Nigerians, as a people, are arguably wallowing in the bondage of self-deceit, which unequivocally remains one of the greatest diseases bedevilling mankind. In my church, Catholic precisely, a prayer for ‘Nigeria in distress’ was being said for decades sometime ago.

I grew up to join the chorus. It suffices to assert that the prayer was as old as I was, if not older. But with time, some parishes got tired of citing the prayer, until other parishes recently joined them perhaps they got fade up over the lingered distress that seemed endless. I kept wondering if Nigeria would remain in distress unabated.

At the time, the religious devotion was already overriding the country’s national anthem, which implied the distress in question was getting out of hand. If your thought is as good as mine, why would anyone be sceptical of the relevance of such prayer? Till this moment, it seems the distress still lingers across the country.

All forms of societal ills to include student cultism, exam/ election malpractices, kidnapping, robbery, pick pocketing, rape, incest, drug addiction, cheating, and even household lies, have abruptly overtaken the wellbeing of Nigeria’s polity. The value system in this part of the world has arguably fast deteriorated.

Hence, asserting that the country is uncontrollably suffering from distress isn’t an overstatement, rather understatement. What is more baffling as regards the pitiable situation is that most parents, perhaps vulnerable ones, claim ignorance of their wards’ dirty lifestyles on a daily basis.

For instance, those whom their children are ostensibly progressive and keep showering with ‘tainted’ love wouldn’t hesitate to tell you, when asked, that their wards are doing very well in their businesses – even when they are unsure or unaware of their occupations.

A non-vulnerable or more informed parent could go extra mile to ascertain what his/ her child does for a living. However, when you look inwards, you would comprehend that presenting vulnerability as an excuse is itself a product of ills.

There’s no caring and sane parent that wouldn’t be concerned about their child’s safety. In other words, any rational human progenitor would stop at nothing towards ensuring that their offspring are all into occupation or activity that wouldn’t attract rot to their persons, or the family lineage at large, in the long run.

So, it’s only a corrupt and weird parent that would prefer to display a nonchalant attitude in issues regarding their child’s wellbeing. Such parents wouldn’t bother to find out what exactly that’s yielding their wards’ wealth. All they care about is to ensure the money keeps flowing, so such a child would continue showering them with ‘love’.

Surely, if the person in question is a cultist, someday he/she would be probably asked to offer his either parents’ head for ritual renewal. If he is an armed robber, he might one day equally consider robbing his parental home in disguise. The type occurring in the education sector is unspeakable, to assert the least.

Our young ones, now, no longer sit for their examinations without concealing microchips in their private parts, or the assistance of mercenary, as the case may be.

In most secondary schools across the federation, mainly privately-owned ones, questions from external examiners like WAEC, NECO, NABTEB, or what have you, are not anymore attended to by the candidates they are meant for, rather the teachers of the affected schools.

In some quarters where the schools do not want the practice to appear obvious or intend to apply a little decency, they would turn the examination format to teacher-student cooperation whereby the candidate would be apparently seated on the exam desk while his/her tutor would be functioning like a standby generator.

What a shame! Funnily enough, this disgusting melodrama does not reportedly take place without the approval of the supervisors who were assigned to represent the exam board at various centres where the exams are being taken. It’s therefore needless to reiterate that it’s a two way thing. Sure, things are no longer at ease. Have you taken a walk to most universities lately?

They currently parade themselves with countless ‘First Class’ products as if Nigeria has more good brains now than during the era of my parents. Of course, it isn’t longer news that a primary school-leaver during the days of my father can compete confidently, or even supersede, most present days’ university graduates.

According to the professor, it wasn’t that the country didn’t have good brains but considering that its universities lacked the required facilities, it could not boast of first class products that could compete with the world

Besides, during my university days, we were bluntly told by an astute teacher that no department in any Nigerian institution had the capacity to produce first class graduates.

According to the professor, it wasn’t that the country didn’t have good brains but considering that its universities lacked the required facilities, it could not boast of first class products that could compete with the world.

I personally concurred, but recently I came to realize that Nigerian universities were producing first class materials in accordance with the available facilities and manpower, and not products that could fit anywhere beyond the country.

Even at that, are they supposed to be making it seem as if they are competing among themselves with regard to the number of first class graduates to be produced per session?

The scenario indeed calls for a deep thought. The malpractice has now invaded our electoral process, that, the electorate have lost every confidence in the electoral umpire. The menace is apparently becoming endemic in the system. I can’t but continue to wonder where exactly we are headed.

I’m right now pouting seriously. Someone would relentlessly lament that our politicians are densely corrupt, but when one looks inwardly, he would acknowledge that the level of corruption among the followers is overwhelming. Even household corruption has overridden others.

Go to the market places, you would observe countless antics transpiring on a daily basis. It’s a place where sellers wouldn’t mind using their customers for ritual, and albeit ignorantly, the latter would yet presume they are being pampered.

An average seller would consistently cheats his customer, still, addresses him as his loved one. Every moment, we complain profusely over graft, forgetting the prevalence of corruption by nonpublic servants is fast dominating the system.

This shows the people aren’t informed that the awaited change, surely, must begin with each of us. It’s high time we quit this severe bondage of selfdeceit that has unequivocally eaten deep into our collective bone marrow as a people. We must therefore find a way to get out of the quagmire, either spiritually, physically, or otherwise. Think about it!

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