Why I Want My Own Country
Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju
Comparative Cognitive Processes and Systems
"Exploring Every Corner of the Cosmos in Search of Knowledge"
Summary
Makes my case for why I want my own country to prove that the power of a country is its citizens not its other natural resources
I have had enough of the perennial struggle for control of national resources in my present country, Nigeria. The struggle is forever on for who will be President or one government functionary or another. The struggle is conducted through coups, Islamic terrorism and high stakes politicking, with massive loss of human lives.
The whole thing is tiring because it looks to me like a group of people determinedly rushing backwards while the world moves forward.
At the heart of all this agitation for state power is what may be described as the cursed oil reserves of the Niger Delta.
I have the greatest contempt for this oil wealth.
It has corrupted the nation and the land of the very region it comes from. Vast sums of money flow because of it, most of it concentrated in political office holders and their agents, some of which office holders are described a earning more money than the President of the United Sates, the most successful global economy. Please forget all those stories about China being the No.1 economy. They can never be as long as they run a totalitarian system. All national systems at the moment are based on a Western model developed in Europe and the US is the apogee of that model. The country's foreign policy is often hypocritical but that does not change its global commanding position in almost every area of endeavour.
This Nigerian oil wealth has become a source of gargantuan laziness. It seems to have been central to the devastating civil war the wounds of which are still raw. Industrial culture, power generation, all the indices of modern civilisation have been developing at slow pace in the midst of so much supposed wealth.
Left to me the Niger Delta should become a separate country and leave the rest of the country to fend for itself. The Niger Delta will have a huge, unenviable task of managing the massive environmental and social disruption created by the exploration of oil in their homeland. I wish them well with the predatory oil companies who laid miles of pipelines above ground in inhabited areas and devastated prime zones of their livelihood.
I want out of such a ridiculous system.
I want my own country to prove that the charade represented by Nigerian oil is a farce that needs to be disposed of. I want to prove that what a country needs is not natural resources but motivated citizens.
I am considering acquiring a piece of land within Nigeria in order to prove my point. This land would exist as an independent nation, with treaties signed with the central and state governments ensuring the sovereignty of this nation.
We shall begin from ground zero, from bare ground with no construction, and from there make our point.
I will invite prospective citizens who are committed to serious work and whose remuneration will be the fruits of their work.
Our focus will be on developing a vibrant economy free of the curse of oil. No money from the Nigerian government will be allowed. All income and revenue will be generated from the initiatives of the citizens through trade with the rest of the world.
Anybody who believes they have invented something and need funding, technical guidance and an inspiring environment will be welcome. One of our gaols will be to generate an industrial culture from native inventive genius.
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Also posted at
Nigerian Development blog
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