AN OPEN LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT BY ZAINAB QUADRI

Dear President,
I write to you today my dear President as a youth who dreams of a Nigeria where equity and justice reigns and corruption, money laundering and all evil vices has been thrown into the waste basket. I also dream of a Nigeria which can boast of 24hours non-interrupted power supply and also provide basic amenities to its citizens.
However it’s no longer news that the once giant of Africa (Nigeria) has been lost deep in the wilderness of underdevelopment and insecurity due to effects of corruption and tribal scheming but despite all these I still believe we can return back to those days when we were still the envy of other countries across the world.
In order for this to be achieved we need to begin to put the progress of our country first before our own selfish desires. This is why I believe that of all the uncountable needs of the country, your primary focus should be on energy, security and education.
By energy I mean electricity; if you solve the power problem, foreign direct investment will come in and Nigerians will be able to function. The amount of money wasted on diesel would be cut down. According to Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo, “Solving the power problem will create what in leadership principle is called the corridor principle. If you want to go through a corridor, once you open the first major door, other doors will begin to open.” If the power problem is solved, industries will reopen, factories will start to work, prices will go down, other problems will be resolved, and there will be less unemployment in the country.
The second major area is security. The nation is insecure; people are just too afraid; armed robbers have a field day, and they kill at random. Kidnapping is now becoming the order of the day, citizen do not have confidence in the Nigerian police anymore; you can't drive on Nigerian motorway during the day, not even at night, without being afraid that there will be armed robbers on the way. When the country lacks security, there will be no foreign investment; even the citizens will be scared to take the next required step for their business to grow further for fear of armed robbers or kidnappers attacking them.
John F. Kennedy once said “Let us think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there is a private hope and dream which, fulfilled, can be translated into benefit for everyone and greater strength for our nation.” His words sums up the need for an enabling learning environment for we the younger generation because we are the hope of the future and with the right education, we can take the country to the next level.
My father would always say that “All men will be remembered either for the problem they caused or the ones they solved”. I believe it’s high time you removed personal sentiments and ask yourself this one big question: What do I want to be remembered for?
Oh! Mr President, this is the tears of many Nigerians inked on this letter. This is a letter from the many ailing souls who carry the green Nigerian blood in their veins. This is the cry of our land on the pages of paper. I do sincerely hope that the mail man of time gets this letter to your desk. I do prayerfully hope that our Nigeria will breathe a new air of development. I do sincerely hope that our Nigeria will become a source of pride and once again the giant of Africa.