Fortune

The average Nigerian lives for about 54 years, while the Japanese can expect to live for about 90 to 100 years, Singaporeans for 83 years, and Canadians for 82 years. Does this mean that God is more eager to receive Nigerians into heaven than He is to receive the Japanese, Singaporeans or Canadians? Or have we created a society in which death arrives earlier for some than it does for others? A Nigerian may spend 40 fewer years on earth than a Japanese person. Forty years! An entire lifetime of birthdays, conversations, dreams, family gatherings and opportunities, lost to a difference that cannot simply be explained away as the will of God. Perhaps we should stop looking towards heaven for answers to questions that demand answers from those governing us on earth. The policies of the man sitting in Aso Rock affect the hospitals we enter, the food we eat, the water we drink, the jobs we find and the conditions under which we struggle to survive. Until Nigerians understand that leadership is not merely about who occupies the presidential seat, but also about how long and how well the people live, we may continue to mistake a failure of governance for a decision of God.