Taking a close look at the occurrences that might have led to the current economic meltdown in Nigeria, one cannot help but notice a contrast between the day millions of Nigerians jubilated and celebrated the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari in March 2015 general election, and this day, 19 months later. Today,the economy is in a recession, millions are complaining and hundreds of thousands are losing faith in this administration. Despite the fact that a large population of Nigerians cannot tell you what the word recession precisely means, they know when their is low circulation of money in the economy, they know when their is increase in market prices of goods & services without any increase in income i.e Profits, wages or salary. The masses know how much they spend to fuel their generators due to the poor power supply around the country, they know the impact of exchange rate on the value of Naira. This is certainly not the "Change" Nigerians anticipated, chanting SAI BABA with enthusiasm and excitement as they casted their votes for President Buhari. I feel its safe to call this a Change From a Torch to a candle light. In this context, "change" can be perceived as either positive or negative, depends on how one understands the analogy of the torch and the candle light. In a place where there is total darkness, any source of light introduced is perceived as a positive change. Be it a torch or a candle. The Buhari administration is clearly changing Nigeria and Nigerians. The ongoing recession has subconsciously infused financial discipline among Nigerians. For our generation to be a part of this change and contribute to the process , this recession is meant to be a sacrifice from our generation to the future generations, our children. Programming our minds towards the "Change begins with me" in whatever way we can to make a change. In a country like Nigeria, with a population above 160 million people, the process of change can only be attained effectively if the majority of people avoid solely depending on the government to cater to their diverse needs.
It doesnt take extra brain cells to be able to see how the mainstream media has for long been a tool for political propaganda. Its unfortunate how the opposition easily influence the media to keep a blind eye on some vital achievements in the administration of PMB, achievements vital enough to restore Nigerias integrity globally. The fight against terrorism and insurgency especially in the North-east, the war on corruption or the anti-graft war, successful outcome from implementation of treasury single account (TSA) policy among plenty others. Which of the following deserves more media attention; The progress of the Nigerian military and joint task force(JTF) in the fight against Boko Haram, the N5000 stipends payment to lowest income Nigerians, the Npower youth empowerment scheme for corp members and unemployed graduates, the inflation of the market prices of goods and services? or President Buhari's daughter marrying the son a wealthy oil mogul? I ask this because If you do a simple survey asking random Nigerians to name 3 of their major complains with reasons, you will get a clear picture of how a large percentage of Nigerians dont even know what they complain about and how it affects them individually . There is conflict of interest, not knowing when to consider their individual interests over public interest, or vice versa. Its a case of misplaced priorities and the impact of media hypnosis. It is the responsibility of our generation to be able to identify all possible solutions to these problems on every level, top to bottom, federal to local and on both the public and private sectors. We Nigerians easily jump into complains and critisism, rather than support, or at least applaud some of the evident achievements made by this administration as mentioned above. We conveniently forget how we also add to these problems one way or another from our misconducts, like bribing our way to avoid due processes, cutting ques in Banks, fuel stations and several other illegalities. Theres an entrepreneurial revolution spreading round the country, causing a relative decline in the dependency on government jobs. More Nigerians, most especially the youth are now inclined towards self enterprising, and in turn creating job opportunities.
A couple of months ago Her excellency Hajiya Aisha Buhari in an interview with BBC Hausa aired her concerns about the unruly administration of her husband, President Muhammadu Buhari, with claims of being misguided by the people surrounding him, the cabals in Aso Villa . This ignited a huge media fuss, coming from the wife, supporter and life partner of the President. And then the statement he made in response to the claims from his wife, in a press conference in Germany became the cherry on top, the icing on a cake of controversy for the media to feast on. The statement became international headlines on every TV channel, front page newspaper, and was also trending all over social media. Even though his supporters insist that theres a misperception on the implication of the statement by the public, saying his wife belongs to the kitchen, the living room and the other room has no solid justification, it added salt to injury on the image of PMB, especially with the stigma from feminists on gender equality in polictics and decision making. My question is this; Is it "the other room" that we should be worried about right now? or the reason Hajiya Buhari made such claims? When out there the masses are hungry, little children are hawking and begging on the road side instead of being in school. How can change come to our doorsteps when we dont even know our priorities? This generation is the generation of Change, or so its meant to be. The leaders of yesterday are the still the same leaders today. If the youth are truly meant to be the leaders of tomorrow, then when will this tomorrow come? There's no economic development without the youth being empowered with education,skills and resources. Our major concern at this stage should be focused on the sacrifices neccessary for this change to manifest, and who's responsibility it is to avoid the country from total economic blackout. The torch is brighter than the candle light, but they both illuminate light. So we should learn to cope and prepare for change, because its inevitable, the one constant thing in life is change, whether positive or otherwise.
Its a new year, and Change begins with me and you. If we know the kind of change we want, then we should also know the kind of change we need. Endure all challenges and play our parts in any way we can. We should transfer all that time and energy we use critisizing and complaining, to develop our character and conduct regardless tribe, religion or the party you support. Clean up your home before calling your neighbour filthy. Make a change with whatever works for you, your source of light; Be it a torch, or a candle.