How To Build Citizen Patriotism: The Singapore Example And Why Nigeria Fails

How To Build Citizen Patriotism

 

OpenLife News reports that patriotism cannot be preached. It must be paid for.

That is the lesson from Singapore this week, where Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced that every Singaporean child will now receive almost S$70,000, about N85 million, in direct financial support from birth to age 17.

In Nigeria, where leaders regularly call for patriotism while citizens scramble to japa, the contrast is a painful mirror.

THE SINGAPORE EXAMPLE: What Prime Minister Wong Said

Speaking at a national forum and aired by CNA, Prime Minister Wong laid out a radical simplification of family support.

His transcription tells it all:

“Today we have several different schemes and ways to support parents like the Baby Bonus cash gift, the Child Development Account, and the Large Family Scheme.

“Most of the support comes when the child is born. And the support varies depending on the birth order of the child. So the schemes have become quite complex and many parents find it hard to understand.”

His solution

“We will make things simpler. Every child will receive the same level of support. And we will provide more support not just at birth but throughout the years as children grow up.”

The New Structure

 At Birth – S$25,000:

Baby Gift: S$10,000 cash

MediSave Grant: S$5,000 for health

Child Development Account: S$5,000 initial grant + S$5,000 dollar-for-dollar matching

Growing Up – S$32,000:Annual Child Credits of S$2,000 every year from age 1 to 16

Education – S$13,000:

-Yearly EduSave top-ups in primary and secondary school

-S$10,000 top-up at age 17 into Post-Secondary Education Account [PSEA]

“So taken together, every Singaporean child will receive almost S$70,000 in direct financial support as they grow up.

“And because every child receives the same support, families with more children will naturally receive more support overall,” Prime Minister Wong said.

The policy is clear: remove the financial fear of having children, and citizens will build the nation.

WHY NIGERIA FAILS: The Opposite Social Contract

Nigeria has the opposite model. The country has  one of the world’s highest birth rates, but the state contributes nothing to a child’s growth.

At Birth

In Singapore, S$10,000 welcome gift. In Nigeria, parents pay N50,000-N200,000 in public hospitals for delivery. No baby bonus, no MediSave.

The National Health Insurance covers less than 5% of children.

Child Development

In Singapore, government doubles your savings for your child. In Nigeria, the Child Development Account does not exist.

Parents save in ajo and cooperative societies because inflation erases bank savings.

Annual Support

Singapore gives S$2,000 yearly till 16. Nigeria gives nothing.

Instead, parents face annual increase in school fees, no child allowance, and a UBE fund that state governors leave unaccessed in CBN while schools have no chairs.

At 17

Singapore gives S$10,000 for university. Nigeria gives a JAMB form to buy for N8,000, ASUU strike, and a student loan scheme that has disbursed to less than 1% of applicants.

THE PATRIOTISM FORMULA

Singapore understands what Nigeria’s political class does not: Patriotism is reciprocal.

You cannot ask a citizen to die for a country that refused to pay for his birth. You cannot ask youths to believe in Nigeria when Nigeria never invested in them.

When Singapore invests N85 million in a child before adulthood, that child has no reason to japa.

His health, education and future are already paid for by the state.

When Nigeria invests nothing, the child spends his adult life trying to escape to the country that will invest in his own children.

This is why Singapore, with a population of 5.9 million, has higher citizen retention and national pride than Nigeria with 230 million. One nation co-parents with its citizens. The other outsources parenting to hardship.

CONCLUSION

Nigeria does not need more slogans, more recited anthems, or more lectures on patriotism from Senators who refused to inspect airports over Ebola fear because they wanted to protect themselves.

It needs what Singapore just did: a simple, measurable financial commitment to every child.

Until a Nigerian child is worth N85 million to the Nigerian state, the state will never be worth staying for to that child. Singapore is building patriots with its budget.

Nigeria is losing them with its budget speeches.