We Made Our Bed; Now It is Time To Sleep On It

Photo by Wesley Tingey on Unsplash

Nigeria is a very hilarious place. Anything and anybody can drive conversations. The attention span is small, and just anything moves us around here. You do not even have to do anything special; anything delivering the smallest form of excitement moves us. Someone said our politicians must be thanking their stars, that they have to deal with this particular brand of humans. I totally agree because it is hilarious at this point. 

The other day, the discussion was on the tribes with the best soups; shortly after, the conversation moved to some supernatural beings responsible for how small-scale businesses, retail outlets, etc., fail in the country. I mean, while other countries are busy innovating, finding newer ways to make their lives easier, and holding their elected leaders accountable, soups, magic, VDM, and Bobrisky vs. the House of Representatives are some of the issues we were so fixated on. 

And yes, the notoriously popular 'VeryDarkMan' as he is known, made some serious allegations that the whole House of Representatives had to call him to a public hearing, abandoning their core duties in the process. Who cares about the worsening insecurity? Who cares that the lifespan of the average Nigerian is dwindling? Who cares about the increasing cost of living? We have to hear out Bobrisky and VDM. They needed to be serious about the optics as if we all do not know that the bone of contention, our supposed 'Correctional' centres are that terrible. 

As if many of the victims in those places would not jump at the option of being impaled by 'Vlad the Impaler' if they get the chance to be put out of their misery.  As this was going on, it was as if the oga patapata of them all, our most revered T-pain, was paying attention. Before the end of the week, news started filtering in that we were about to face what would probably be the 4th time the petrol pump price would be increased since May of last year. In just a year, citizens of the most influential country in West Africa would face this increase, coupled with its many effects on their daily hustles. 

In simple terms, we can boldly say that things are about to get worse. I just know that we are not there yet. I am not even trying to be a prophet of doom, but there are strong signs that this is just the beginning. Our 'Hurricane Milton' is just a gathering storm, and we are all about to be in the eye of it. To digress a bit, I have always loved the laws of science. Take Newton, for example; you just know that Brother took his time and observed everything, including humans, in his immediate environment before penning down those laws. 

For example, the third law of motion: 'For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.' Take note that the law did not mention 'Proportional.' It stated that the action must be equal and opposite. Well, as the title says, as Nigerians, we have made our bed, we have acted, and now is the time to lie on the bed and take the reaction. The time for politicking is over, so the campaign gimmicks should stop now. People know that when their expectations are being met, you do not need to tell them. 

Earlier this week, in the course of my 9-5. one of my patients. An elderly man in his late 60s or thereabout complained bitterly about the new price of the tyres for his car. His long-term mechanic just called him relating the price; he ended the call, faced me, and said, 'Your Generation has to save this nation.' I immediately retorted that his generation is responsible for the Nation's current state. The man would continue by saying, well, he would soon die off, but I am yet to even have kids.

That statement struck a chord with me because this country cannot just be where I have kids. This is not the ideal place for children to grow up. I cannot be queuing for fuel and have a child face the same problem. That child will one day question me, and I will not have an answer. I did not intend this to be a rant, but it is turning into one now. Nigeria should and must work! However, with the country's worsening state and its leaders' irresponsibility, is there hope on the horizon? 

Photo by Adeboro Odunlami on Unsplash

 ' Well, Yes! There are Low Hanging Fruits That Need to be Plucked to Salvage the Situation'

When everything don spoil like this, we probably have to stop complaining about our leadership. We have been dealt with the worst of the lot, so what is the way forward? I hold two strong opinions, and my mood at any point in time determines the side I am on and goes thus. Either our leaders are severely clueless about mitigating the hydra-headed challenges that confront us as a country, or there is a high level of wickedness being perpetuated that intentionally neglects the citizens of the country, 

Or how else do you explain that your country's government does not understand the link between the worsening cost of living and the increasing pump price? The subsidy scheme, albeit how fraudulently it might have been carried out in the past, is one of the biggest social investment schemes the country created for its citizens. Something must replace it if it has to be removed as urgently as we have always been told. 

Rice, vegetable oil, or cash handouts will not solve it. Those are crude methods that will not in any way move the needle as far as improving the lives of the people is concerned. This should be basic reasoning, you increase the PMS pump price, and the transport cost of anything increases. Talk about daily commuting to the market's average price of goods and services. This is logistics, and it should be easy to get. 

Now back to 'Low hanging fruits'  as it stands, we know that there must be committees to adjust the new minimum wage for workers even though everything that pertains to the ruling class does not go through such scrutiny; without mincing words, just pass the damn minimum wage. You can only tax a productive population, and if you want to 'Widen the tax net,' pay more money to get more to collect back. Shey, you get it?

After implementing that minimum wage, approve import waivers for food, medications, and other sensitive items for the population. This way, Nigerians can get more money to buy food and at least be self-sufficient while awaiting your next increase. In the same vein, the food manufacturing sector needs to be supported to produce food on a large scale to supply the needs of the people as a matter of urgency. This will require a lot of strategic thinking, which is hard, but it can be done. 

This is probably the toughest of them all; when electing the president, the citizens automatically enter into a social agreement involving the safety of their lives and properties. Well, these lives include those of our farmers toiling day and night to produce food but are being threatened daily, with some getting killed and others kidnapped on their farms. So instead of militarizing elections, a little attention can be paid to securing the lives of our farmers to boost our national food production capacity. 

Although I agree that this one might require a little bit of politicking and largely governance, it can be done. Elections can be snatched, so the security of lives and properties can be snatched from the 'Jaws of Insecurity', if you catch my drift. This will be all. To the 20-something followers of this blog, I am trying to hack basic consistency, so you will be seeing more of my writings from now on. 

Photo by Emmanuel Ikwuegbu on Unsplash