NIGERIA is our country. It is our father land whether good or bad. Therefore, to make it a better country is a task that must be done.

Knowing full well that the Almighty Allah is the author and the source of all true light and if we genuinely seek him, we are free from ignorance, superstition, fear and every kind of evil imaginations.
The crux of the matter is “how responsive are you and 1 (as Nigerians) to our responsibilities in rebranding our country (Nigeria) to an enviable position in the world? This question needs immediate answer by all Nigerians at home and in diaspora before we can then talk of rebranding our country Nigeria.

Let us begin from the family nucleus which consists of father, mother and the children. We need to start from the family because it is a microcosm of the society. Our cardinal sin which plague Nigerians today started from the family. As a result there is total negligence of our cultural values and norms by parents and our children, therefore rebranding of Nigeria must start from the family.

Before one can be responsive to his or her responsibilities, one will need to understand his or her responsibilities. This is the major malady (serious problem) afflicting Nigerians today. It is funny to note that Majority of Nigerians starting from the highest hierarchy does not know their responsibilities to one another, to the society in particular and country in general.

If we now have a look at the creation of man and woman, man was created to be stronger than woman hence the task of defense against external aggression and maintaining internal security became one of the responsibilities of the man. Because of the passionate and enduring nature of the woman, child bearing/caring and domestic functions become some of her responsibilities.

In brevity, the responsibilities of the parents is to provide food, clothing, shelter, protection, qualitative education and moral discipline amongst others which include the dos and the don’ts of the society. My question is how many parents are responsive to these responsibilities”.

Today, the common prayer of most Nigerian parents to their children is “go and steal government money for us (corruption) forgetting that government money belong to the present and future generations as well as the effect of corruption to Nigerians. This is why we are suffering economic melt down today and massive poverty in our society.

It is one of the responsibilities of a mother to acquaint her children with the basic home traditional education which include such injunctions as you shall or you shall not do this or that through moral instruction or folk tales which had sunk into oblivion. Today, how many mothers/fathers tell their children/wards these stories, instead they encourage them to watch blue films, war films, romantic films and other decisive films where they (the children) copy all sorts of evil devices which is tormenting our nation today. The parents cast caution to the wind and care not the type of peer group their children/wards keep.

How many religious leaders have ever rejected offer of any kind because of its dubious sources? Instead they pray for their success in their evil endeavour. They forget completely their responsibilities to their creator, their nation, humanity and the need to rebrand themselves before others.

Likewise, they forget to recall in mind the mental picture of the day of accountability or judgement day, and the need for holiness, accountability, the fear of God, goodness, purity and grandeur, where the exaulted assembly of angels is given some knowledge of the plan and the will of God. Evil is altogether foreign to such an atmosphere but is actuated by feelings of jealousy and curiosity.

Even the royal fathers give such corrupt men and women in the society the best title e.g. Omotiti of Kukuruku the “Ogbbesanfe” of Afemai land” the Otumba, the Ogbuefi 1 of Igbo land: the Sariki Moslimi of Hausa land etc to the cheaters in the society instead of demeaning this class of people. Then tell me how responsive are they responding to their responsibilities.

Coming to security areas there is nothing to write home about it. There is insecurity of lives and properties at all levels. The military and the other security agencies have failed in providing adequate security to Nigerians and foreigners in Nigeria.

Some of our top security officers provide sophisticated weapons to our youths to go and rob members of the society for them. The bribery and corruption which give Nigerians indelible stigma all over the world today is being nurtured by the Nigeria police, only our political/military leaders we apportion the blame to though they water and prevent the seed of corruption from drought.
Out political leaders, opinion leaders, traditional rulers religious leaders, top government officials, local government chairmen, and councilors are also guilty of corruption and irresponsibility. Then how are they responding to their responsibilities? It sounds ridiculous to note that some of these council chairmen do not know the number of secondary and primary schools in their local government areas. We always hear them fighting over money which is suppose to be for the development of the local government areas. When widows, orphans, physically challenged people are languishing in abject poverty and they go on siphoning our money without sympathy on the masses. With all these inhuman acts how will God be pleased with the country. Why these anomalies are not checkmated is that from the head to the tail are guilty of irresponsibilities.

