Nigeria, We hail Thee!

_{David Rotimi}

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Come on, let’s be honest with ourselves here. The current state of my dear country Nigeria is a mess. And that is not an understatement.

Nigeria has slowly come down in the top ranks of the world, making those waves where they used to matter and the kind that attracted tourists and investors to the country. Now, we are contending with a new kind of wave. The one that repels the investors and tourists, and as if that one is not enough also chase out the ones that are already set up here by making business so frustrating for them that they have no choice but to bow out.

Ever since I was born on this earth, right when I was a baby and I started understanding simple things. I’ve always had the impression that Nigeria was at its worst. From the conversations of elders around me, the news, and basically even the music of my childhood. It was no news to anyone that Nigeria back then was at its worst.

And then, if there will ever be a good thing about being at your worst, it is that you can’t get any, well, worse. That should be the consoling factor and the motivation to spur you on because you know that when you hit rock bottom the only other way to go is up.

Unfortunately, in Nigeria y dear country, we have always thought our country was at its worst. And then, some new leader will take power and be like, “Nah, let’s shock these people again!” Then they’ll plunge us deeper than before. We’ll go on to think that is the end, that it can’t possibly get any worse. They’ll still come and shock us some more.

That is how they’ve been shocking us over the years, and the people have been adapting. No matter how bad, they’ll tolerate and eventually accept. Back then a lot of questions were not asked and a lot of accountability was not required. A lot of things were allowed to fly.

_{Emmanuel Ikwuegbu}

And where did that leave us? We are now one of the world capitals of poverty, and that’s if we are not the ones with the crown and the sash. We have more kids out of school than we have in them. Security is just like the stock exchange, nothing is certain at all. You are not safe from terrorists, bandits, criminals, armed forces, and even the police. It’s like this everyone is out to get you, and even you that you are trying so hard to survive you don’t even know what you did to deserve that.

And as if all that is not enough, we still have to contend with the rising cost of living. Everything from the price of toothpicks all the way to the price of private jets has skyrocketed, and it’s doing so at such an alarming rate that it’s scary. Prizes of goods can change in the blink of an eye and there’s nothing you’ll be able to do about it. Had it been that salaries and earnings were also increased at this rate as well, there would have been no problem. But the salaries remain the same, but the spending increased more than threefold.

And as a result, many people are finding coping mechanisms. Some are turning to a life of crime, and some are choosing to learn skills instead. Everyone is looking for anything at all just to put body and soul together.

A lot is happening indeed, just a lot. The future looks bleak and it looks like we’ll be stuck in this kind of life for a long time. A very horrible image that it puts in my head, and I reject it.

But then, there is one good thing that these bad times have brought. It has woken up our people. Not just the youths but every single person that genuinely wants a better life for themselves. We all are deciding to do our little in pushing this great nation forward. It can be as simple as getting our Permanent Voters Card and voting for who we think is the best candidate. But there will be no more political apathy, it’s time to take back the country from those who are oppressing us.

_{Tope A. Asokere}

So, how do I see my nation in nearest future?

Our elections are around the corner, so I will be answering the above question by looking through the lens that the will of the people persevered, and the right candidate won. I see my nation doing better than it is doing today, it might not be top of the world just yet, but it will surely get there in time.

Success takes time, and it’s a process. It might take some time, but I absolutely believe that there is hope for my country. I believe that there is something that can be done to fix the country once and for all. We will get to a stage where all forms of corrupt practices will be swiftly acted upon once confirmed. And we would not be so unfortunate that we will be considering our previous bad state better than our present bad state.

That is like picking between a rock and a hard place, and why would we have to pick between them when we can just not have either of them at all? Or have the best place in the world. These are the kind of questions we need to ask ourselves, they will help us believe more in what we have to do to take this great nation to where it has to do.

So, my dear friends, as time goes on, we will get on to the better days ahead. It might be a bit far away, it might even be out of sight, but know that it’s always ahead. And that is a given, so never give up just yet. Things will definitely get better.

_{Tope A. Asokere}

Thank you for reading. Feel free to share your thoughts with me in the comments section, I would love to know what you think. See you in the next post.

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_{This post is inspired by the second topic for this week which is The Future Of The Nation. Feel free to take part.}

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_{Borderimage credit: @deimage.}