by
Patrick Ogungbola
MD/ CEO, BLUEHEDGE REALTORS
We also wish all Nigerians a Happy 60th Independence Anniversary.
Indeed, we have many reasons to be grateful to God for our nation, Nigeria. Yes, we’ve experienced a chequered history of good, bad, and beautiful occurrences, but here we are – Together as one and One nation under God. This once again reminds me of Onyeka Onwenu’s song:
“In our differences lie our strength,
In our diversity lie our unity,
There may be many tongues, but one voice,
One nation under God”
This song is deep and it adequately defines us as a people. It is a great privilege to be called a citizen of this great nation, a land of abundance and enormous opportunities, comprising of different cultures and languages. This country is indeed very blessed, but unfortunately many only see the negatives, and what we see is usually what we get. This country has produced renowned and world class personalities in every field of human endeavours – Scientists, Engineers, Doctors, Lawyers, Writers, Pastors, Musicians, Actors/ Actresses and Comedians, Entrepreneurs… honestly, the list is inexhaustive. With the immense opportunities and potentials this country has, one would only wonder why we are still where we are, most especially when we compare other countries who doesn’t have half of what we have. Or could it be a case of ‘being spoilt’? A spoilt child will most likely grow into a spoilt adult if care is not taken. A child who gets everything at his beck and call, and he’s not trained to work to get what he needs will find it difficult to stand on his feet as an adult when he faces life challenges, no wonder my people used to say that, ‘A child that will be called Ashamu, will be Shamu, Shamu from childhood’ meaning that a child that will develop into a responsible adult will be known from childhood. So, could it be that if God had not blessed us with the abundance of natural and human resources, we would have put our brains to work and be more productive.
Amidst all these, Nigeria is a blessed and great country to live in. We may not appreciate what we have until we have a glimpse of what other countries experience, including the developed ones. I believe the below write-up titled, ‘Don’t Ever Curse Your Country’ written by ‘Brothers in Diaspora’ will throw some light into the point I’m making:
“If you don’t know how you are blessed, you will think your father’s farm is worse than your friend father’s farm.
$1 is N500 and so what?
Let me elucidate from my little experience. Can anyone in USA use $1 for breakfast? No. But in Nigeria N500 will feed you for breakfast and lunch. Majority of people’s monthly house rent (self-contained apartment) in the USA is $1,000 and above, and that is your own 2 year’s rent.
Have you ever paid for insurance before, insurance in the United States is $280 and that is over N100,000 monthly.
When last did you pay monthly phone bills? I pay almost N40,000 monthly and if I don’t, they are going to block my SIM. Your own MTN can be there for months without recharge.
When last did you work on Saturday and Sunday? This I do compulsorily and on regular basis.
Don’t get me wrong, the USA is better than Nigeria, depending on which angle you are viewing it. Do you want to hear the truth? Many people in Nigeria live a more fulfilling life compared to their counterparts abroad. Forget about all the packaging on social media and give credit to the good life you are living.
Do you know why they always come to Nigeria and rush back quickly? Because bills are counting and elongated freedom will put their lives into jeopardy. If you, as a black, attempt to emulate the whites, they will kneel on your neck. Apart from Congo, no citizens in the entire universe enjoy life to the fullest than Nigerians.
You are abundantly blessed but you don’t know until you get visa and relocate abroad, that is when you will know that your 8 hours job in Nigeria with free weekend is awoof. With 8 hours job abroad, you can only pay bills, you will need another 6 to 8 hours to save for the future and plan your life.
The truth is that the grass is green everywhere, it’s lack of vision by our politicians and skewed religious practices (which placed emphasis on miracles) that ascended Nigeria into a myopic tentacle of complete inertia”
I think the above write-up is worth reading more than once to really appreciate the message, we always think it’s greener at the other side; but there is no free accommodation even in Freetown, you have to pay. But are we now saying that Nigeria is in the best state as a nation? Of course Not! Far from it. There’s still several room for improvement; what we are saying is that Nigeria is not as worse as some people or other countries paints her, although we can be better.
This writer believes strongly that the solution to the Nigeria problem is just reorientation or call it reprogramming. A child born today and raised in this country will grow to become exactly like those who raised him or her. The aspiration of a typical Nigerian who gets into any political office is to steal, that’s how he’s been programmed. However, if he decides to lead with honesty, transparency and the fear of God, even his own people will not only abuse him, but also curse him, and may even disown him (for not stealing); it’s that bad. We have been trained with ‘entitlement mentality’, the mentality that this country owes us, and hence everyone is waiting for the right time and opportunity to eat from the ‘national cake’, which indirectly means stealing from the national treasury. Our problem is not poverty, it is poor orientation or call it twisted mentality; if it were not so, the already so rich politicians will not be striving to steal more, oh apologies please, I meant to take more.
This brings to fore the importance of the quote said by the 35th President of the United States, J. F. Kennedy (1917 – 1963), he said: “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country”. The meaning of this is clear even the unschooled; and this I interpret to mean that “our country owes us nothing, whereas, we owe the country a lot”. Indeed, we are seriously indebted to this country to make it better than we met it. We owe this country by rebuilding the already bad image, we need to start living by good example so that the unborn generation can be proud of the Nigeria we leave behind.
Dear Compatriots, we must arise and get down to work to make this great country greater and better. This is very possible with our collective effort and contribution. May God help us.
Happy 60th Independence Anniversary Celebration once again!! We wish you a blessed month filled with joy, good health and prosperity.
As usual, we want to remind you that we care so much about you, and that when it comes to your real estate investment and advisory, we are always here to give you the very best service you can never get elsewhere. This is our promise, and will always be.
Meanwhile, please find below the powerpoint presentations of our current properties for sale in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
Thank you.
Affordable Properties For Sale in LAGOS, Nigeria
Affordable Properties For Sale in FCT, ABUJA, Nigeria
Affordable Properties For Sale in PORT HARCOURT, RIVERS STATE, Nigeria
