In a series of impassioned tweets, Nigerian X user @hackSultan brought to light several critical issues plaguing the country. While government shortcomings are undeniable, the tweet highlights a crucial aspect often overlooked: societal issues that hinder progress.
Let's delve into some of these points, as expressed by the author:
"I woke up angry again today," @hackSultan began, "so let me tell you about some of Nigeria’s problems that are not caused by the government."
1. Official theft
"If you donate stuff to some orphanage, the staff will steal 70% of what you donated. In fact, they’ll share it among themselves and give the rest to the kids," he lamented. "Same thing with public schools too."
This revelation sheds light on the pervasive corruption within institutions meant to serve the public good, underscoring a systemic issue of misappropriation and theft, especially in Nigeria’s civil service.
2. Street smartness
"This used to be a good thing but now it’s just a way for people to outsmart one another and cheat the other person," @hackSultan noted.
The concept of 'street smartness,' once a valuable survival skill, has devolved into a culture of deceit and exploitation, eroding trust within communities.
3. Area Boys
He also addressed the troubling normalisation of extortion by local thugs, known as area boys.
"If you want to do foundation work on your own land, you’ll have to pay these thugs. If you want to do decking, they’ll still come for money, even when you want to do borehole, you’ll still pay them and we’ve all just agreed this to be the norm. This is super crazy."
Read also: "Not in a working country": Outrage greets unjust 24-year imprisonment of bricklayer
4. Yahoo Yahoo (Internet fraud)
"We’ve just taken this to be the norm," he said, referring to the rampant internet fraud, colloquially known as Yahoo Yahoo.
"Some youth have seen this as a norm and they’ve categorised it as hustle. We even have parents who support their kids on this. This is a pandemic."
5. Education
The state of education also came under scrutiny.
"It’s just crazy nowadays," @hackSultan exclaimed. "Schools are supposed to have counsellors that’ll help students forge a career path, but it’s not like that again. The quality of education has really reduced in a lot of schools and these lecturers do not really care."
6. Sexual assault
Addressing the pervasive issue of sexual assault, he stated,
"This is just terrible now. Perhaps it’s not increasing, it’s just getting visible now. From church, to school lecturers, to family members. Everywhere you turn is a potential assault zone towards women, and a couple of these are zones towards men too."
7. Trust Factor
"We now have little to no trust in one another," he said, highlighting the erosion of trust in daily transactions.
"You can’t even buy something online without spending a week doing research and even after that, you’ll still get the wrong thing or a fake or nothing at all."
Let’s not forget how the citizenry have zero trust in governments, especially how successive governments use religion and ethnicity to keep the people divided, leaving way for embezzlement to run without hurdle. And, when questions are asked, nothing happens - the culprit goes free just as this X (@RealQueenBee_) user says about a former minister who claimed to have spent billions on humanitarian efforts:
“This is just for the headline, nothing will happen in the end.”
8. No attention to detail
The decline in service quality also drew his ire.
"The quality of our service providers is getting worse. There’s no single attention to detail in the workforce again," he remarked.
"Painters will paint your house and you’ll see errors in different corners. They’ll fit tiles on the floor and you’ll be disgusted at the edges. They’ll fix doors with gaps on top and under. Electric wires floating around like cobwebs."
9. Driving
Finally, he criticised the state of driving in Nigeria. "No wonder we can’t drive in a lot of countries. Our driving skills are terrible, we just know how to move a car, no direct driving principles," he noted. "People just get a car, jump on the road and pray not to hit anybody."
HackSultan's candid observations have resonated with many Nigerians who see these issues as part of their daily reality. His tweets have sparked a broader conversation about the need for societal change and accountability beyond government actions. The issues he highlighted underscore the complexity of Nigeria's challenges and the urgent need for collective effort to address them.
What do you think?