THE MYTH ABOUT NIGERIA BEING WEALTHY

Nigeria has oil you may say and a land mass that potentially can feed the continent. How dare i call our Nation's wealth a myth, don't i see our vast mineral resources scattered all over the country. Dear friend, forget your belief that we live in a wealthy and blessed country because our country happens to be one of the poorest nations in the world. 

Before you say i don't know what i am talking about and push the article aside. Let me share with you an illustration. A few years ago, an illuminating World Bank report titled 'where is the wealth of nations? Measuring capital for the 21st century' undertook to measure the wealth of 120 world nations in the year 2000. 

The conclusion of that report is that it is NOT a country's tangible assets whether natural or produced; it is NOT a country's mineral resources, agricultural land, forests, industrial equipment and infrastructure which make the country rich and prosperous. It is rather the country's intangible assets, that is:

· the skills and know how embodied in the labor force.

·the ability of a nation to efficiently invest the rent extracted from the exploitation of exhaustible resources.

·the mutual trusts which exists among members of a society.

·their ability to work together for a common goal to which they strongly adhere and in which they firmly believe.

·the quality of formal and informal institutions

·the saving and maintanance culture.

·the extent to which citizens have confidence in the law of the land and abide by them.

And, ·patriotism, that is, both the extent to which citizens trust and support their government and the extent to which government trusts and supports citizens.

To quote the world bank :" Rich countries are largely rich because of the skills of their population and the quality of the institutions supporting economic activity".

Among the 120 countries scrutinized and ranked by the report. Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, the USA and Germany were the first five. Ethiopia was the last. Nigeria came just before Ethiopia.

Do you still believe Nigeria is wealthy? I guess not.  You must now realize how broke we are as a nation. Are you willing to help our country grow and become wealthy? Would you help us take our rightful place among the comity of nations. 

Become a solution provider. Become the leader you were born to be and you would be playing your part already.

Warmest regards.

Adedunmade Onibokun Esq.




Sent from Samsung tablet