Stop condeming Nigeria, we doing better than most countries (2), By Sunday Adelaja

Nigerians Are Not Fair To Nigeria

I’m sure I’m not the only one who is sick and tired of all the tales of woe about Nigeria. In this article I will mainly write in snippets and points to make it easier to read. I have written seven books on Nigeria and her greatness, now I am giving you some bullet points for easier digestion.

1. When Nigerians talk about their country, it is usually in terms of contempt, criticism and even hatred.
2. If the hatred and anger is not directed at the nation, it will be directed at the leader. Most Nigerians believe that we have had bad leaders since independence and that is our problem, I believe this is debatable, again compared to other countries.
3. I personally say that we act like this because we are too concerned about his aspirations for the country, which is not bad.
4. Our expectations are too high, we are impatient and unrealistic in our desires, which is a form of greed.
5. When it comes to leadership, I think Nigeria is not that bad: Tafawa Balewa, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Yakubu Gowon, Murtala Mohammed, Gen Obasanjo, Shagari, Mohammadu Buhari, Chief Shonekan, Umaru Yar adua, not perfect but some of the best compared to the nation’s historical leaders else.
6. When it comes to development even here Nigerians are not doing justice to their country. Nigeria is number 24 out of 200 countries in the world
7. In addition, it is the youngest and most successful country, there is no country younger than Nigeria and richer than them. We are the richest of all the young countries in the world
8. Countries that are richer and bigger than ours have a longer history and civilization than ours
9. We often compare ourselves to the US, Germany and the UK today, are we being realistic?
10. Let’s see what life will be like in America when they are 150 years old, not when they are 60 years old like us but when they are twice our age.
11. In America it is worse than it is in Nigeria, which actually takes time to build a country
12. Nations are not built overnight. Poverty was worse in England a hundred years ago, than in Nigeria today, China is nothing to write home about
13. Just a hundred years ago the average life expectancy in America was 47 years, almost 150 years after independence, we had 54-60 years but we did not have 150 years, only 60 years.
14. 100 years ago only 14% of American homes had a toilet or bathroom, it’s almost like Nigeria today what America is doing, they work hard and continue to build their country.
15. When America is 150 years old, only 8% of Americans have a phone in Nigeria at age 60 it is almost 70%
16. The average income of each person in America is 2000 dollars, In Nigeria in 60 it is close to 3 thousand dollars not after 150 years like the USA
17. Hospital conditions are so bad that 95% of all births are at home in America, after 150 years of independence.
18. The level of illiteracy is almost the same as in Nigeria today, although in the land of oyinbo most people cannot read or write. In 150 years only 6% of Americans have graduated from high school. In Nigeria, the literacy rate is 60% in 60 years.
19. After 150 years, the 20% of Americans who are considered wealthy have slaves, servants and maids in their homes, while the rest of the population is subject to the 20%
20. Speaking of Canada, they actually passed a law banning poor people from entering their country for any reason, the country is a jungle country in their values.
21. So every nation grows and develops into a great nation according to how much dedication and hard work they do. Rome was not built in a day.
22. Let’s talk about Nigerians today in America today. Although Nigerians are a small part of the US population, 17 percent of all Nigerians in the country have a master’s degree and 4 percent have a doctorate. In addition, 37 percent have a bachelor’s degree.
23. To put the numbers into perspective, only 8 percent of the white population in the U.S. has a master’s degree, according to the Census survey. And 1 percent hold a doctorate. About 19 percent of white residents have a college degree. Asians come close to Nigerians with 12 percent having a master’s degree and 3 percent having a doctorate
24. Stephen Kleinberg, a sociologist at Rice University who conducts the annual Houston Area Survey, suspects the percentage of Nigerian immigrants with graduate degrees is higher than Census data suggests.
25. All Nigerian immigrants reached in a random telephone survey 1994 through 2007 – 45 households in total – Kleinberg said 40 percent of Nigerians said they have a postgraduate degree. “It’s a higher level of education than we’ve found in other communities,” Kleinberg said.

Unregulated Population Growth in Nigeria is Our Albatross

To those who say we have nothing in 60 years of independence:

STOP talking about your country, do your research, show your empirical evidence.

Compare Nigeria’s achievements and track record with the great countries of the world today when they are 60 years old or even when they are 100 years old as independent and sovereign countries, especially countries like the UK and the USA. You can only objectively assess the situation when something is comparable.

1. If it wasn’t for unregulated population growth, Nigeria would be rated higher than the tiger countries of Korea, Singapore or Taiwan, as you can see below.
2. If we had adjusted our population to grow at the same rate as for example England we would have lived better than some countries in Europe.
3. Despite many failures, the results of economic growth can only be compared with the middle belt countries of Kuwait, UAE, Qatar, and Japan. I am presenting you with the facts here, so put them aside and think about them.
4. In 1960 our GDP was about 4 billion dollars, with a population of 45 million, which means per capita is 88 US dollars per citizen.

Sunday Adelaja is a Nigerian born leader, transformational strategist, pastor and innovator. He is based in Kiev, Ukraine.