I have indeed been crying for my country Nigeria recently and like I’ve always said, everyone needs prayers to survive. The only difference is the method, to Whom and through Whom you direct your prayers. Even if you don’t belong to any of the two major religions in the country, you still pray one way or the other and the more you understand what prayer is, the more you come to terms with my submission. My objective is certainly not to teach you how to pray or who to pray through. The reason I touched on praying is because many of us in Nigeria being religiously religious have come to relieve ourselves of any responsibility in making our country better, ascribing to God every of our problems. Why I don’t like to say Nigeria needs prayers even though I know for sure she does is because that mentality tend to make us slothful assuming only little can be done on everything and once that little is not enough, we never try harder, we only resort to God even when He’s given us all we require to prosper. We have lived like this as an independent nation since 1960 and president Buhari corroborated this same fact in his last trip to Saudi Arabia saying once again that Nigeria needs prayer and my question is: when will Nigeria need us?
This piece is not to slur anybody; perhaps you will appreciate the title better as you read further. I have really tried to reduce my spate of public commentary not because of fear for critiques (I enjoy them always) but primarily because I don’t believe in talking and talking alone without any corresponding action whatsoever. Just so my case will not be like that which the Apostle described as “lest after I have preached to many, I myself should be a cast away”, I decided to retreat into my crust to reminisce on my previous writings and evaluate myself with a view to confirming if I’m truly practicing what I’ve been preaching. I have been in this self evaluating mode since my last piece and I just wanted to make sure my life is also on course despite several difficulties my country is facing.
I don’t know what your feeling is about the present administration but I know you must be an extraterrestrial being if none of these current economic challenges is getting to you. There are few things I remember from the campaign promises of President Muhammadu Buhari and some of these were the pledges to revamp the economy, fight corruption and provide employment opportunities for our teeming youth population. In fairness to the president, he has dared the devil in his fight against corruption. At least we have witnessed some courageous expressions that were visibly lacking in the last administration. The president truthfully is fighting corruption in a measure even though many Nigerians believe there’s more to be done in that regard but they are also aware he cannot achieve that alone as he will need all arms and institutions of government to work in synergy with him if any meaningful result will be accomplished.
On the other hand, the present state of our economy is nothing to commend. The crash of crude oil price in the international market is taking its toll on the economy and biting very hard into every sectors and sub-sectors. I mentioned in one of my earlier articles that the Nigeria economy could actually do with the proceeds from oil to achieve its diversification goals. A privilege past administrations squandered. You can’t stand something on nothing. How do you open up the economy without funding and where will these funds come from? External borrowings and FDIs? What will then be your corresponding local actions to achieve this? Anyone who will be willing to borrow Nigeria money or invest in the country at this much more critical time will be interested in getting answers to some of these questions.
How do we achieve our quest to revamp the economy with a regime of uncertain exchange rates, a just concluded higher tariff power sector that achieves a mile stone of 6,000MW today and suddenly slumps to a little above 2,000MW the next day or a non subsidized oil and gas sector that lacks any regulatory hold whatsoever with long fuel queues resurfacing every four weeks? There’s no doubt the economy is getting cracked up by the day with many industries leaving our shores and thousands of jobs being lost putting the security architecture to more work if any is really being done due to its potential danger to the country.
While I want to believe the President knows what he’s doing regarding these pertinent issues, he must also come to acknowledge that he doesn’t have eternity to govern Nigeria and that every minute counts. Many states of the federation currently owe several months of civil servants salaries. The purchasing power of the average civil servant has been significantly cut down by these numerous factors working together and leaders in the national assembly do not see any urgency in the times we live in, they insist on frivolous spending while reducing the hallowed chamber that is meant for robust intellectual debate to a common floor where drunkards kind of discussions take place. A serving senator relating #BuyNaijaToGrowTheNaira to a serving governor who married a wife of his choice and inferred same as imported wife indicating that Nigerians should patronize made in Nigeria women. Such is the kind of debate tax payers are subsidizing in the national assembly.
The time is fast running up on us again and in no distant moment, this administration would have concluded ¼ lap of its entire race distance with very little to show on the score card. As usual, spokes people for this administration are beginning to return to the old tunes that have kept us on this same spot. The same excuses given by previous administrations for under-development and impoverishment are suddenly resurfacing and I was just hoping we don’t waste another four years again. I am also praying that this present array of leaders will be like the sons of Issachar who had UNDERSTANDING of the times and knew what Israel (Nigeria) ought to do at this most challenging phase of our national life.
Olusegun Elemo
08054602607(sms only)
Olusegun.elemo@gmail.com