Question 8
ComprehensionJAMB 2019 Passage II: Why I have not left the country
Whenever I have had to ask myself the question why I have not left this country for good, many answers rush to my mind, each striving to be recognized as being the most cogent. I am reminded of the popular slogan that ‘this country belongs to us all’, for which reason every Nigerian must join hands in trying to salvage it. I try to dismiss the argument by reasoning that it is foolhardy attempting to lend a helping hand where one’s services are apparently not required. Then I am reminded that if I left the country in a hurry just because of our political instability and economic hardships, my commitments to my family and extended family at home would suffer. I reply by saying that as soon as I got settled abroad, I would arrange for my family to join me. Other financial problems at home would be taken care of by my regular remittances. Would I then never think of going back home in future? Not until the situation in the country improved considerably, I would answer. And who did I expect to carry on with the task of national rehabilitation when the likes of me are all out of the country? Those who messed up the country in the first place, I would argue. And so on. This dialogue of self has been going on for the last ten years or so, meanwhile, I am yet to leave the country.
When I wonder how many people share my kind of mental experience, I realize that we must be very few. For not many have the slightest opportunity of absconding from the country; they do not have the place to run to, nor do they have the means of escape. Even among the elite who consider this possibility, the uncertainty of a future outside their fatherland intimidates. And so we all end up staying and mumbling
When I wonder how many people share my kind of mental experience, I realize that we must be very few. For not many have the slightest opportunity of absconding from the country; they do not have the place to run to, nor do they have the means of escape. Even among the elite who consider this possibility, the uncertainty of a future outside their fatherland intimidates. And so we all end up staying and mumbling
The last paragraph of the passage reveals that
- A.the writer is a member of the elite which alone indulges in this kind of thinking
- B.people in the country only end up arguing among themselves, while nobody does any thing about the situation
- C.the majority of citizens in the country do not possess the ability to argue the way the writer does
- D.deciding to leave the country is as bad as deciding to stay.
Show the answer and explanation
Answer: B (people in the country only end up arguing among themselves, while nobody does any thing about the situation)
Explanation
The paragraph ends 'we all end up staying and mumbling': people complain but nobody acts.