As it is!

We live in a beautiful country with so much potential, in almost 40 years of my  habitation on this side of the hemisphere never have I known a full week with uninterrupted power supply. Today we live in an oil rich country with very poor citizens mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually. Petrol has certainly become the new gold! The shadow trade has taken over the market as supply of products has remained scarce  and epileptic. 

The politicians have put us in so much trouble we have no place to bury our heads! Living within your means has always been a principle taught us from elementary school days, this is also a big part of home training ( For those with any). However this simple concept has eluded the average Nigerian as we imported the make belief lifestyle of the Americans and keep up with the Jones in all manners of our National lives. The average youth is shallow and cannot even hold an intelligent conversation beyond memorizing Wizkid or Olamide.

 Look at the Bankers, they are driven to borrow everything and own nothing from the cars they drive, the holidays they take, the posh schools they send their kids to. The oils companies are even worse! Many of the employees are deprived kids who never thought they’d get a break in life. Ask any property developer they are his worst nightmare. They have perfected the act of killing projects from their sheer greed, and grab it all mentality. Wanting to invest in all building projects but unable to meet all the milestone payments thus defaulting in payments and then sudden disengagement or retirement suddenly stares them in the face leading to a life downgrade from Victoria Island to Iyana Ipaja.

We live in truly perilous times where the fabric of society has been shredded to pieces. The average school girl is for hire, pay the mandatory fee and the pleasure is yours! Electricity is now something else with the tariff gone off the roof and beyond the reach of average consumers. The average Nigerian is scared of his counterpart on the streets. It is difficult driving on the streets of Lagos at night from work without citing Psalm 23.Exactly when will this end? We  recently concluded an election widely judged to be fair based on “very angry Nigerians “ exercising their franchise but where are we? Very soon, people who live in Ikoyi may find their abodes to be less safe than their down trodden chummies on the other side of town like Ajegunle aka AJ city. 

People were complaining about hard times before but these are impossible times with everything gone topsy-turvy. The lucky ones have fled abroad to safer climates such as Canada etc.

This may explain the desperation with which some re-run elections are being fought as that may be seen as the only game in town. Come to think of it , politics has become brisk business. Just like Notorious B.I.G’s rhymes in his 10 crack commandments. Play by the rules and you ll be home safe. Understand the game of playing people, and giving them what they want even if you have to use guerilla tactics. Humble yourself and learn to get down from your Lexus jeep into squalor and eat stale amala in a mosquito infested area in the full glare of the public and make this a periodic ritual.

Most importantly, remember Nigerian are very religious people , and religion is the opium of the people just like Karl Marx opined. Play to the gallery and prime this aspect of their lives and you can share their wives with them.

In Nigeria, everyman is on his own, the foreigners see and understand this exploiting to the fullest. How do you explain the MTN issue. The company just figured out it would do as it likes and settle. Or how do you explain the massive exploitation by the international airlines with so much confidence?

Keep your money in the Bank and be sure inflation is nicely eating it away, otherwise what do you do? The clever inventors of the pyramid schemes have defamed a stock market which was on its way to becoming Africa's engine of growth.

However, All hope is not lost as we are known to be resilient people and easily bounce back on our feet. What a welcome relief it will be to see us weather this storm and solve the following problems.

1.       Over reliance on crude oil revenues’

2.       Foreign exchange rates

3.       Unemployment

4.       Uninterrupted Power supply

Thereafter all other difficulties shall fizzle out. And as the popular saying goes “ the darkest night comes before the break of dawn.