one time in the 1970s and uptil 1982? folks used to say that NIGERIA HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BECOME A WORLD POWER and to BECOME A FOUNTAIN OF ECONOMIC GROWTH FOR THE ENTIRE BLACK DIASPORA i.e THE ENTIRE BLACK PEOPLES WORLDWIDE

and today 2021, one cannot help but wonder

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THAT DREAM ?????????

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THOSE DREAMS ?????????

you know, looking at things, i guess that

the pivot of that concept there
the pivot of that dream / those dreams there

the fulcrum of that concept there
the fulcrum of that dream / those dreams there

is the word POTENTIAL.

i mean, you can have the potential to become
a Medical Doctor or an Engineer or a Lawyer
however
you need to have

● access to a University where you can go to get the relevant education

● an ability / capacity to pay the necessary school fees / tuition fees and all .. either by your parents / guardians / sponsors paying those fees or you yourself personally paying those fees or maybe a combination effort of you yourself working or doing something to get some money to add to whatever your guardians/parents provide so that you can make up the money for the school fees

● a capacity and determination to focus on your studies .. at least to a fair extent .. when you get into to university so that you don’t get thrown out for poor academic performance.

all of which means for instance that
if, for example,
you are the best student ( male or female ) in your secondary school graduating class

but

●●  you do not have access to a University where you can go to get the relevant education
either because
there is none in your country and you cannot afford the expenses of travelling abroad to study

or because
as is the case in Nigeria
admission into the University is a bitter struggle ►►►

( .. at least for students of Igbo/Ibo tribe i.e South-Eastern Nigeria origin
i.e for students from
Anambra State, Imo State, Enugu State, Abia State, Ebonyi State

who for reasons difficult to identify or understand
are classified in the warped? thinking? of Nigeria as coming from
” EDUCATIONALLY ADVANTAGED STATES ”

a term that is difficult to understand seeing that historically for example :
[1] the ” EDUCATIONALLY DIS-ADVANTAGED STATES “ of South-South Nigeria being closer to the Atlantic Ocean than the hinterland igbo/ibo tribe area had far earlier interaction with aryans/caucasians/europeans who came from Europe via the seas

and so had primary schools and secondary schools far before any area in core igbo-land/ibo-land and had higher institutions like
HOPE WADELL, CALABAR founded in 1895
when there was no such thing anywhere in igbo-land/ibo-land

[2] this un-fair? and wicked? categorisation? puts them in the same grouping as the yoruba tribe of South-Western Nigeria who also being closer to the Atlantic Ocean than the far hinterland igbo/ibo tribe area had far earlier interaction with aryans/caucasians/europeans who came from Europe via the seas

and so had
primary schools

and
secondary schools e.g
● C.M.S, Grammar School, Bariga, Lagos founded 6 June, 1859
● King’s College, Lagos [ for Boys ] founded 20 September, 1909
● Queen’s College [ for Girls ] 10 October, 1927
far, far, far before any such schools were founded anywhere in Igbo-land / Ibo-land

and had higher institutions like
● YABA COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY founded in 1947
● UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN founded in 1948
when there was no such thing anywhere in igbo-land/ibo-land )

►►►and you find yourself being one of the students that though
seemingly qualified for University education on the face of things
can not get into a/the University

because of factors like
► catchment area
► high cut off mark for the course you want to read
► etc?
working against you.

●● you actually pass the University entrance examination
but
there is no one anywhere in your family
or
within your circle of acquaintances
that has the funds and/or willingness to pay for your education at the University

●● you do get into the University but you allow your self to get distracted and so distracted that you are unable to pay the slightest attention
.. even the barest minimal attention ..
to your studies and so you get thrown out of the University
for reasons of poor academic performance

you will not get that degree that you had to potential to get
being the best student ( male or female ) in your secondary school graduating class.

in effect, the translation of potential into reality requires

►► the presence of the factor of opportunity
►► the ability, capability and capacity to harness that opportunity
►► the determination and the focus to work on that your target/dream/objective

within the scope of dynamics of available harnessed opportunity
so as to achieve the desired objectives / target results.

if that surmisation / perception is correct
then
the question arises

as to what? could it be? that has
all along
all these years
.. in the 1950s .. in the 1960s .. in the 1970s .. in the 1980s …. till date 2021 ..
stopped
NIGERIA FROM HARNESSING IT’S POTENTIAL OF BECOMING A WORLD POWER
( … like USA, RUSSIA, BRITAIN, GERMANY,FRANCE, CHINA?, JAPAN? … )
AND
TRANSLATING THAT POTENTIAL INTO REALITY

and
the question also arises as to

what? could it be? that has
all along
all these years
.. in the 1950s .. in the 1960s .. in the 1970s .. in the 1980s …. till date 2021 ..
stopped
NIGERIA FROM BECOMING A FOUNTAIN OF ECONOMIC GROWTH
FOR THE ENTIRE BLACK DIASPORA i.e
FOR THE ENTIRE BLACK PEOPLES WORLDWIDE

looking at the factors that we earlier identified that can affect
the TRANSLATION of POTENTIAL into REALITY , viz :

►► the presence of the factor of opportunity
►► the ability, capability and capacity to harness that opportunity
►► the determination and the focus to work on that your target/dream/objective

within the scope of dynamics of available harnessed opportunity
so as to achieve the desired objectives / target results.

i think that we may need to add another one

i.e the one of i.e the factor of

►►► the mind-set of the people that influence things and make things happen in a given society

►►► the thinking of the people that influence things and make things happen in a given society

►►► the vision of the people that influence things and make things happen in a given society

►►► the scope of perception and scope of thought of the people that influence things and make things happen in a given society

by that phrase there viz :
“ the people that influence things and make things happen in a given society ”
i mean
cumulatively

● the trend-setters
● the pace-setters
● the leaders of opinion
● the leaders of thought
● the economic elite
● the financial elite
● the business elite
● the social elite
● the political elite
● the armed forces elite i.e the military elite .. the air-force elite .. the navy elite .. the police elite .. etc …. particularly in third world countries
● the civil service elite i.e the higher echelon in the federal civil service and the state[s] civil service
● the bigger players in the formal and informal business sectors of the ecomomy
● the intelligentsia
● the people that influence, determine and decide what happens and/or does not happen in any given society

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[ CONTINUED IN (2) ]