WHAT IS WRONG WITH NIGERIA?

yeah.its mad,selfish,corrupt,gimme more word.that's the problem

i think every thing is wrong with nigeria, maybe nigeria was destined never to work.

Before delving into any detailed analysis of our subject matter,I will like to state my conclusion from the outset.Viz:the problem(or what is wrong with this country)is leadership,or better still,the lack of it.
There is no gainsaying that Nigeria is one of the richest countries in the world inhabited by(borrowing Franc Fanon's words) one of the most wrecked of the Earth.This is one of the greatest paradoxes of the modern age.

According to Achebe,C.(1983),there is nothing wrong with the Nigerian waters,lands,air or its vegetation...the trouble with Nigeria is squarely the failure of the elites to live up to the collective aspiration of the Nigerian masses.I dare say Nigeria has never had a National leader since its inception.The lack,on the part of the National Petit bourgeoisie, of the requisite productiveness,patriotism,vision,discipline and commitment to transform national goals,plans,policies,and programs into reality, is the crux of the problem.Thus,the elites have used the state and its instruments to pursue their parochial interest to the detriment and chagrin of the populace.
We have an unproductive elite in this country whose only means of production is the state.They have privatized the Nigerian State,thereby,making it their personal estate.This people use any means available to them to gain,retain,increase and demonstrate state power-which is by extension,their personal power.Occasionally,some other people in their rank challenge them for access to the power they enjoy.This is the bedrock of the warlike nature of Nigerian politics.This accounts for election rigging,thuggery and other forms of electoral malpractices in this country.
To me,the problem with Nigeria is POLITICS.The politicization of of almost all spheres of the Nigerian social formation is the major problem with this country.Some of you may say ethnicity,religion etc are problems.However,I will not agree with that.On its own,Ethnicity(which is the pride & sense of belonging which emanates from ones membership of an ethnic group)is not a bad thing.What has made it appear bad is its politicization.It is the politicization of religion that has made it a monster.

In the ECONOMIC front,the preponderance of politics in Nigeria has given rise to a situation where economic decisions are taken based on political considerations.The S.A.P project,Privatization and the appointments of officials manning the institutions responsible for our fiscal and monetary policies,are just few cases in point.When economic decisions are taken based on political consideration,the outcome is almost always disastrous.And when this happens,it is the people that will feel the negative externalities.Because the development-defined here as a qualitative cum quantitative improvement in the standard of living of the people- will be stifled.

I'll like to stop here.I did not intend this to be an article(just a comment)but with the way things are going,I'll make it 1.It will be continued in the Political Science & International Relations Group's Page.Thanks for ur time.

FOR FURTHER READING,SEE THE FOLLOWING:

1.Chinua Achebe,"The Trouble With Nigeria",London:Heinemann,1983
2.Okwudiba Nnoli,"Ethnic Politics in Nigerian",Enugu:Fourth Dimension Publishers,1978
3.Ake,Claude,"The Political Question" in Oyediran Oyeleye (ed) Governance & Development,1996

AFRICAN POLITICS INDUCED BY HER FORMER COLONIAL MASTERS.

Im reading this time and time again. Blaming all on the colonial masters.

I ask you what was Nigeria like before it became a colony?

And dont get me wrong i dont mean this in a negative.
 
Im just wondering. What would it have become? Any idea? How do you see this?
Where things better or worse after it became independent?

See Australia is still a colony in a way we are still under English rule.

This is not an issue of colonial masters.It's an issue of the mismanagement of the commonwealth by some self serving kleptocrats.