If a minister can squander our millions of naira for his birth day without cognizance of Nigerian’s economic meltdown, a prominent member of House of Representative burnt our billions of naira in the name of renovation, then, how will local Government Chairmen, Governors, Assembly men, councilors not do the worst.

In an ideal situation, it is not easy to win the mandate of about 130 million electorates to get to the state and federal arms of our legislature, but unfortunately most of the legislators got their mandates through NAPOLEONIC way, in return, they apply Napoleonic and squilanic method in dealing with their electorates. It is a saying “that when a mother goat chew the cud, the kids watch and do likewise”, politicians who came into power through back door see themselves not accountable to the electorates and have no feelings for them.

I can recall vividly that many years ago, there were leaders who responded to their responsibilities from our primary schools to tertiary institutions of learning, libraries and laboratories were well equipped for practical teaching and learning. Today the word library or laboratory are strange words to our students. I can remember Late Professor Ambrose Alli’s time, the supply of books and introductory to technology equipments were given to contractors and were supplied in our schools though there were no teachers trained to teach the students with these equipments and the laboratories were not electrified as a result, the equipments are still lying fallow in the schools they were supplied to.

Right now, the simplest teaching aid/chalk and chalk boards are scarcely found in our primary/secondary schools. Some teachers in the rural areas bring tables and chairs to the school for the pupils and themselves from their homes with their little salaries; those who cannot afford this sit on the window or stand through out the school hours. It would also interest the masses to note that the heads of schools buy vouchers for teacher salaries, then tell me, how successful is Universal Basic Education (UBE) in Nigeria with all these, is Nigeria government responding to its responsibilities? Most of these schools are operated under dilapidated roofs, mangoes, cashew and jucanut trees and Nigeria’s leaders of tomorrow (learners) roll on the ground like pigs. In a country where the legislators take bribe in the name of lobbying from the local government chairmen state governors, communities and even the President before passing a bill into law or approving social amenities for communities as well in a situation where bills that will favour the masses are thrown out simply because there is no one to lobby it or the bill may not be in the legislators favours, how are the legislators responding to their responsibilities. It is a popular slogan all over the world that Nigeria is one of the most corrupt countries in the world. This suppose to be the concern of our legislators.

Ironically, their concern is before we sign the budget we most be given certain percentage of it. They have taken legislative work as an avenue for doing what they like to the nation’s resources forgetting that their responsibilities is to pilot Nigerians to the promised land in or before the year 2020.

Likewise, because very many of them are proprietors/proprietresses of private schools. Private hospitals, and their children are not schooling or receiving treatment in Nigerian public schools and hospitals, they show little or no concern for the welfare of these institutions.

No wonder Nigeria at 49 years is still faced with the problems of leadership. Massive poverty, unemployment, kidnapping militancy, examination malpractices, prostitution etc.

We are depending much on the products of the white men’s industry. We should cherish and encourage our local technology to boost our economy. Our leaders need self rebrancding/complete change of attitude to make its good followers. The consequence of imposing unwanted leaders on the masses is what the Nigerian is suffering in the Niger Delta region now. Therefore, the government should be more realistic and responsive to the yearnings and aspirations of the down trodden masses bearing in mind that Almighty God is not pleased with whoever manhandle this class of people.

The entitlement of pensioners and retirement benefits should be paid promptly to alleviate the suffering of the pensioners and their families while the next-of-kins of bereaved civil servants should be considered first for payment to make the next-of-kins responsive to their needs. Government should encourage farming occupation by reducing the prices of farming equipments, sink boreholes in farms, make roads to farms accessible, provide good yielding seedlings to farmers and storage facilities.

The government should note that Nigeria’s land is very fertile enough to support the growth of rice, but because of the destruction caused by birds many Nigerian farmers have been discouraged from growing rice farms. Also because of indiscriminate bush burning, cocoa, rubber plantations, palm tree plantation, cola nut etc have disappeared in most of Nigerian farms, government should look for urgent solutions to these problems.

Finally, rebranding Nigeria must be a collective responsibility of all and sundry.