The Power of Personal Responsibility: A Call to Good Citizenship in Nigeria
By @harrydaniyan and Adéyínká Ọlásúnkànmí Kásámasedáadáa, CSSAN
I joined a fuel queue this morning at an NNPC Fuel Station. A few minutes later, I saw a black nylon bag tossed out from a car in front of me. Curiosity got the better of me, and I walked up to the car to pick up the bag. To my surprise, it was filled with groundnut shells.
Just a few meters away from the young man who tossed the bag was a trash can. Yet, he chose to litter. This incident led me to engage him in a conversation. I asked if he was part of the #EndBadGovernance Protest. Expectedly, he was. But I asked him, how can we expect good governance when we don’t even know how to drop trash in a trash can?
If we can all stand up and fight against bad citizenship, Nigeria will be a better country for us all. This is what the “CHANGE BEGINS WITH ME” Program of President Buhari’s Administration was all about. Let’s take responsibility for our actions and work towards creating a better society. May Nigeria succeed!
In fairness to the young man, he listened to me and took correction. I hope he learned a lesson today and will become an advocate for the #EndBadCitizenship Movement in our country, Nigeria. Let’s keep shining a light on those who make a positive impact!
A Call to Action from Adéyínká Ọlásúnkànmí Kásámasedáadáa, CSSAN:
If we all want a better country, if we all truly want a better Nigeria, we don’t have to keep wishing for Nigeria to get better with our wishful thinking because it won’t get any better until we become better ourselves in all of our dealings. The change we seek should begin with us. No foreigner will fix our country for us; we have to be determined to be patriotic citizens of Nigeria in every sector of the country we find ourselves. Civil servants, private business owners, private individuals, students, teachers, and lecturers, from the elected officials like the president down to the lowest appointees in the local government, market men and women. If we want better, we need to do better.