WHO IS TO BLAME?

Have you ever noticed that whenever Nigerians gather together to discuss Nigeria that all we do is complain and point out all the bad things about the country. We are either complaining how bad the power sector is or how the those in power are thieves or how police men are killing us with that trouble and so on. What we hardly talk about is the solution to these problems, and we do happen to discuss the solution to the problem we lay all the work at feet of the “government”. I must ask who is the government if not the people, true we have those who are the face of the government (such as the president , governor, senators etc) but in the end we all form the government and have a role to play in make Nigeria better.
We keep expecting the government to make things better but the truth is they can only do so much. It’s a fact that we have a lot of issues with those in seat of power but all the blame cannot be laid at their feet. If you are looking for who is responsible for putting this country in the mess that it is in today the you need only look into a mirror, yes there are those who are more responsible than others but you played a part. You may ask, ME? And I say yes, you. How, you wonder? Follow my thinking for a minute and you will understand how: I was born and have lived in Lagos all my life. Two major issues that we have had in Lagos for as long as I can remember is traffic and the pollution due to rubbish littering the roads and general environment. The government in Lagos has put in traffic lights and other road regulations as some measures to help reduces congestion and organise traffic, but how many people obey these traffic lights and regulations. A typical Lagosian, once he reaches a light will check if there is a LASTMA or police official around and if he sees none will beat the light if he can. If everybody follows his example imagine the chaos or when there is a bit of traffic people will turn a one way road into a two way road or at times a 3 lane highway into a 5 lane highway. Tell me, how will the traffic issue ever be resolved? After this we will gather and complain about the increasing traffic jams and how the government is doing nothing about it. Another instance is where we complaining how dirty the area is, yet we do not hesitate to wind down our car windows and fling rubbish unto the street after all it’s already dirty- ever heard the saying- tiny drops of water make a mighty ocean, well tiny scraps of rubbish make a huge pile of rubbish. All our little rubbish is what created those piles that we complain that the government should do something about. These are just two small examples, apply it to other areas of life, do you see how you helped define your environment?
It’s true that those at the top often fail to carry out their responsibilities but that does not mean you should fail to carry out yours. You are not responsible for the actions of others but you are responsible for your actions and your response to the actions of others. Before you act think about what the multiplier effect of your actions would be on your society. Those in power have a part to play in restoring our nation but so do we. Instead of complaining about how others fail to do their part, DO YOUR PART,LIVE UP TO YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES AND TAKE YOUR PLACE. If everybody focused on doing their part we would definitely do some progress. It’s time to ask what can I do to make my community, my society, my country better? Stop waiting for someone to make things better, GET UP and in your own way make things better . No one is too small to make a difference. Remember - tiny drops of water make a mighty ocean. Am determined in my own way to make a difference, to TAKE MY PLACE, the question now is ARE YOU?
Nessa D