Veteran comedian and actor, Alibaba has linked his experience at an hotel he checked in, to why things have gone wrong over time in Nigeria.
“We are a society without maintenance culture.” The actor wrote on Instagram. “We buy expensive things because we want quality but we do not have the capacity to keep the things we buy in top shape.”
Sharing his experience at an hotel he checked in at Abeokuta, the actor revealed
I checked into this beautiful place in Abeokuta. And as I sat on the toilet bowl, my eyes caught the stainless steel tap. It had all tell tales of fluoride.
There were hints of red, blue, white and green pastes, definitely from previous guests of the hotel. Because I know there are no adire taps.
I don’t have OCD. That is @mummymary_ territory. But this just couldn’t let me be. So I got soap and washed it. It still had all those stains. So I brought out my paste applied a generous amount and left it for a while. Then came back to scrub it. Bangdededen! The results were good but with the same process repeated over time, it will look like pure silver always.
If you thought this was about hygiene you missed it. It’s about governance. The reason things are this bad in Nigeria, is because over time, we failed to maintain standards. We stop turnaround maintenance in our refineries.
We stopped checking our electrical installations to know when they needed upgrading. We abandoned roads till they became impassable. We left the corrupt officers in the civil service. Allowing them to infect the true civil servants. We continued to reduce cut off marks instead of increasing same. We allowed unqualified people take essential jobs. Like teaching. Like public service. Like law making. We do not know how to maintain standards. Even with our cars.
In Abuja, at the Hilton, I saw a man’s regular Mercedes Benz 200. Looking like he just imported it. Every one wanted to buy it off him. And the man, nicely said no. Later, about to drive off I asked why he really did not want to sell. He said, “I know his type. They will buy it, run it aground and you and I will not see one like this to admire in 20 years”.
How long have you had it, I asked him. 1985. Since 1985. And he still kept it. No upgrading. Just maintenance.
This happens to men and women too. A guy will treat his woman anyhow. No maintenance. And then she gets into the hands of someone who knows her worth, and she begins to glow. Men now want her. And vice versa.
