“I saw cars that park by themselves; cars that are powered by solar energy and lots of incredible machines,” Ime Bishop Umoh, popularly known as Okon Lagos, Nigerian actor, shared fond memories of his trip to Germany.
Okon who shared his memories with The Punch correspondent in Lagos also said “I went for a car exhibition where I saw car technologies that will function in the future. I also saw cars that run on water. I saw an electric car for the first time in Germany.
“I went to the Nigerian consulate and I did a lot of shopping in their malls. I also went to a place where I got some furniture. That place is incredible because you choose the furniture you want and you would get them the same day. You can even wait there for about four hours for them to finish the furniture.”
Asked to compare Europe with Africa, he remarked “I don’t like comparing Europe and Africa because there is no real basis for comparing the two continents. When you decide to compare, you will always be reminded that Nigeria is still underdeveloped and Europe is developed with functional economy. They have a system that works well for them.
Though not perfect, it is very satisfactory. Their transport system is better than ours by far but Nigeria is a country that has a destination and we are still moving, even if it’s at a slow pace.”
The Nollywood star observed, “Everything! Our leaders actually travel to many parts of the world and they ought to see how things are done in the advanced countries. They should get inspired by the development of other economies, come back and replicate those things in our country; but it very unfortunate that our leaders don’t do this.
“Look at the security system in the country. With all the security agencies we have, over 200 Chibok school girls were abducted and till this day, not all the girls have been brought back home. In 2018, another set of girls were abducted in Dapchi with almost the same tactics that were used in Chibok. It is a national embarrassment.
“These are things that shouldn’t be happening because this is a very great country with the largest population of black people. Nigeria is the pride of Africa. Something urgent has to be done concerning our security situation. Herdsmen have been killing people indiscriminately and some people are saying the killers are not Nigerians.”
Okon wondered “How did they get into Nigeria? What are the immigrations and customs doing? Not one single arrest or prosecution of a single herdsman has been achieved. Nigeria should not be made to look like a dumping ground for crime where anybody can do anything and get away with it because they believe nothing will happen.
“A lot of crimes are committed in Europe but if you are a criminal there, you are merely buying time because you would eventually be caught. If this can also be the case in Nigeria, it will be good. If people know that they will be caught and prosecuted for committing crime, crime rate will reduce. That is the Nigeria of my dream.
How can someone open his or her mouth and boldly say that animals stole money? Even as a small boy, I was very creative in telling lies to my parents. Things like these shouldn’t be national issues that other countries should be hearing. It makes the country look like a theatre of the have found ourselves in this mess,” he added.
(The Punch)
