Is there any society that is ideal? I mean a perfect one devoid of corruption and lawlessness. The answer undoubtedly is no but we do know that some nations of the world have these beneath them and these are not really significant issues they confront.
Over the years, the number one cause of underdevelopment in our society is corruption. That is, if we could point our fingers at an entity.
We all know how much we suffer in terms of poor social infrastructure, unemployment of our teeming youths, and poor delivery of services, amongst others.
Just to mention what Abraham Maslow talked about in 1943 when he proposed the theory of human motivation which is best pictured as a pyramid with the largest and most fundamental levels of need at the bottom and the need for self-actualization at the top.
I will dwell more on the most fundamental levels of need which are physiological needs that are vital for survival such as water, air, food and sleep.
In the Nigeria of today, even the most wanted needs are scarce. Not so many people feed well. Only a few can boast of 3-4 meals per day. Even when these are available, they are not nutritious, affordable and high in quality unlike what obtains in the developed nations where poverty of food almost does not exist. Just in traces.
The same is for water which is supposed to be portable, running from taps and disease-free. That’s why the scourge of water diseases is on the increase.
On the issue of security, we all know what we face as citizens and the things that are not ideal have become ideal. For instance, just because we need protection from hoodlums and armed robbers, we use burglary proofs on our windows which even the town planners don’t include in their planning because they know it is wrong. This is dangerous in case of fire outbreaks when one needs to escape.
I would have loved to expatiate on other security challenges but will just have to mention them. We hardly see fire alarms on our buildings and the emergency services are poor when the services of the fire brigades are needed. Still on security, we hardly report crimes and assaults on individuals, report of suspicious movements in the neighborhood and so on. Even when such attempts are made to report, there are no efficient call codes for the citizens to report and our police stall in their responses. The police and defense system have been compromised over the years. They take bribes openly. Many Nigerians have lost their lives in an argument with the police. In developed nations, police have the respect of their citizens because they deliver quality services. Unlike our society, they do not move about with guns and they still maintain law and order.
Other security challenges are the porous borders across the country, incessant attacks on innocent citizens by terrorists and other similar groups.
On our judiciary, I know we are improving but there is still a lot to do. We all see and hear of how election results are being changed and how tribunal officials, judges and electoral officials are being bribed. Corruption has eaten deep into the fabrics of our society. It has affected the young and the old. School politics has turned into a personal money making venture. Every individual wants to hold a post because of the monetary gain. It should be a service to your organization or nation. In societies where there is law and order, you can’t steal public funds and go away with it.
In conclusion, I will like to end this piece on awareness creation. We do not create adequate awareness in our society. We have only made it a yearly thing where people gather and mark such events. We are supposed to enforce them daily or weekly for the betterment of our society so that we can be more informed and productive. What are our national televisions and radios there for? They are not just for commercials and soaps. What are the various types of awareness that need to be created? We have so many areas on Health, Education, and Society.
On Health, there is need to inform people on the regular and routine medical checkup, once or twice a year, genotype and HIV status before marriage etcetera.
Societal and social issues like the use of seat belts, proper waste disposal, obedience of traffic rules, prevention of environmental pollution, proper care for animals and not allowing them stray the streets.
Now, we can look back at our society and judge. Is it anywhere near ideal? I just want us to imagine how lives can be better for the citizens where everybody that finishes from school is sure of employment, a society where citizens have health insurance and can pay hospital bills, where people can afford to feed and clothe themselves, where there is stable electricity to enhance productivity and adequate transportation by road and rail, a society where there is law and order, an ideal society for all.