Is Black Gold Nigeria's biggest curse?

Crude oil also know as black gold was first drilled in 1956 at Oloibiri in the Niger Delta. That is now over 53 years ago, it was after this that Nigeria experienced a mass urban migration that resulted in hundreds of thousands leaving their farms. As a result 20 years later the Groundnut pyramids in Kano disappeared, Nigeria slipped from being the top Cocoa producer in the world. Nigeria also lost its influence as a top Palm oil and rubber producer in the world.

Black gold is now Nigeria's main source of income, earning it 95% of total foreign exchange. Since oil had been discovered at Oloibiri, many have lost their lives through illegal bunkering, others through uprisings against oil firms who have not done much for the communities they operate in. I was watching Newsnight on the BBC, and was amazed at the level of pollution in the Niger delta, everything is contaminated cutting off the livelihood of thousands of people who live off the delta.

Black gold been a real curse to Nigeria, we have not been able to use it to improve the quality of lives of the majority, and by it many have been killed or come to poverty. Maybe we need to return to the soil and try to recover our world rankings as lead producers of Cocoa, Palm oil, Rubber and Ground nut. As soon as we begin to lower our dependence on that black stuff, the better our lives could be. Let us follow in the steps of India and China and become the great nation we are destined to be.

Becoming a compassionate people again.

Nigeria is probably the most religious country in the whole of Africa. During my visit to Nigeria recently I noticed that in Lagos there was at least one church on every street, but all the church and mosque going is not reflected in the lives of the people.

Given the opportunity many will take bribes, and shop their neighbours for a fast buck. Even within churches a great deal of adulation is heaped on the rich and famous, who flash their money around and hardly do anything for the communities they live in. In fact given the opportunity they will exploit and take undue advantage of the less privileged in the community.

Nigerians are a beautiful people, but because of hardship and poverty we seem to care less and always chasing after the fast buck. Even within the local communities, the household that is able to dig a water borehole will use it as tool to oppress their neighbours who do not have access to water.

We need to become a compassionate and loving people, in so doing we can begin to improve our communities, making sure that our neighbours have access to water and other utilities we can use to improve their lives. Our faith should be truly reflected in our lives practically everyday in what we say and what we do.

Brief illness, the biggest killer disease in Nigeria

Ever since I was a kid, brief illness has been the single biggest killer of Nigeria. The reason for this is that there are many diseases and illnesses that have been mis-diagnosed. I lost my aunt over a year ago to Kidney disease, but what surprised me the most was that there are only 2 dialysis machines in the whole of Ogun State where I come from. You could imagine the demands on those machines.

A dialysis machine is a is primarily used to provide an artificial replacement for lost kidney function (renal replacement therapy) due to renal failure. As of 2007 over 2,000 people in the USA were dialysing at home more frequently for various treatment lengths. So when there is a hospital without a dialysis machine you could see the extent to which our healthcare system is in dire need of a major revamp.

It is simple treatments that have been around for many years that are lacking, and are the greatest cause of deaths when this should never be the case. It does not take a load of letters behind ones name to know that many Nigerians are dying unnessarily, and the solutions to prevent these deaths can be easily acquired. Its time to stop brief illness dead in its tracks by doing the right thing.

Nigeria's need for investment in solar farms.

It has been proven that Nigeria cannot in the nearest future supply its own electricity. I remember growing as a kid, there has never been a time where there was no power failure. The national power grid is a complete mess, from individuals who tap into the grid illegally with no intention of paying, to power generator dealers and distributors who continue to undermine the country's economy in order that they continue to sell their power units.

Maybe, and only maybe solar farms could be the way forward for our cities and towns, but this will have to be implemented at a cost. Solar farms tend to work well where there has been proper urban planning. This means a city like Lagos may not benefit unless radical decisions are taken.

Solar farms lend themselves to high cost of implementation and low maintenance costs, therefore with the proper backing of government, private investors can benefit for a very long time by ensuring that 24 eletric supply is no longer a dream, but a reality.

Who are our leaders that are visionaries?

I have been out of the country for over 20 years, prior to that I remember as a child that Nigeria had great visionaries like Obafemi Awolowo who introduced free quality education. Other leaders included Tai Solarin, Nnamdi Azikwe, General Idi Agbon, General Murtala Muhammed just to name a few.

My question is do we really have any leaders who are visionaries today? Do we call the leaders we currently have leaders because they are in a position of authority or because they want to see Nigeria rise to greatness again? What are these leaders doing right now for them to qualify as leaders and visionaries?

It will be interesting to hear from you.

Nigeria's need for specialist hospitals

My cousin had a serious car accident last year with some serious spinal injuries. The doctors in Nigeria confirmed that he will spend the rest of his life in a wheel chair. When the accident happened instead of leaving him till the car till the emergency services arrived, he was dragged out of the car causing further damage.

However, my cousin was one of the very lucky ones who had the opportunity to be flown out of the country to India where he received medical attention. He should be able to move around normally in a few months time. Not everyone will be lucky to be flown out of the country for specialist treatment.

This is my proposal, the government should build 6 specialist hospitals dotted around the country. The government's involvement will be only to build the infrastructure and hand them over to a foundation with an international reputation. The hospitals will be funded by Nigerians, charitable organisations and foundations. An example of raising funds will be appealing to every Nigerian living overseas to give at least $10 per month, by doing this funding for these specialist hospitals can be obtained.

So how will the funds be collected and managed? Maybe we may need to engage the services of a reputable organisation like PriceWaterhouseCoopers or a similar organisation, or maybe a foundation like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. By doing so we can ensure that the funds are solely for the purpose of healthcare only.

The potential for these specialist hospitals could be immense attracting the best practitioners from around the global, as well as making them centres of excellence. We definately need a neurological specialist hospital, other specialist hospitals could be in the area of oncology, cardiovascular, Ophthalmology, Pain and inflammation, Diabetes, Immunology and Paediatrics. This will be good example of Nigerians doing something to improve the quality of life for millions who cannot afford the luxury of overseas treament.

Building Our Communities.

Yesterday my blog mentioned the prevalent use of bulletproof cars in Nigeria. I have since had further time to reflect on this topic and my conclusion is this. For those of you who are rich enough to order bulletproof cars, you may be able to protect your family from becoming victims of crime, but somehow you still have to interact with the average Joe Blog on the street, and so is your family.

I believe that the more you do for your community, the more these people will fight to keep you safe, crime will drop because people become gainfully employed. Invest in the people in your community, fight hard to get them water, electricity and good roads. Fight hard to help your community access a quality healthcare system as well.

We can no longer depend on the government to provide all the facilities and the infrastructure our communities require, we are a resourceful people and when we pull resources together we can make things happen. Let use our resources to create wealth.