By Nehi Igbinijesu
About twelve years ago, I came to realize while on a trip back to the university I was attending at the time, that the greatest resource in the world was not the oil that nestled in the vast water expanse of our Niger Delta or in the vaults of our N25 billion capitalized banks or in the stock exchanges of Lagos and Abuja. The greatest resource in the world is people like you and l; the singular reason why nations are rich or poor. I also realised that people are the reason for science, history, terrorism, diplomacy, freedom, injustice and all happenings- good or bad.
In this Information Age, investing in our people is the only decisive step towards national transformation. We must continue to drive home the values of prayer, hard work, diligence and truthfulness as God’s recipe for national prosperity. Wisdom is the principal thing. And I strongly believe our people need mental bombardment via the media, constantly reminding us of all we can be and the dangers of being idle. Our people need to be educated on how to create wealth, develop character and become devoted to community service. You do not have to wait for the government to disseminate the information that will move others forward. Rather, we must all share in this responsibility.
Start in your community, office, school or wherever you are today. Teach others what you know about obeying traffic signs and why paying taxes are not optional. Faith without works is dead. You cannot say you believe in this nation if you are not doing something in your domain to move Nigeria forward. We must believe in ourselves and in others because we are connected by destiny to change this nation. The truth stands that when you believe in people, they do the impossible. I see new politicians and government leaders whose unending joy will be to help the Nigerian people. I see new teachers and education administrators whose pride will be to impart possibilities to the souls of our future- the young people. And I see a generation of changers-the new Nigeria- whose contributions to the world would no longer be ignored, but respected for its depth and rich perspective founded on principles that have sustained humanity.
For ages, men have sought the true source of wealth in money, minerals and military conquest all to no avail. What they failed to grasp is that people are the true source of wealth.
There is no doubt that God is passionate about the Nigerian people and seeks to favour those who are genuinely concerned about their welfare. Let a passion for our people arise in your heart. Remember, you have just one life to live and one nation to build-Nigeria. This nation should be better than you met it because you read these words. Think people. Help people. And save people. God will see to it that you succeed.
Nigeria will be better again