Back in the day, many Nigerians were comfortable with becoming civil servants. It was the perfect job for a young Nigerian. Not too stressful, assured and filled with growth opportunities. Until the cold hands of corruption held that section tightly, it was bliss.
The gradual decline of the functionality of the civil service can be linked to a host of factors, with corruption and the dwindling quality of life at the top. As generations replaced one another, living as a Nigerian became more difficult. The salary civil servants were paid could have been very great many years ago, but a consistently struggling economy meant those salaries became peanuts. Then corruption crept in.
Corruption grew across board. Every public office became jamboree first, an opportunity to raise the poor man in your neighbourhood next, and the work last. Civil servants learned to steal and politicians institutionalised the concept of corruption.
To find Nigerians giving a bribe today is very normal. It has eaten deeply into the fabric of our existence and the new school generations see it as a norm. That is the Nigeria that is being built.
Without cunning proceeds, it is extremely difficult for the average Nigerian to survive. Salaries finish before they land and the take-home of many people hardly take them home. Businesses are struggling and the country is losing its radiance to the pains of struggles.
The common Nigerian finds it hard to afford three square meals (even two these days). Less than 5 million Nigerians earn $10 or above per day. It’s staggering. And this reduction in the disposable income of the middle class is affecting the most local businesses.
Have you been to the market recently? Do you see the forlorn figure traders cut? Their incomes are reducing and civil servants bicker and whine. They only struggle to live by. To think of why they collect bribes will be a detachment from reality. Nigerians are happy people and without money, it’s extremely difficult. This is not a subtle defense of crime. It’s the stark yet painful reality.
Recently many young Nigerians are seeing greener pastures abroad, especially in the United Kingdom. It is a declaration of our struggles. Nigerians don’t fancy Nigeria. No human loves a struggling, unlawful and elitist society. Only the elite enjoy Nigeria and it is a step towards a societal dysfunction.
Should the middle class continue to find it difficult to survive, Nigeria will struggle to overcome its current travails. This is not about faith. It is about building a country to change the fate of its people. Electricity transformers don’t need prayers. They need to be repaired or replaced. Poverty and lack has made Nigerians more religious.
University graduates now leave to found their own worship centres, from their school fellowships. It is a moving business. The church is growing and Nigeria is sinking into a deplorable abyss. It’s all about the struggling middle class. The centre is losing its grip, and the fulcrum can’t bear the weight again.
The people and the government must rise to fix Nigeria, else Nigeria will fix us, and we may not like its approach.
*** Ifedayo Bakare wrote in from Lagos.
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