I am Dr. Charles Apoki, and I feel deeply saddened and sickened by the state of my beloved country. The headlines are filled with tragedy after tragedy—heartbreaking stories of desperation fueled by poverty.
A Nation in Crisis
Last Wednesday, over thirty children lost their lives in a stampede. Shortly after, more than thirty women were deleted in another stampede, and ten people died in Abuja in a church—all in the scramble for palliatives. Palliatives! This tragedy unfolded over a few kilograms of rice, a meager 10 kg at most.
How did we degenerate to this level of desperation? This is the result of weaponized poverty. Instead of addressing the root cause, our leaders sing, “On your mandate, we shall stand,” as they allocate a disproportionate share of the national budget to themselves, leaving the masses to suffer.
Arrest Hunger, Not Critics
Now, there is talk of arresting those who criticize leaders on social media. But the real enemy is poverty. Let us arrest poverty first!
I recently spoke to the women of the Bonny Forum and the leadership of the Bonny Kingdom. I reminded them that Bonny soil is fertile enough to grow rice. Historically, Bonny Kingdom had rice farms and mills as far back as 1842. Even before signing treaties to join Nigeria, Bonny thrived agriculturally.
We have the resources and capacity to grow our own rice. The land in Thailand, from where we import rice, is not superior to ours. They cultivate rice with water buffaloes and basic tools, yet we remain dependent on imports.
The Dutch Disease
Our reliance on oil has led to the “Dutch Disease,” a socioeconomic condition where a nation abandons its diverse economic sectors to focus solely on one resource. Just as it happened in the Netherlands, we have abandoned agriculture and other vital industries for oil.
This dependency has transformed us into a nation of desperate people—a nation of beggars. The entire Nigerian budget, when converted to dollars, is less than the budget of New York State, which serves just 18 million people.
A Broken System
These tragedies are not new, yet those in charge of organizing palliatives never learn. They fail to adopt proper systems for distribution. I’ve spoken about the Jesus Christ Principle of Partitioning, Segmentation, and Dispersal—a model that ensures effective distribution. But it seems there’s a desire to “shine” amidst the suffering.
Something is deeply wrong in the spirit of this nation. Our leadership lacks the mental capacity and willpower to bring about the change we so desperately need. Even if the presidency has good intentions, the current corridors of power are filled with individuals who cannot drive meaningful transformation.
A Time for Change
Nigeria is at a breaking point. The system catches up with everyone eventually. It’s time for us to confront this wrong mindset and demand better from ourselves and our leaders.
I never anticipated witnessing such a level of desperation and decay at this stage in my life. But I remain hopeful that change is possible—if only we choose to address the root causes of our struggles.
God bless Nigeria.
Dr. Charles Apoki
