One thing I love about reading is the way it opens your mind. You can learn things from people you’ve never met and people who live thousands of miles away from you. It’s a special gift to be able to garner knowledge through books.
As you know, I have been reading Lee Kuan Yew’s book about the Singapore story and to say I am fascinated is an understatement. Singapore was just like Nigeria. In fact, we gained independence almost around the same time. It is however interesting to see how Singapore is much more advanced than Nigeria; in every way. Do you want to know their secret? I’ll tell you; it’s the vision and strong determination of their founding fathers. Lee Kuan Yew was one of them. He believed in Singapore and had a vision of moving Singapore from being a third-world country to becoming a first-world country. A few decades after, that is what was achieved. Seriously, never underestimate the power of a man with vision. I keep saying the picture that you paint in your mind is very crucial. It will become reality one day and this is what happened in Lee Kuan Yew’s case.
Reading the book, I have just been in awe. In every area, from the political to the economic policies created, that vision was at the forefront of their agenda. It wasn’t about one man or a group of people, it was about the entire nation of Singapore. They wanted their people to become home owners, educated and less dependent on government welfare for survival. Jobs were created in bleak circumstances and Singapore soon became the hub of multinational companies who were not allowed to exploit the local citizens. They had to go through some difficulties and the transition was not perfect but those efforts made between the 60s and the 80s paved way for the luxury that Singapore enjoys today. How I wish our leaders can have such a vision for Nigeria! How I wish we as a people can key into this vision too. If our leaders can look beyond themselves and their bank accounts and work towards building a better Nigeria, Nigeria will be a much better country. It will benefit everybody and I mean everybody.
If you are really serious about nation building and personal growth (there are insights from the book that you can apply as an individual), I recommend that you get a copy of the book, ‘From Third World to First’. It’s quite a long read; the book is about 700 pages long. I remember when a friend of mine saw me reading the book, he screamed ‘wetin be this’ (pidgin English for ‘what is this?’). I must admit, it’s not a book for the faint-hearted but it is worth every minute you dedicate to reading it. Right from the first chapter, there are things to be learnt.
I’ve learnt a lot from the book and it has increased my desire to travel to Singapore. Singapore has always been one of the countries I would like to visit (I have a goal of making sure I travel round the world by a certain age). After reading this book, I’m eager to go there and see for myself the things the vision of great men built. So this is a hint for anyone thinking of getting me a present anytime soon; a ticket to Singapore will not be a bad idea (*big smile*).
Photo Credit – TheRealSingapore
missadedoyin's Blog 
Nice one .