Creationists believe that God created the world through the pronunciation of his will “that there be” and “there became”. After creating the earth, God moulded man from sand, and gave man life by breathing into him. Like God, many humans have been breathing on environmental resources to fabricate machines, and to catalyse progress in the society. Through their research, scientific progress and social justice, many people keep breathing on their society. To the extent that there is industrial progress and social justice in a place, to that extent are the inhabitants breathing on it.
A quick survey across Nigerian cities shows a common thought-pattern among Nigerian youths about reviving Nigeria’s socio-economic fortune. This common pattern points to an easy recourse to the same dormant economic speculation reserved for African countries. They note that the first approach to reviving Nigeria will be to share money so that young Nigerians can move into business. And most of the businesses they suggested imply an immediate return of the money to foreign by importing the foreign products. It appears that African brains have been conditioned for importation of finished goods and infrastructure against collaborating for local production, before distributing.
Humans are the most important resources for every society; their strength, capacity and ingenuity are the highest guarantee of security, productivity and progress in the society. Their scientific touch on natural resources is like the divine breath that gave life to moulded man. Through this scientific touch, humans have breathed on natural resources to create cars, bridges, airplanes, phones and other inventions. The more humans breathe on their environment, the more they increase the social and scientific development of their society.
Every society has some natural resources that they can breathe upon to create valuable items. Some have arable lands, minerals, water-bodies, good topography, climate, special plants and gifted human skills. Nigeria is blessed with all these natural resources, yet, there is little evidence that Nigerians have breathed on their environment. They have crude oil without fuel, cocoa without chocolates, iron-ore without cars/steel and other mineral resources without corresponding finished products.
Unfortunately, the present Nigerians seem undisturbed by our inability to breathe on our environment for sustainable productivity. We seem to have settled with sharing the breath from other societies, even at the expense of our object for breathing.[1] Today, Nigerians eagerly wait for the next breath, as latest technology, in cars, jewelleries, phones, home or gadgets. As soon as they make money, the money goes back as payment for some foreigners’ scientific breath. From churches, schools, homes, markets, roads and offices, Nigerians have lists of foreign items waiting for money to be purchased.
The Nigerian Mineral and Mining Act[2][3][4] created the gap between innovative Nigerians and the mineral resources, upon which they should be breathing. However, the complete resignation to circumstance created by this Act, and the shameless rush towards foreign goods remains appalling. Nigerian brains even lose confidence in their capacity to successfully breathe on the environment for productivity. So, they settle for exporting natural resources, and import of foreign scientific breath as finished goods.
To address this breathlessness, the constituent ethnicities in Nigeria must evaluate and promote their social values for local productivity. Second, they evaluate their natural resources within their locations and the possible technological outputs or products obtainable from them. Third, they begin to train their people for utilizing these natural resources for productivity, even with the help of foreigners. Fourth, they demand access to their resources from the federal government, and agree to a tax-percentage on final production. Finally, they start breathing on their environment by using their natural resources in producing what they need for sustenance and trade.
[1] Mineral resources
[2] Nigerian minerals and mining act 2007 act no. 20, chapter 1, Part 1, Section 1, paragraph 2 “… all lands in which minerals have been found in Nigeria and any area covered by its territorial waters or constituency and the Exclusive Economic Zone shall, from the commencement of this Act be acquired by the Government of the Federation…” “No person shall search for or exploit mineral resources in Nigeria or divert or impound any water for the purpose of mining except as provided in this Act.” “The property in mineral resources shall pass from the Government to the person by whom the mineral resources are lawfully won, upon their recovery in accordance with this Act.”
[3] Nigerian minerals and mining act 2007 act no. 20, chapter 1, Part 1, Section 2, paragraph 1
[4] Nigerian minerals and mining act 2007 act no. 20, chapter 1, Part 1, Section 1, paragraph 3