Nigeria - Dealing With Issue Of Morality

A great article on the Nigerian national pride and the people of Nigeria's ongoing pursuit to make their country great again!

I have heard it over and over again that diagnosis is the first essential step in a journey towards recovery. In patients as well as nations, ailments, physical or moral, have chances of cure if they are well understood and their root causes identified. It is very important for us, Nigerians to know the moral state of Nigeria as a big step to curing her, to giving her a moral face-lift.

Let me start by sounding like the loyal citizen that I am. Loyalty is a very important virtue which God desires every one of His children to exhibit. To be "loyal" is to be "unswerving in allegiance; to be devoted to and faithful in allegiance to someone or to a cause, ideal, custom, institution, or product." As a Christian, I owe my absolute loyalty to the Lord Jesus Christ. However, the Lord desires that I exhibit this virtue in other areas of life. He wants me to be a loyal citizen of my country - Nigeria.

Disloyalty to one's nation is the reason certain government officials can divert public funds for their personal use. It's the reason someone can climb a pole and steal streetlights meant to serve all of us, and go sell them. Disloyalty is what makes people vandalize government infrastructure and amenities without remorse. What on earth can make me be a disloyal person?

My desire at all times is to see this nation, Nigeria move forward and make progress. Despite the problems of corruption, violence, fraud and infrastructural decay that we see in our society today, which unfortunately are outgrowths of greed and disloyalty, I still believe that something good is about to take place in Nigeria. Therefore, I challenge you, dear fellow citizens of Nigeria, to be the best you can. In your place of work, dare to be different! Be known as a loyal employee.

It may sound true that Nigeria is an open society where evil people operate openly without a serious restriction, yet when you do the best you can, progress will be achieved. Nigeria may be a nation whose criminal record can easily be said to be as complex as its population, with an average citizen's moral judgment on it, mostly negative and disappointing, yet we are never the worst at it. There may be basic problems, socio-physical in nature such as lack of good roads, traffic hold-up in many areas, poor and inefficient power supply, water supply, inflation, high cost of living, etc, yet there is a promise of light at the end of the tunnel.

The slogan, 'Nigeria: good People Great Nation' truly is a clear description of the nation, Nigeria. Despite all the problems and even more serious ones that threaten the very survival of the nation and its citizens on daily basis, there is still a high level of tolerance that keeps them adjusting to the situations on ground. Having been troubled and influenced in all fronts negatively, an average Nigerian has learned to live with half-baked truth, power play, marginalization, loss of honesty, moral integrity; lack of moral conscience by public officials, businessmen and even professionals; lack of restraint and discipline in private and public lives of the citizens; lack of genuine enthusiasm for spiritual goods and values; and in fact, lack of the moral sense of right and wrong in practical life such as business deals, contracts, etc, still Nigerians, I mean, true citizens are doing greater things to counter the negative.

Nevertheless, what is really very disturbing about Nigeria and Nigerians is the seeming conviction on the part of many that only crime and criminal ways pay, which suggests to the uninformed that those are the only ways by which someone, becomes important, rich, respected, easily powerful and crowd-puller. This is not the true state of the Nigeria of our dreams? I mean, a nation without moral scruples, plagued all about with various kinds of social ills? God forbid!

Though unfair competition, bribery, corruption, rising costs of living, brigandage, embezzlement, etc have made and are currently making recurrent themes in print and electronic media, yet I see Nigeria leaping out of the moral sickness and the eventual death. I see the veil of criminality lifted out of this country and catching fire - a sign of liberation. I see moral laxity, poverty, injustice, immoral cultural habits, crime, etc giving way to give rise to a New Nigeria.

However, in this task of societal moral reconstruction, it is very important that Nigerians should be Nigerians indeed, believe in Nigeria and act in order to give this country a moral face-lift. Let us play out loud, this indispensable role of being true to ourselves and what we stand for. NIGERIA shall truly be GREAT again!

Source: Vitus Ejiogu is a writer and publisher with the Fire-Brand Int"l Ministries, a media ministry that is based in Nigeria.

He is the editor of FOUNDATION SATELLITE magazine also published by the ministry. He pastors a Church in Bauchi and is married with two children.

You can reach him at: firebrandhq@yahoo.com or 234 802 8181 829.

Website: http://www.palmgates.com

or http://www.firebrandhq.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Vitus_Ejiogu

Cost Of Living In Lagos

LOCATION: Nigeria is in Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Benin and Cameroon.

