Nigeria: Neglect of the Poor in Nigeria

10 December 2006

Lagos — I cannot remember precisely whether it was at a private or public meeting that the current Governor of Lagos State mentioned that Nigerians should be careful on how we neglect the poor. He gave a scenario which may be of interest to Nigerians to re - awaken our mind about the dangers of neglecting our poor. 'The rich among us send their children to schools in Europe and the United States of America . Colossal sums of money are spent in the process to get these children educated. After the education, the children come back to Nigeria to discover that the environment is totally unsupportive of his education and security. We forget that these children will have to live in our community. What about our rich who live in beautiful mansions, driving fleet of cars but surrounded by the poor. It is therefore imperative that we all work together, to take care of our poor, by creating a supportive environment for them'. I felt so moved by his passion and the correct analysis of the dangers of the future, if nothing is done about the poor.

No one is against the rich. Every good nation must always create wealth for its people. They must be moving from poverty to prosperity. There is no nation that will not have the poor. What is expected however is that while the rich continue to live in his luxury those who are poor must also have access to basic necessities of live to be happy and contented. The obvious in balance is where our problem lies in this nation.

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