Mind piece

Nigerians, the greedy politicians that embezzle public funds meant to make life easier for you, the police officers that demands bribes from you,harasses and arrests you wrongly; the soldiers that beats you up and punishes you in the streets, did not all fall from Heaven. They are your brothers and sisters, uncles and aunts, mums and dads. They are your cousins, friends, nephews and nieces etc.

Nigerians complain about police brutality, about greedy politicians (never mind that we suddenly act like psychophants when they're around), but the truth is they are a perfect representation of the average Nigerian, of the kind of mentality he possesses. I've said it before that the average Nigerian has psychopathic tendencies. This tendency is then accentuated through power and pushes those who have obtained this position of power to act with a careless inhumanity.

This psychopathic tendency is what makes you gather up stones to kill that thief you catch in the market. It is what makes you set people up to get beaten and robbed just because they're different from you. It is what makes you maltreat those who are under your supervision, who work for you.

This will definitely make me unpopular, but the truth is, I find it hard to sympathise with Nigerians on anything, I really do. I am almost indifferent to the plight of the average Nigerian. I feel like we get exactly the kind of leaders, the kind of officers, the kind of people in positions of power that we deserve.

Writer :oluwatobi Faderera