2023 in Retrospect: The Lamentations of a Nation – Who Will Deliver Thee Nigeria?

By ‘Dayo Kayode

What a year in a nation’s life that majority of the citizens will prefer it never existed within the national histogram. A year that was screwed with many inconsistencies bounding the national economic, democratic, and judicial fabrics; ultimately depicting a serious bleak future for the whole citizenry. