the unemployment level of the country each year.

The failure of the government to perform their constitutional duties has its own contribution to the high level of unemployment. How could I not talk about the high level of corruption in Nigeria, they say it is prominent among politicians but I beg to differ. Corruption is everywhere and it has resulted in the mismanagement of the funds and resources supposed to be used for the betterment of this country, which is just sad. Without going too far, Nigeria is said to be the 8th most corrupt country in the world. In this country with the right connections, money and power you can get away with anything and everything.

I used to love Nigeria but I’m not so sure anymore how I feel about my country. Sometimes I find myself wishing I was born somewhere else and it makes me unhappy. I’m sure there are many people like me wishing things were better, easier, more organized. Somehow as Nigerians we also have to play our part in reducing the level of unemployment in the country. There has to be a repositioning in our minds, a change of attitude for the future of the country. We need to understand our responsibility. It’s time we vote for people with credibility, answers and readiness to work.

I want a better Nigeria for me, for my family, for my friends and for my future. 

The question now is How and When?