All our talk of reforms, no matter the administration, never seem to quite tackle the root causes of issues, dancing instead on the periphery, latched on to the hypocritical desire to appear to perform rather than dealing with problems decisively.

Zuckerberg started out as an ordinary young man—he had shoes but those were not his true wealth—ideas were his main currency. A young man with ideas in Nigeria is as good as dead in a country where policymakers themselves, despite decades of speeches claiming the contrary, care very little for young people or any ideas that don’t involve their own fortunes.

I’ve often argued in this column that with better communication not only would people’s perception of government action improve, so would its strategies and overall ability to meet its objectives. Carrying Nigerians along has always been a problem for successive administrations, with public officials in Nigeria seemingly (and bewilderingly) believing their electorates’ feelings and opinions matter little.

Reading British and American news reports about the Olympics, one is easily convinced that these two countries in particular, know what it means to not just be proud of one’s country but to take practical steps to show the world why exactly said country is worth mentioning at all.These are not countries where principal officers of National Assemblies allegedly employ around 400 aides. Neither are these countries where cost cutting applies only to the poor.

On the campaign trail, Hillary Clinton, speaking of her plans for the American economy, said she wanted “to make the economy work for everyone, not just those at the top”. Social justice is an important theme in the upcoming US elections, one which elicits passion and feelings of outrage across board. We in Nigeria are all too comfortable with inequality in our society, which is seen as an almost inevitable fact.