One thing I have found particularly problematic about our country’s culture is our consumerist addiction to the short term. Even though many people will likely be offended by this example, the fuel subsidy crisis really brought this uniquely Nigerian tendency to the fore.

There is a raging debate going on right now in Nigeria about how other people spend their money. And by other people, I mean Nigeria’s elite– because I like to think they aren’t actually engaged in this conversation. That would be poor form.

Despite the average Nigerian’s reaction, I find it hard to find anything wrong with these men (and women) supporting with their wallets activities and events they most derive the most joy from, whether it is a group of eleven men successfully running triangles around a small ball, a famous pregnant foreigner’s feeble “hey naija”, or even a man of God’s “hallelujah”. It is none of our business.

The best response, (apart from silence) for the many complaining in penury at these “strategic” displays of opulence is the famously Nigerian “is it your money?”

As the answer to this question is no, we will move on to other things i.e. how our values align with how we spend our money and consider opportunities.

One thing I have found particularly problematic about our country’s culture is our consumerist addiction to the short term. Even though many people will likely be offended by this example, the fuel subsidy crisis really brought this uniquely Nigerian tendency to the fore. Although there were many whose support for the fuel subsidy was motivated by some level of long term thinking, for many, bringing back the fuel subsidy was a no brainer matter of bringing down transport costs and nothing more.

There are many more ubiquitous examples of how our flair for living in the present has doomed our future, from opulent weddings funded with bank loans to our inability to save and even the government’s tendency to federally share the proceeds of our oil wealth without regard for the quickly growing amount of debt future Nigerians will only find time to kick down time’s road. Only in a few years, when the rolling millstone of sovereign debt has gathered intractable moss, will we will miraculous intervention from foreign gods.

This mentality has crept into the kinds of thing we celebrate together. We are happy to celebrate, millions of dollars in tow, a one time, almost miraculous victory in AFCON while we forgive and forget the decades of rot in Glass House. We gladly pay $640m for foreign entertainment while we failing to grow our local entertainment industry into global ambassadors of African culture they have the potential to be. We are focused on who the next President is rather than figuring out where how we can groom several Presidents after the next.  We are spending exorbitantly to celebrate the last 100 years of this union without sparing a thought for the next 100 years.  When and from where can we expect another vision after vision 2020 has come, seen and conquered us.

As one of my favorite CEO, Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon once said, “we can’t realize our potential as people or as companies unless we plan for the long term”. The same applies to nations – especially for one so young and clueless as we are.

The sooner our government and business leaders eschew short term consumption for long term investment, the sooner we can put our country back on the path to sustainable progress.

———————–———————–

Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.