“Dear Nigerian youths, this is your wake-up call. If we want a better Nigeria, we must start with ourselves. Enough of the blame game. Enough of pointing fingers at politicians and elders.”
I have travelled far and wide. I have seen cultures, studied societies, and interacted with people from different walks of life. But I must confess—I have never seen a people like Nigerians. It is heartbreaking, frustrating, and deeply disturbing.
Imagine this: you create a business not just to make profits, but to empower your own people. You open doors, provide jobs, give dignity to those struggling to survive. You help families put food on the table. You create a lifeline in a country where unemployment is a national plague.
And what do you get in return?
Sabotage. Betrayal. Envy. Laziness. Greed.
Instead of guarding the opportunity like a sacred gift, they turn it into a cash cow—milking it dry, killing it slowly, and watching it collapse without blinking. It doesn’t matter that the business isn’t even making profit yet. It doesn’t matter that the owner is struggling to keep things afloat. All they care about is “chopping their own.”
From the security man who is supposed to guard the premises… to the manager entrusted with daily operations—they all have the same rotten mindset. The same mentality that ruined the Civil Service is now eating up the private sector. Like father, like son.
And we keep asking: Why is Nigeria not working?
Well, here is the bitter truth: we are the problem.
We scream every day: “There are no jobs!” Yet, when those rare job opportunities come, most Nigerians are simply not ready to work. They want salaries without service. They want blessings without responsibility. They think every employer is a fool with deep pockets.
A cleaner earns ₦200,000 a month—yes, you read that right—and still skips work without notice. No sense of duty, no accountability, no shame. And we wonder why the country is in crisis?
Let me ask you—what type of human beings are we becoming? What kind of blood flows through our veins? Why do we destroy the very hands that feed us?
Many patriotic Nigerians who have the means to create jobs are now locking up their capital. They’d rather keep their money in banks and earn monthly interest than go through the agony of employing ungrateful people. And who can blame them?
This is not how nations rise.
Look at countries like Rwanda, Singapore, or even the United Arab Emirates. These were once struggling nations too. But their people embraced change. They took pride in service. They worked with integrity, not entitlement. Today, they are glowing examples of what focused youth and committed citizens can achieve.
Dear Nigerian youths, this is your wake-up call.
If we want a better Nigeria, we must start with ourselves. Enough of the blame game. Enough of pointing fingers at politicians and elders. If you’re not committed to doing your part—if you won’t protect the business that feeds you—then you are part of the rot.
We need a total reorientation.
We need to overhaul our mindset.
We need to build a new generation that values honesty, hard work, and loyalty.
Because the way things are going in Nigeria today, I honestly fear for the future. And unless we change—not tomorrow, not later, but now—there may be no better Nigeria coming anytime soon.
•Mogaji Arisekola writes from Ibadan.
