I keep hoping against hope that one day we Nigerians will acquire the discipline to carry out tasks with the kind of efficiency taken for granted in Europe as epitomised by D-Day

Ayo Akinfe

[1] Many Nigerians erroneously think that corruption is their biggest problem. How wrong they are. Intellectual laziness, being under-productive and sheer incompetence are what is keeping us in a state of under-development, to use a phrase from Walter Rodney

[2] Just to put everything into perspective, look at the D-Day landings on June 6 1944 and ask yourself if Nigeria’s military could pull off such a logistical feat. Everything had to be done with military precision, on schedule and following an agreed script

[3] Some 150,000 men were landed on an 80km stretch off the Normandy coast of France within 24 hours. This remains the biggest amphibious landing ever. If that was us, would not half of the ships have arrived an hour behind schedule?

[4] Having to move all the necessary tanks, lorries, humans, equipment, supplies, food, fuel etc involved, required precision logistics, competence, efficiency and organisational capability

[5] Do you know that two mobile ports were even build and shipped across the English Channel? An oil pipeline was also laid within 24 hours

[6] For me, D-Day is a testament to the human can-do spirit. No matter the odds we face, we can overcome them with the willpower. France was heavily fortified by the Germans with what was known as an Atlantic Wall that involved the laying out of military pillar boxes and machine gun posts, yet the allies got through

[7] Can I also pay special tribute to the Red Army of the Soviet Union for making D-Day possible. Their sweeping victories at the Battle of Stalingrad and the Battle of Kursk meant that two thirds of the German military were in the Eastern Front, weakening manpower availability on the Western Front

[8] When I look at Nigeria and her relatively minor problems, I just despair at our lack of spirit. Boko Haram or Fulani herdsmen do not pose one tenth of the risks the Germans did in World War Two but alas, we simply lack the capacity to deal with the problem

[9] Where there is a will, there is a way. D-Day just proves that the main reason why countries like Nigeria remain under-developed is because their people hide behind real and imaginary excuses when confronted with problems rather than face them. If we do not blame bad leadership, we will blame the devil, other ethnic groups, our colonial masters who left some 60 years ago or the angels of Lucifer. Everybody but ourselves

[10] After World War Two, the infrastructural challenges Europe faced are also 10 times greater than what we face in Nigeria today. They had less power, all their bridges were blown up, cities lay in rubble, ports were in ruins and the masses starved. Yet, they did not complain but just got on with it. Within 10 years, Europe was back to herself. Our biggest challenge remains ourselves!