CAPITAL CITY: Abuja

LARGEST CITY: Lagos

CURRENCY: Nigerian Naira (NGN)

ECONOMY: Nigeria is a low-income developing economy despite its many natural resources, including oil reserves, metals, forests and fertile farmland. Petroleum plays a large role in the Nigerian economy, accounting for 40% of the GDP.

Lagos has an overall cost of living index which equates it with high cost of living locations. The overall cost of living index is comprised of the prices for defined quantities of the same goods and services across all 13 Basket Groups. Lagos is currently ranked 53 overall, most expensive place in the world for expatriates to live, out of 276 international locations. The cost of living overview for each of the 13 Basket Groups is as follows:

Alcohol & Tobacco costs for alcoholic beverages such as alcohol at bar, beer, locally produced spirit, whiskey, and wine as well as tobacco products such as cigarettes is equally expensive on average compared to other cities with a rank of 120 out of 276.

Clothing costs for clothing and footwear products such as business suits, casual clothing, childrens clothing and footwear, coats and hats, evening wear, shoe repairs, and underwear is equally expensive on average compared to other cities with a rank of 101 out of 276.

Communication costs for various communication costs such as home telephone rental and call charges, internet connection and service provider fees, mobile / cellular phone contract and calls is equally expensive on average compared to other cities with a rank of 182 out of 276.

Education costs such as creche / pre-school fees, high school / college fees, primary school fees, and tertiary study fees is relatively more expensive compared to other cities with a rank of 12 out of 276.

Furniture & Appliance costs for furniture, household equipment and household appliances such as dvd player, fridge freezer, iron, kettle, toaster, microwave, light bulbs, television, vacuum cleaner, and washing machine is relatively less expensive compared to other cities with a rank of 228 out of 276.

Grocery costs for food, non-alcoholic beverages and cleaning material items such as baby consumables, baked goods, baking, canned foods, cheese, cleaning products, dairy, fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, fruit juices, meat, oil & vinegars, pet food, pre-prepared meals, sauces, seafood, snacks, soft drinks, spices & herbs is relatively more expensive compared to other cities with a rank of 48 out of 276.

Healthcare costs for general healthcare, medical and medical insurance such as general practitioner consultation rates, hospital private ward daily rate, non-prescription medicine, and private medical insurance / medical aid contributions is relatively more expensive compared to other cities with a rank of 25 out of 276.

Household costs for housing, water, electricity, household gas, household fuels, local rates and residential taxes such as house / flat mortgage, house / flat rental, household electricity consumption, household gas / fuel consumption, household water consumption, and local property rates / taxes / levies is relatively more expensive compared to other cities with a rank of 24 out of 276.

Miscellaneous costs related to stationary, linen and general goods and services such as domestic help, dry cleaning, linen, office supplies, newspapers and magazines, and postage stamps is relatively more expensive compared to other cities with a rank of 76 out of 276.

Personal Care costs for personal care products and services such as cosmetics, hair care, moisturizer / sun block, nappies, pain relief tablets, toilet paper, toothpaste, and soap / shampoo / conditioner is relatively more expensive compared to other cities with a rank of 29 out of 276.

Recreation and Culture costs such as books, camera film, cinema ticket, DVD and CDs, sports goods, and theatre tickets is relatively more expensive compared to other cities with a rank of 30 out of 276.

Restaurants, Meals Out and Hotel costs such as business dinner, dinner at a restaurant (non fast food), hotel rates, take away drinks and snacks (fast food) is relatively less expensive compared to other cities with a rank of 253 out of 276.

Transport costs for public transport, vehicle costs, vehicle fuel, vehicle insurance and vehicle maintenance such as hire purchase / lease of vehicle, petrol / diesel, public transport service maintenance, tires, vehicle Insurance, and vehicle purchase is equally expensive on average compared to other cities with a rank of 139 out of 276.

Your exact customized cost of living index for Lagos is based on which of the above basket groups as well as the comparison location you select in the Calculators.

In terms of the hardship people are likely to experience, assessed in global terms, Lagos is ranked as a high degree of hardship location with a hardship index of 30%.

Your exact customized hardship index premium for Lagos is based on the comparison location that you select in the Calculators.

Source: http://www.xpatulator.com/outside.cfm?lid=150

About the Author: Steven is Chief Instigator at http://www.xpatulator.com a website that provides cost of living index information and calculates what you need to earn to compensate for cost of living, hardship, and exchange rate differences.