In the words of John Stuart Mills “genuine representative democracy involves the whole people all equally represented”. This is against the general misconception that democracy is the government of the whole people by a mere majority of the people exclusively represented. In a true democracy both the majority and minority groups in the society should have a voice in government.
This qualifies a government as a true upholder of equality. The central theme of governance is to serve the people, regardless of party, ethnic and religious inclinations. At the end of the day, the citizens are all taxpayers, so they must have equal opportunities. This forms part of the Nigerian dream that we hope becomes a reality.

For the average American, the American dream is not about having stuffs, it's about having opportunities. James Truslow in 1931 puts it that “The American dream is the dream of a land in which life should be better, richer and fuller for every man with opportunities for each according to his ability or achievement”. Citizens should be able to graduate from college with minimal debts, secure a job that has career benefits, be able to afford health care costs while saving for retirement, paying down loans and still live a comfortable life. The American dream is a set of ideals (democracy, right, liberty, opportunity and equality). Opportunity for prosperity and success, upward social mobility for family and children. “All men are created with right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness”.

On the flip side, one is forced to ask; that as citizens of this great country Nigeria, what are our ideals? What do we take to heart or imbibe as the Nigerian dream? Do we have any? I’m not talking about mere electioneering promises on campaign grounds, most of whom never materialize or castles that have been built in the air for years, developmental plans that do not see the light of the day or conduit pipes for siphoning funds in form of empowerment programs or poverty alleviation schemes from TAN, Sure-P, You-Win, School feeding program, Trader-Moni, Conditional Cash Transfers and other handful of schemes. What can we tell a newborn child as the Nigerian dream when the leaders get worse by the day, corruption soars unabated, just when you feel you have seen it all; another case takes it top-notch.
Students cannot have the best of education, our educational budget has hit an all-time low, even when students scale through the dreaded monster, jobs are not readily available. Young graduates have been urged to think outside the box, even when they do, the policies of government are contrary to the demands of the unemployed population. They do not stand a chance of getting into power either, as the gerontocrats who are supposedly full of wisdom are still holding on to power. Yet the youths are leaders of tomorrow that never comes.

The sole priority of government is to create a better life for the citizens but 60 years after uhuru (freedom) are we better off as a country or worse off? Your response is as good as mine. When we think of a nation as blessed as Nigeria, upward mobility of citizens and intergenerational transfer of wealth should be the end result but the reverse has been the case; downward mobility, inflation rate, intergenerational transfer of poverty, unemployment, insecurity (terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, cult clashes), religious and inter-tribal clashes continues with no end in sight.

This is what we get for being Nigerians. Honesty has long been relegated to the background, lies upon lies, scams upon scams are tarnishing the image of the nation globally. The NDDC probe and all other probes that have found their way to the senate or House of Representatives.
Not to forget the high salary earnings of lawmakers but the people get starvation wages that cannot assuage the rising food prices. This makes us live each day as it comes, one can't be futuristic as it is shrouded in uncertainties. Living in Nigeria guarantees one thousand and one ways to die; death trap as roads, poor health care facilities, insecurity, police harassment, etc. The burning question remains, how did we get here? I’ll give you a clue: it was through conscious and willful inimical policies over the years. Even when policies are right, the implementation and subsequent evaluation are poorly carried out or never done but as Nigerians, we tend to write off the past often too quickly as evident in the crop of leaders who are currently in office.

A true Nigerian dream cannot emanate from leaders who think of everything but the people. We are quick to act as big brother, chastising sister nations, but we haven’t put our own house in order. We are quick to see the speck in the system of others, but we have failed to remove the log in our own polity. Sheer hypocrisy at its peak. A nation where majority of citizens live below a dollar a day which has made them passively docile, ready to accept tyranny just to have a shot at the good life. True, we are all created equal with the right to the pursuit of happiness, when all strength is expended to survive on a daily basis, happiness will remain a mirage and will constantly elude the citizens.

A convincing criterion of a good government depends on ‘the quality of life of citizens composing the country/state over which governmental powers are exercised. Virtue and excellence must be upheld by citizens and leaders alike but where this is replaced with prejudice, ignorance, ineptitude, rentier system, corruption such a system will not stand the test of time.

So what should the Nigerian dream be? In my personal opinion, the Nigerian dream should be that of ” a nation that respect and upholds the social, civil, religious, ethnic, associational liberty of the people, a nation with a workable developmental plan, people oriented policies and programs. With leaders who are called to serve and not to be served, a nation that uphold and rewards truth and merit with a diversified and flourishing economy. A secured nation with equal opportunity for citizens to reach their goals. A nation that truly promotes growth, human capacity development, proportional representation of all groups (majority and minority). Standard health care system with state-of-the-art facilities and infrastructures, well funded educational institutions. Job opportunities and industrialization drive, freedom, liberty and adherence to constitution and rule of law”.

Conclusively, anything or acts that spells ill for Nigeria should be jettisoned. This is achievable; America did it or are still doing it. Why not Nigeria? This is not utopian or a form of El Dorado. We can get it done. Let us join hands together to create a Nigeria where it gets better from here. God bless our country.