...FROM COSTA RICA

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

This is the longest absence I have ever taken from Nigerian Curiosity. I was on vacation and although I had prepared several posts in advance and had taken the time to check up on Nigerian political and social events, I just could not find the mental capacity to take myself to "the place" that is required to address Nigerian issues. Even when I read about the recent ministerial announcements, and the more interesting fact that the Kwara State governor, Bukola Saraki , gave out 50 houses to "lucky beneficiaries" to commemorate his 46th birthday. As a consequence, 2 long weeks have passed with no activity on this site.  I apologize to all of Nigerian Curiosity's readers.

Nonetheless, I hope you all can understand that I chose instead to immerse myself in the beauty and wonderment that is Costa Rica. It is a small country but mighty in many ways. I have been amazed at the extensive road network the country has and the fact that even the tiniest 'villages' (4-5 homes on the Inter American Highway) are connected to the national electricity grid. The water from the faucets are fresh and drinkable. The people are warm and friendly, and even the mosquitoes are nice and malaria free.

http://www.dahabtravel.es/fotos_de_viaje/Costa_Rica/Costa_Rica_001_dh_mk.jpg
A Tucan - native to Costa Rica

I have also come to the conclusion that Costa Rica is not a poor country. It is a developing country, yes, but poverty, at least of the scale I have unfortunately had the sad opportunity to witness, is not attributable to this nation. Of course, there are poor people here, but their poverty is not as overwhelming as it could be. Thankfully.

And, all that I have seen here makes me realize that when a nation is thoroughly committed to the advancement of its people, its citizens will advance, together. Costa Rica has no army and so it can pump the millions that otherwise would have been allocated to military expenses into schools (you can not drive too far around the country without seeing schools and I drove over 1200 kilometers during this trip), infrastructural developments (98% of the roads I traveled on where in great to excellent condition with the remaining 2% in preparation for fixing due to recent floods in various parts of the country), and an abundance of food (although a flood wiped out the banana and plantain crop around the Caribbean coast).

Now, my thirst and desire for the continued economic development and entrenchment of democratic principles in Nigeria has been refueled. If little Costa Rica can do it, and do it extremely well, if I might add, why can't Nigeria, and quickly? I continue to believe that it is possible and although I must be content with baby steps and in some cases inaction, I believe that the puzzle pieces are falling into place a lot quicker than we, observers, can see.

And, since I refrain from sharing my innermost thoughts at this site, I shall conclude by saying "Asta Luego" (see you later), as I plan on getting back in the Nigerian Curiosity saddle with much fervor.

Hope to see you around in 2009 and thank you for your support in 2007 and 2008.

11 Curiosities. Add Yours.:

Anonymous said...

*sigh...

it saddens me when I see very little countries make good....

From my perspective, it is a people that make a country great...a country will only progress if its people are intent on progressing the greater good rather than their selfish gains...

Anonymous said...

Envy you on the vacation.... Hopefully I'll get mine in 9ja next year after my exams plus all the weddings I have to attend.. LOL... I think we as a country hav failed to develop our human capital. Every nation that fails to educate its masses and provide basic infrastructure fails to develop appreciably...

Anonymous said...

I am Costa Rican, thank you for your post on my country. Sometimes it requires a foreign voice to see what we have. Thank you and let me share with you this nice poem about Costa Rica.

Costa Rica

A long, long time ago
in a land far, far away
there existed a calmness that nurtured
the spirit of peaceful people.

Such stillness,
such instinctive innocence,
such primordial serenity
gave birth to “Pura Vida”.

It was so then and there
and it is still true today,
And in a land not so far away.
a place where neither words nor pictures,
only the experience of being there,
conveys the true meaning of "Pura Vida”.

Come… experience… Costa Rica.
A land where “Pura Vida”
is just a way of life,
The Pure Life.

Rolf van Richter

clnmike said...

Enjoy your time.

Anonymous said...

and even the mosquitoes are nice and malaria free. Qué guay, A Mal Tiempo Buen Color, Féliz 2009.

Dojaa said...

Happy New Year.

Anonymous said...

I just love the way you have designed this - quality, quality and the quite an interesting site content-wise! Am definitely going to keep coming back

wellsbaba said...

Solo.... lol avnt bin here in a wyl.dnt b crossed wit me i cnt afford connection bills jare lol anywais..I alwais say it that 9ja's numba1 problem is our lack of education-individual ignorance and mind poverty..only a few of d middle n elite class of d nation are well educated the bulk of the nation who are entrenched in poverty have no education hence on the whole the nation is still uneducated.If we all develope individually the nation's democrazy n economy will begin2crawl,walk,run then fly

'Yar Mama said...

Happy New Year. Your blog was one of my favourites in 2008. Thanx

johnwilpers said...

Hello, Solomon,

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My job is to build a list of blogs that will appear on GlobalPost where we will have approximately 65 correspondents in some 46 countries. We are looking for enlightening, informative posts from bloggers writing (in English) in those countries.

I am pleased to extend an invitation to you to have the most recent post of "Nigerian Curiosity" included on the Nigeria page of GlobalPost.com as part of our “Global Blogs” service. (You may have received an earlier e-mail from one of my interns; this is a follow-up as we haven't heard from you and really wanted to include your RSS feed on GlobalPost!)

After reviewing thousands of blogs worldwide, we have found "Nigerian Curiosity" to be one that is thought provoking and gives readers a true sense of what life is really like in Nigeria.

The way it would work if you accept our invitation is that we would use your RSS feed to place your most recent post on your personal page on GlobalPost.com. We would point back to your actual blog for comments and for archives, hopefully driving lots of traffic to your site. Each time you write a new post, it would replace the older one so only one post would appear on GlobalPost.com.

By appearing on Global Post’s exciting new international news website, your words, viewpoints, and pictures would gain worldwide exposure. Your posts would not only appear instantly on globalpost.com but also possibly on the sites of our partners, including the Huffington Post (7.8 million U.S. and 9.7 million global monthly unique visitors) and other news and information websites.

You don’t need to do anything differently. We do request that you consider pointing back to us from your blog (we will send out logos shortly for your consideration).

You should know that we have a few guidelines that we observe here at Global Post:

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Failure to observe these guidelines would result in the removal of your blog from GlobalPost. We would contact you, of course, to discuss the post in question.

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I look forward getting your permission to put your RSS feed on our site. Please respond to: jwilpers@globalpost.com. Thank you!

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PS If you choose to accept our invitation and would like a photo and a short biography to appear on GlobalPost, please send both to me with your confirmation e-mail or at some time shortly thereafter.

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