Look around. Why is traffic in London orderly but traffic in Lagos chaotic? Yet many Nigerians living in London are the same Nigerians living in Lagos. Are they different people? No. Same Nigerians. Different consequences.
A better Nigeria will not joke with law. No rich country jokes with the law.
What is wrong now:
In Nigeria, law is for the poor. Big man beats traffic light, nothing happens. Small man forgets seatbelt, police collect N10k. Contractor collects money, no work, no consequence. Court case lasts 10 years. When law fails, investors run away.
Check the numbers: World Justice Project Rule of Law Index 2024 out of 142 countries — Singapore is 16th with 0.78, UAE is 37th with 0.64, Rwanda is 39th with 0.63, Ghana is 62nd with 0.54, Nigeria is 120th with 0.41.
Rwanda that had genocide 30 years ago now ranks higher than us. Because they said “order must return.”
What a better version looks like:
Imagine if in your state:
- Traffic law is enforced by camera, whether you are the Governor’s son or a keke rider, you pay the same fine.
- An LGA contractor who does a bad road is blacklisted and published in the media for all to see.
- Police stop collecting cash on the road, but wear bodycams.
In Kigali today, you cannot throw dirt on the road. Everybody obeys. That is one reason investors trust them. It looks simple, but that is what it is.
Your action today:
Don’t be part of the disorder. Today, obey one law you usually break, don’t jump queue, don’t bribe, stop at red light, don’t throw pure water sachet on the floor. And tell your ward Councillor: “We want our streets to have order.”
Order is not about government only. It starts with us.
