Dishonesty Remains Nigeria’s Topmost Challenge, Says Economist

By Kuni Tyessi

Former lecturer, economist and business woman, Maimuna Ahman Pategi, has claimed that apart from bad leadership, criminality and other social vices bedevilling the Nigerian society, dishonesty is topmost as 99.9percent of the populace are guilty of it.

Pategi who stated this in Abuja during a special prayer session in remembrance of selected family members and friends, lamented that the Nigerian situation was so bad that no one can come into the country at the moment and make it in terms of investment.

She said the problem was not only with the government but also with the people who determine the kind of governance that they get, as every leadership is a product of the society.

According to her: “I worry about my grand children because 99.9 percent of Nigerians are dishonest and that’s why we are finding it difficult to win the war against corruption. The way a civil servant can be so rich and even take his children abroad for studies and does so openly is disheartening. There’s no society that condoles this. I keep wondering how I can get my grandchildren to be honest in such a society.

“The problem is not only with the government. The people determine the government. It’s even in the scriptures that God will not change the condition of the people until they change themselves. So whatever bad leadership we have, came from the society and one of the biggest problems we have is bad leadership.

“The average Nigerian is dishonest. So we can’t get good leadership if the generality of the people are dishonest. Nigerians want to cut corners, even those of us that are educated are not left out.

“The situation is so bad and as it is, there’s no way anyone can come into Nigeria now and make it. Until each individual looks within and drives the supposed change that we all want to see, only little can be achieved,” she added.

Those who were prayed for are Halita Aliyu, Ramatu Lukman and Abdullahi Abubakar. Others were victims of Boko Haram, banditry and insurgents as well as other levels of criminality in the country.

She supported the act by stating that: “In Islam, when you are dead, the benefit you get is from people who pray for you. We are told that there’s punishment in the grave, but from the prayers, their punishment can be reduced and will give them light in their graves and make their graves more comfortable.”