Introduction
There is an adage in Yoruba land that says, “it is because of one blind man that a visitor to an island sees that makes the person reports that all the people in the island are blind. By this report because many people have not been to the island they started calling the island of the blind people.
I have been interacting with couple of foreigners on the social media who are interested in partnership with me, but immediately they hear that I am a Nigerian residing in Nigeria what comes to their minds was what they used to read on the social media that Nigeria is the country of the fraudsters and irrespective of how I try to convince them that Nigeria like other countries are made up of mixed multitudes good and bad people and that it is not all Nigerians that are fraudulent people, and in fact they can check their statistics and they shall discover that the ratio of the fraudulent people as compared to the population is low, but they will not agree with me and would call off the deal, because we all have been painted in black by our leaders and those people who have made it to the outside world.
As I said, in any country whatsoever globally, there are mixed multitudes there, making up of good and bad people, that is how the world is, that is how it has been since the foiundation of the world.
Now, it is unfair for the global community to now look at all Nigerians as if all of us are fraudulent people, as if there are no fraudulent people in other countries of the world too.
Role of Government
I recall when this dispensation assumes the seat of power and former governor of Ekiti State, Mr. Ayodele Fayose was saying that this government is painting the people of the country bad to the outsiders. Then, I did not attach much importance to what he says, and now I see reasons in what he said, because of us who are innocent in the country that the hype is being affected as well as those who travel out who are being treated shabbily by people of other countries.
It is good as the country have clamped down on those people, but the leadership of our country needs to do more on this they have to paint the country in good light before the outside world.
They should let the world know that this country has a population of about 200 million people if not more according to unofficial statistical postulation based on the last population census conducted in the country. They should project the statistics of those who are fraudulent to those who are not so that the people of the world will know and see the wide margin between the statistics and judge themselves.
Advantages of Doing This
1. Fear Would be Reduced: If this could be done, I know people who are afraid of interacting with the people living in the country would know that there are good people here, and the fear they are nursing would be reduced,
2. It Will Open More Doors: Our governments, Federal and States not excluding the Local Governments are everyday trying to woo foreign experts into the country to come and establish businesses and companies here but there has been no appreciable progress in this bid to the best of my knowledge, but when they know that the ratio of the fraudulent people to the good, decent people are low, people who have minds of invest5ing in the country would be more willing to come into the country.
3. Assist Development: International Monetary Fund (IMF) in one of his recent articles based on this pandemic says from the conducted researches that immigrants would help economies of many countries of the world to quickly return to normal for immigrants have been helping countries build economies over the ages
4. Reduce Fraudulent Activities: Nigeria’s daily wages is less than $2:00 (two dollars), and this is the cause of most of the fraudulent activities in the country. If foreigners started seeing us, Nigerians in good light and started partnering with us, and we have more companies, I believe the daily wages would increase and the fraudulent activities would reduce drastically.
5. Economy Would Boost: Over the years have the country’s leadership been crying about the economy to be improved and increased, but there has been no substantial improvement according to the desires of the leaderships. This would change if people of outside world who are interested in investing in other countr4ies started seeing us in good lights and start entering the country to partner with governments’ and people of the country.
6. Several Businesses Will Spring Up: I am convinced within me that there would have been people like me who have been contacted by people from outside the country to partner with, but on knowing that we are Nigerians they all backed off, for fear of known and unknowns. Now, if they start seeing us in good light, then I am convinced that people will start partnering with us and several businesses would spring up.
7. Rural Area Development: If this could happen, I know rural areas would develop and it would reduce the urban-rural migration drifts in the country. When this happens, the local government dependence on the central would also be reduced.
8. Boost Tourism: One of my friends who have traveled out of the country stated that most of the economies of other countries are centered around tourism. But I know this aspect has not been fully harnessed by this country. Now, if this could happen, this aspect will also be harnessed because those foreigners would tell others they know that contrary to wide speculations of the country being made up of fraudsters there are ample of good people here and they would want to visit the country to see different things here.
Conclusively, it will augur well if the leadership of the country let the people of the world know according to the slogan coined out by late Professor (Mrs.) Dora Akunyili that Nigerians are good people and good Nation. Let them know that though there are few bad eggs among the people living here but majority of the inhabitants of this country are decent people. It is not enough to be praying for the country as the social media (Radio and Television) have been awash of, of such adverts, but we also need to tell the world that as they have bad eggs among them we also have few here and the country is not bad.
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