Sanitation and Landscaping; The first step in Development
Perhaps There might be some sociological or psychological explanation to explain black peoples neglect or low regard for their living environment in comparison to white cultures that seem to have a better appreciation for nature and cleanliness.
As a Nigerian, you can discern this from driving through cities that had old GRA's like Makurdi or Jos when you notice the tranquil environment of those areas due to sheds from trees, flowers and manicured lawns since overtaken by weeds because of neglect by Nigerians after independence. You will also notice the perceptibly different environments in schools universities or hospitals built in pre-colonial Nigeria compared to post independence by the absence of the same trees, lawns and fields for sports.
Nigerians have become so neglectful of the environment they build on every square inch of land and fail to landscape or plant both agricultural and beautification trees or create parks and relaxation zones in neighborhoods thereby trapping residents in their gated fortresses. A drive through the streets of Nigerian cities will reinforce this siege mentality when you count they number of gated residences. This culture encourages Insecurity from secrecy behind closed doors and discourages interaction.
European and American cities are usually spotlessly clean, with a touch of nature because they budget and dedicate huge resources towards maintenance and purchasing machines for particular tasks and maintaining trees.
The also pay thousands of gardeners, painters, window washers and street cleaners to sweep every inch of pavement to keep infrastructure and the streets in pristine condition.
Many might wonder why Nigerians who could not function in Naija suddenly become more productive and intelligent overseas without taking into account how the sanitary and orderly environment immediately upgrades thought processes and the quality of discourse and engagement while imparting civility and intelligence.
Many might also wonder despite our abundant resources and resident experts why we always travel overseas for all sorts of educational, medicinal and social tourism activities without factoring the need to escape to a sane orderly environment that is clean and pristine something seriously lacking in many parts of Naija.
As a way of discouraging these types of tourism and to upgrade our culture and improve our habits and thought processes, Nigerian administrators need to plan and expend huge resources in beautifying the environment and engage in tree planting campaigns to create an environment that discourages the need for its citizens to seek escape elsewhere.
Providing security and Beautifying the environment by first and foremost ridding the mega cities of Aba, Lagos and Onitsha of the mountains of refuse are the first step towards encouraging massive investments and relocation of foreigners to Nigerian to provide the financing to speed up its development.
There is also a spiritual imperative for maintaining a highly sanitized and pristine environment because many holy books or perhaps it is the common wisdom passed around that Cleanliness is next to Godliness.
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