It is the people not the place that make the stuff of great nations.
Take all Nigerians currently residing in Nigeria to say America or the United Kingdom and in the same sweep ask Americans and Brits to move to Nigeria. If a comparative assessment is done after twenty years, the New 'Nigeria' under the Brits or Americans will show far more economic, technological and infrastructural superiority than the 'America' and 'Britain' populated by Nigerians.
The New 'Nigeria' will export renewable energy from solar, wind and probably be a nuclear power. There will be underground stations, trams, super-fast electric trains from Kano to Lagos and our educational centers will be Harvard and the new Yale. The New "Nigerian' passport will become stronger and no visas will be required when travelling to Switzerland or Canada. There will be ranches for grazing animals and our airports will surpass the architectural splendor of Changi.
I will not be surprised if after twenty years, Nigerians living in the New "America' and 'United Kingdom' would start applying for visas and residency status to come to the New 'Nigeria'. This is because as they would observe, without strong institutions, governance and value system, a paradise is nothing but a living hell. The real Yale and Harvard would probably be renamed after political office holders and New York may degenerate to the status of a local government. The Silicon valley will turn to civil service buildings and maybe pencil will finally be produced in the New 'America' populated by Nigerians.
While the logic of my persuasion is not undermine the ingenuity of Nigerians in every walk of life, it is however a subtle reflection of the leadership quagmire that have plagued Nigeria's developmental rhetoric. It is easy to make excuses for Nigeria's mammoth problems but it worthy to remember China and Singapore in our tell tales.
I end with this, till the fishes in Nigeria are consumed instead of Geisha and Titus and our tin tomatoes locally produced. Till the day corned beef is produced from our cattle and we import toothpicks and pencils no more, that is the when we would probably realize that it is the people and not the place that makes nations great.
