A wish for my country

When I hear of countries without raw

materials, excelling, I marvel.

Since these countries that are poor in mineral resources but very wealthy otherwise are verifiable, I just wish my country could be like them.

Each time International Crude Oil prices crash, I just wish domestic fuel prices would concomitantly crash but it does not happen.

This is because what is good for our customers is bad news to our Government. It upsets the projections of the annual budget.

So either way the masses lose. When crude oil prices rise in the world market, subsidies increase and domestic prices are thereby threatened by how far Government is ready to subsidize.

What Singapore relies on apart from leadership we too can. Singapore lacks oil but exports refined products.

We too can refine for exports except that refining for domestic consumption has been a mountain too high to climb for us.

Is it then a curse? Perhaps, but to overcome it, we need leaders who can rise above the resource curse to deliver.

In the leadership class are bank Chief Executive Officers, captains of Industry, state governors, judges ( are they excluded from leadership positions by elections?), Legislators and Local Government Chairmen, Vice Chancellor's, Headmasters like Tai Solarin.

Where are these leaders like Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore?

My wish is that from our youths who are struggling and excelling in various fields we get patriotic noble minded leaders who will bequeath a country worthy of emulation to generations to come.

It is possible. If it can be dreamed, it can be achieved.