Nigeria is sinking in poverty, desperation and crime, but I am hoping that we still have a realistic chance to fight our way up to the surface and swim ashore. Since independence, Nigeria has been chronically poor economically and has rightfully earned the “Third World Economy” moniker, despite its abundant natural resources, in terms of variety and volume. What is the problem, you might ask?

“The quality of our thinking determines our quality of life”, according to Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President of the United States of America. Sometimes, I wonder what the thoughts are of those who have led Nigeria since 1st October 1960. I am of the view that many, as opposed to the few destroyers, share this view. Generations of Nigerians have had their dreams chartered trapped in a vicious cycle of scarcity and denial of access to basic needs and infrastructure – transportation systems, sewage, water, education and a comprehensive communication network.

To young Nigerians who are wondering if dreams about their future still matter, keep reading.

As children, we were told to go to school, work hard, and wait our turn. But our government didn’t keep its promise. Instead, we are left to fend for ourselves in unemployment, underemployment, in a vortex of multi-dimensional poverty that appears impossible to escape. As the years come and go, we watch opportunities vanish, lives destroyed, and communities fractured for political expediency. You may have watched people around you give up and surrender to political servitude, and just maybe, you’ve started to doubt yourself, too. Perhaps you are thinking of joining the servile herd.

But listen to this:

You are not finished. The system is a broken one led by our leaders who had it far better in their youth. The system may have failed you, but you are still strong. That is proof that you are resilient.

Each day you survive, you are standing up to the challenge. Every time you try to earn a legitimate living, you are trying to rise above the circumstances. And every time you dream of a prosperous future, you are attempting to create it.

You are stronger than you think.

Some have fallen into the traps set by the system to keep them where they are, but they can escape the dungeon by carrying the fire of resilience in their minds. Nigeria descended to this level of poverty, deprivation and hopelessness because we allowed ourselves to be part of the toxic culture of greed, corruption, tribalism and complete surrender to disabling cultures, religions and traditions.

Left to fend for ourselves, taught ourselves survival skills with no teacher. A few have built businesses with no capital; others have worked for poverty wages, which are owed for months on end. You’ve led movements with muted voices expressing pain into poetry, while others have turned scarcity into strategy, finding strength in pipe dreams.

States are ranked in multidimensional ratings, and you are the data, just a statistic. But you can transform yourself from within into a builder, a creator, and a leader.

My message is to tell you that you have the power to make a change, but first, within you. What does that mean? It means that you can decide to join the work with the Heritage Community Development Foundation to begin on the path of self-renewal and build confidence.

I can tell you that Nigeria will change, and it is only those who prepare themselves that will take advantage of the change it will bring. Luck happens when opportunity meets preparedness.

Start small. Start where you are. Kill the ego. It is more dignified to earn an honest living in farming, bricklaying, fishing, trading, etc., than following politicians in the hope of becoming one in the future, dressed in the same cloak with the same corrupt mindset.

Bricklaying, farming or fishing will pay the bills as banking, civil service or real estate agency will do, but in scale. You have got to behave like the seed – small but grows into a fruitful, self-sustaining tree when properly nurtured. “No one can grow if s/he does not accept his smallness”, according to the teachings of Thomas Jefferson.

Here is the deal. The Heritage Community Development Foundation will help you to see things differently, beyond the ego. We will work with you in the following ways to empower and help you to gain confidence and economic independence:

• Learn entrepreneurship and turn your ideas into a business – online or offline (brick and mortar).

• Start a micro-project: digital assets creation, and leverage online opportunities.

• Partner with a diaspora investor in farming, aquaculture, food processing, transportation, food distribution and retail and hospitality.

• Link you to a mentor as part of the renewal process. – to expose you to the other side of the coin of your reality.

• Help you to document your journey – because one day, someone may learn from the blueprint of your journey.

This is not a promise of paradise but a window of opportunity to see the other side of the coin and gain the confidence to thread a path of your own creation.

You will not be alone. We’ll walk with you to rise quietly, rebuild your confidence boldly. And together, we’ll create a world of our making. Nigeria belongs to us.

So rise. In any situation, there is a way out because you are stronger than you think. And the future? It’s now, not waiting for you.