NIGERIA: OUR CULTURE

A few weeks ago, the whole nation was shocked by the pictures of horror that came from the discovery of Okija shrines by the police. They were pictures of skulls, skeletons, and decomposing bodies. However, the priests who managed the shrines were surprised that some people were pretending to be shocked about the activities of the
shrine. According to them, the presence of the shrines is common knowledge to people who live in that part of the country. The shrines have been part of their culture for a long time.

The priests also stated their willingness to stop their activities having realized that they are no longer in tune with the times. The truth is that there are several factors in our culture that we must all agree to change if there will ever be development in this country.

Of course, there are very good dimensions to our culture that we must preserve, but we must have the courage to change what we need to change. If our political, religious, and business leaders do not initiate and execute change (or reform) in all areas of our national life, our generation will certainly be a failed one. I will discuss some cultural factors that affect that our development.

CONCEPT OF WEALTH
To combat poverty effectively, we must admit that it has become part of our culture. In other words, being poor has become a way of life for most of our citizens. A child born in this country is more likely to end up poor than rich. The prevailing ideas about what it takes to be rich are warped. Our system of incentives is not helping matters. Those who break the law find it easier to “make it” than those who don’t. In fact, our system aids the corrupt and punishes the one who seeks to do it right. The reforms being carried out by the government are laudable.

Religious and business leaders must enhance the campaign. We must all emphasize, that whatever the money and chieftaincy titles a person may acquire if he gets them through fraud, he is still a failure. Also, the government should stop being rich at the expense of the people. Government should help Nigerians to become rich by educating them and making it easy for them to start and build businesses.

The colonial mindset that makes citizens dependent on government should be discarded. The government should depend on the people and their taxes for sustenance. In fact, someone suggested that our oil money should be distributed directly to families after which each family should now give to the government in the form of taxes. I am not sure if that is the best solution, but we need something that radical to turn our economy around.

RELIGION

It has been established that religion has a tremendous impact on culture, while culture also affects religion. It should be good news that Nigerians are religious in nature. In fact, it was reported recently that Nigeria is the most religious country in the world. It is curious, however, that religions that have laid the foundation for rapid development in
other parts of the world have had little impact on our own development.

Truth is, those religions have been affected by our culture of poverty. Desperation for material comfort and greed have made it difficult for love for God and fellow humans to thrive in our hearts. Poverty has destroyed our moral values. Whatever power we can get from God we would rather use it for personal gain than for the common good.

That, however, cannot solve our problem whether individually or collectively. We must remember what the Apostle James said in the Bible; “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasure” (James 4:3). Religion, because of its emphasis on love for God and subsequent love for humanity, should breed selfless people who are willing to pay the ultimate sacrifice for the good of everyone.

It should breed people who have a mindset for radical change. Anyone who claims to be religious, who is not moved by the suffering of people in our country but only craves a breakthrough for himself, is a hypocrite. Like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr once said, “Any religion that claims to be concerned about the soul of man but is not concerned about his living conditions is a fake religion.”

EDUCATION
Education is a major tool used by developed countries to build a culture of prosperity and development. Of course, lack of education can also be used, by leaders in undeveloped countries, to dominate their people. The question to ask is “Is our educational system designed to produce innovators or conformists?”

LESSER VIRTUES
There is an urgent need for us to build a culture of courtesy, punctuality, cleanliness, and excellence. See the impact that pictures of beautiful streets in the developed world have on us. We need to treat one another with respect. Poverty has eroded the values we had before. We can cultivate them again.

Finally, let us CHANGE OUR STRATEGY FOR PROSPERITY and create a compelling vision of a new and developed Nigeria. A change in our culture of lack and underdevelopment will begin with a new dream – THE NIGERIAN DREAM.

Nigeria will succeed!