BY LOUIS IBA
Nigeria holds great opportunities for her citizens who wish to invest in the recent projections that the economy would continue to grow at the rate of over 6 per cent for the next 20 years, Minister of Aviation, Chief Osita Chidoka, has said.
Chidoka said there was no need for citizens to be disillusioned but urged them to look inward as the abundant human and natural resources make the country a big market for goods and services, the two key areas that would serve as stimulant for growing the economy.
He made this known when he delivered the 44th Convocation Lecture of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) entitled, “Rebuilding the Nigerian Dream: Mapping the Building Blocks.”
Chidoka said that Nigerians are fastidious and therefore have the tendency to criticise their country even when it is unnecessary, adding that although that attitude is seemingly wrong but it spurs the citizens and government to do things better.
“The most virulent critics of Nigeria are Nigerians. A few years ago Nigerians celebrated one year of no blackouts in Ghana. Even though no such celebration took place in Ghana,” he lamented.
He noted that Nigerians have inherent elements to succeed in every endeavour and those elements include superiority complex, hard work and the readiness to sacrifice today for better tomorrow.
Chidoka said that although the Nigerian education system is severely criticised by her citizens, but Nigerians who studied in Nigerian schools like the UNN have distinguished themselves within and outside the country, particularly in the United States of America (USA) where they remain the most successful professionals among the black population.
“The criticism of our education system and the lamentations about the so-called Nigerian Factor notwithstanding, the Nigerian Diaspora has been singled out as one of the most successful black Diasporas in the world. In the United States, Nigerian-Americans dramatically outperform Americans in terms of income. In their book, The Triple Package, Professors Amy Chua and Jed Rubenfeld explain that Nigerians are over-represented in the field of medicine, higher education, law and investment banking (Chua & Rubenfeld, 2014).
“Why are Nigerians so successful? Because of the way we raise our children. According to the authors, we Nigerians possess the three traits that breed success: a superiority complex – an idea that we are special in some way; insecurity – the fear that if we don’t work hard we will fail; and impulse control – the ability to delay gratification in the short term for better outcomes in the future. Even if you had never attended this institution, but by the virtue of being raised as a Nigerian, you already have the tools for success,” the Minister said.
Source : SunOnline
