The Real Scam? Our Addiction to Shortcuts — Not Just CBEX

“Until we fix our mindset—both in the streets and in power—we’ll keep falling for the next big lie in a shiny package.”

 

Trust me, Nigerian youths are not lazy—far from it. And Nigeria is not a poor country by any metric of potential. We’re a nation abounding in both human and natural resources. Calling such a country poor is not just ironic; it’s a misdiagnosis of a deeper systemic ailment.

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The real issue is this: we are a generation raised—often unknowingly—on a dangerous illusion I call the “READY-MADE-MENTALITY”. Post-independence Nigeria, flush with petro-dollars and prosperity, gave its citizens free education, job guarantees, car loans, and stipends that were enough to build families. But in doing so, it built a culture that prized entitlement over enterprise, convenience over competence, and instant results over process.

So, when the wealth began to deplete, that same generation—and the ones after—had no mental infrastructure to build, grow, or sustain prosperity. We inherited abundance but not the ethics to multiply it.

 

Let me be clear: Government must create an enabling environment for her citizens—that’s non-negotiable. But no society can rise when its people are addicted to shortcuts and allergic to process. Until we rewire our values—until we teach discipline, patience, and honest growth—this cycle will never end.

“A nation is not destroyed by the wickedness of the few, but by the silence (and foolishness) of the many.” — Wole Soyinka

 

And this mindset of “ready made mentality” isn’t just on the streets—it sits comfortably in the corridors of power. Our political elite are equally drunk on shortcuts, crafting policies that are cosmetic, reactionary, and bereft of long-term vision. They aren’t solving problems—they’re patching potholes in a burning building. Instead of engineering sustainable economic frameworks, they chase quick fixes, subsidies without structure, and headline reforms without deep-rooted strategies.

 

It’s no surprise then, that Ponzi schemes and financial scams flourish. When a people are conditioned to believe in miracle money, they’ll fall for any lie that sounds like a blessing. As James Allen said, “Men are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves; they therefore remain bound.”

 

Until we unbind ourselves from this lazy glorification of ease—both as citizens and as leaders—Nigeria will keep spiraling even if Nigeria is restructued. We need to return to process. To effort. To enterprise. And we must demand the same from our leadership.

If not, we’ll continue repeating this cycle of betrayal—by scams, by leaders, and worst of all, by ourselves.

 

The mindset of many Nigerians must change, or our future will remain mortgaged to another CBEX, another fraud, another crash.

 

Adeniran Taiwo Olugbenga
Transparency Advocacy for Development Initiatives