Let's be real. The physical condition in Nigeria and most African countries is depressing. The people tasked with making quantifiable progress to help elevate the standing and respectability of the Nigerian/African, often act as if they are clueless.  No one ever says their mama's soup is sour even when such soup stinks. 

The problem with many Nigerians and their African cousins is their failure to admit that something is fundamentally amiss in the way they carry on their daily lives, especially public matters. Here are some examples: no one knows where Madam Patience Jonathan - Nigeria First Lady is. If the hospitals in Nigeria are well equipped and staffed, how come they say she is in Germany receiving treatment? Where did Mrs. Maryam Babaginda, Mrs. Stella Obasanjo and the late President Yar Adua die? Overseas?  If Nigeria’s  'alpha and omega'  seek medical treatment abroad, what does that tell you?  That Nigeria rich and it is more glamorous to die overseas than die at home? For little ailment, they rush abroad.  India, of all places, is now a choice country for all kinds of treatment. Come on are we speaking of the same Nigeria?

I was in Nigeria late April and came back May 14, 2012. I traveled by road from Port Harcourt to Enugu and Enugu on to Abuja. I spent days in Lagos. 

In what appears a consolation feeling, some people think that positive things are happening in Nigeria. Well, Benue is the home state of David Mark, Nigeria Senate President.  His Deputy,  Ike Ekeremadu, is from Enugu, a neighboring state to the south. How come the journey from Enugu to Abuja, going through Makurdi (a distance of 226 miles) took 8 hours? Please explain. The proof of doing well is not to be confused with monumental houses and homes Nigerians build which, after the owner dies, no one in the immediate family is able to maintain. Yes, those types of monuments, hardly functional homes that dot the landscape, are products of misplaced priorities in using resources to advance the common good.

The road condition in Nigeria is challenging and nowhere in the old East Central State - ECS, now a collection of states part of old eastern Nigeria, can anyone travel a good 50-100 miles of uninterrupted well-built and laid out roadway. If you know of such stretch of road, please share the information and I will meet you there when I visit again in a few. 

I visited Enugu and Anambra Houses of Assembly and met one of the Speakers, and the conversation was flat and bland. I went to UNN Enugu Campus, IMT, the Shoprite center at Polo Park, and if these are signs of progress, Nigerians have probably defined theirs and are happy with what is offered. 

No city in old ECS has a sewer system or pumps about 5m gallons of water on a daily basis. If you know one, tell me and we can verify that. Nigerian banks are not agents of economic development as borrowing rates and terms are so choking that Nigerians  would like to borrow from US or anywhere else to cushion the charges or soften the impact.
 
Tell me any Nigerian bank that has a $1b in loans outstanding and what the loans are secured on. You cannot come up with such stats because as a businessman driven by short term gains and profit who wants to do deals at all cost, you probably never consider such a situation. What Nigerian business people spend time chasing in US, are things that would have been delivered to Nigeria if the environment was business-friendly. 

While visiting Nigeria in May, I went to see now gone Minister of Power Mr. Barth Nnaji. While waiting to see him, the power went out in the ministry's office. I thought that within a few minutes, the generator would be turned on and power restored. Well, it did not and after more than what seemed like an eternity, the Minister was led down a flight of stairs from his 5th floor office by security personnel who used cell phone flash light to guide him down. I followed behind and was very amused as well as saddened that Nigeria that got electricity in 1894, 118 years hence, is still grappling with basic issues and infrastructure that simple engineering and science have been able to address, except for lax leadership that are about persons in office as opposed to projects for the common good. Please explain that. 

The only building in Abuja that some can accord any form of classification for aesthetics is that of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The rest are a collection of mangled concrete, steel and glass, lacking functionality and well-thought-out architecture and space use. I took time to measure the Eagle Square. It is less than an acre of open space. In 20 years, Abuja will be a shadow of what was drawn on paper during its conception. Just like Lagos, a precursor to Hong Kong today is described as the most expensive slum in the world.

Even in Lagos celebrated as the 'happening' city, the place is littered with open gutters with stagnant blackish water and raw sewer that gives the entire place a smelly odor. Maybe one may  be happy showing off developments in Lekki and surroundings. Well, those as much as they are better than Ajegunle, Surulere houses, are hardly something to brag about. Using houses built by the so called rich whose source of wealth is questionable to indicate presence of things changing, is falsehood. Many Nigerians live in places that are sources of health challenges and burden public health resources and safety. All of Port Harcourt has less than 5,000 homes that anyone can consider and grade as suitable for good living and many are occupied by the super-rich.  

The above said, Nigeria and Africa can do better. But waiting for handouts and expecting alms from China while Africans troop abroad for shopping squandering their national wealth in a show-off culture and attitude, will never get her a recognition deserving of serious investments by foreigners and home investors alike.

Come to  Dallas  and I will show you projects that have helped transform the city and DFW area in my 25 years of living in the area. I went to college in Nigeria and visit home every year, so I am not a naive Nigerian.

Ejike Okpa II
Dallas, Texas.