2023, the year of ghen-ghen in Nigeria

Yes, like the prophet Jeroboam, of Wole Soyinka’s famous Jero Plays, I danced, eyes closed and spoke in tongues unknown to me and asked the higher powers what awaits Nigeria, the clouds I saw were misty, it moved like this and like that and ghen-ghen.

I saw that Nigeria will not break, Nigeria will not fail or fall, because it already has. We are not united, but we are one in corruption, one in greed, one in mismanagement and misrule. And very well united in our religious and ethnic risky politics.

The year 2022 was a long year, a year that many of us want to forget for many reasons and others would not forget for obvious reasons. But either way, what more can we do than be happy that we finally got to navigate it somehow? There are many reasons to be optimistic this year, as well as many to be pessimistic, many of us would be watching with an eagle eye as events unfold towards the General Election, on the international scene the drama would certainly pick up where it left off. last year.

This essay would be a central idea of ​​all that I hope will face us this year as a nation and as a people, it would be a conspiracy of issues that, if addressed, can bring us closer to the promised land and, if neglected as usual, will only be ingredients for disaster and a continual slide to doom. And the signs show that the latter is inevitable!

Again, from the beginning of this year, we will be fighting poverty of mind, pocket and sensitivity, despite seven years of reforms by the outgoing Buhari administration, we would still be one of the poorest in the world, despite Due to human mismanagement, our natural and human resources would be struggling to sustain significant development and growth that meets the expectations of our people.

With the rise of the Obis, Tinubus, Atikus and co., again, albeit subtly, we will continue to be concerned with tribal sentiments, ethnicity, religion, and therefore largely none or few of us are thinking or discussing meritocracy. Around these three evils and many more, we are likely to be subjected to more political irresponsibility, mischief, and political arithmetic that further alienate the rulers from the ruled.

Again we will be fighting against the negative statistics of reality, we are still likely to remain one of the poorest, the statistics would be against us, whether it is corruption, malaria, we will still remain and continue to appear among the nations with the worst managed economies. , a bunch of ghen-ghen (events of crazy proportions) would occur.

We are insecure as a people, we will once again be constantly dependent on others after 63 years of paper independence, despite all that real and imaginary rice pyramid, the rice we eat would still come from Thailand, any land but not our land , our drugs both fake and original, we have India, Germany and company. to thank for them.

This year, will we be able to make sense of our economic policies both micro and macro with coins that are laundered when mistakenly washed in a jean, while we say alhamdulillah for Innoson engines, our cars, computers, clothes, pens, all of obodo? oyinbo. Shall we shed the skin of a nation that is full of contradictions, a nation of millions of jobless school leavers, a nation of millions sick with curable diseases and illnesses, a nation blessed with fertile lands, with men and intelligent women galore. But being punished by a bunch of scoundrels called leaders, being ruled by a collection of mediocre ones. A nation where in the midst of this poverty a man would steal billions.

The issues keeping us from ever re-attaining nationality would include the fact that we are all hypocrites, constantly waiting for any opportunity to better Judas Iscariot in the act of treason, just ask Wike, Atiku and co. The most important thing is that we will see leaders again. who grew up in Oshodi, were educated in Oshodi, lived there all their lives and were chosen to serve Oshodi, and the first thing on their card would be an Oshodi Familiarization tour. Our Leaders would still be exploring all means and any means necessary to rob us.

With the looting, corruption and lack of sincerity, the ball would once again be played in the court of underdevelopment and to think otherwise would be misleading. In a world going through a time and season of global recession, our cry would still be to try to catch the Asian tigers, even the West African cubs have gone too far for comfort. Our life expectancy is likely to decrease even further, even as more roads are likely to be inaccessible. We will lose more children at birth due to lack of infrastructure while the leaders and the wealthy treat their stomach disorder in Paris.

More kids would fail their qualifying exams, especially with all the strikes from the previous year. On less than 50 cents a day, only the Almighty and our perseverance can keep us going.

We will suffer from the rule of idiots, because the wise are kept in the dump, maybe we will have exceptions here and there in shaa Allah, but again, it will be as it was, while Tafawa Balewa wanted to be an announcer, the powers that be thought otherwise, Yakubu Gowon was not ready intellectually, psychologically, temperamentally, but the oligarchy said it must be him. Then we had an all-knowing Obj in the first coming of him that was imposed on us by Danjuma, Shehu Yaradua and company of him.

In Shagari it was no different, as the man who only wanted to be a senator, a man who was not even in the Row Park spot of the NPN primary emerged as the winner without his consent, he did not even know his name was on the ballot In 1998, fresh out of prison, the Baba of Aso Rock had asked “how many presidents Nigeria wanted to make of him”, but we didn’t listen. We witnessed a cry from Mr. Buhari, who says he can’t wait to leave, he has done his best and it will be debated whether it is good enough, because after all, the Otueke barefoot in front of him is now revered.

The Emilokans, Unifiers and Obidients, men who crave it with the exception of one. These are the specifications we have to navigate this new year. In the eye of the hurricane would be the INEC, the Police, the ruling APC, the PDP, the G5, the EFCC and many ruffians that the government has created.

Things could be better, Nigeria can be great if only these institutions, if men and women of good will, can take the bull; if only you and I could make a concerted effort to be right in our own way and fight in our little corner.

The nation must emerge or else we are wasting time again, we must fight for liberation from tribal loyalties, ethnic jingoism, religious parapoism, monetary patronage and many more. We will have to climb a ladder from hope and expectation to reality.

In this New Year, we have to move towards a Nigeria, with Nigerians, or we continue in self-delusion and watch the nation crumble like cookies. As we welcome this new year, let me say that this is our nation, we are the only ones who can stop the drift, the people who say they love us are few, many nations are watching and waiting. Let’s remember that we cannot continue massaging the ringworm and leave the sore. Almighty God, we as a people thank you for a New Year and ask for the best, but are we working towards it? Time will tell.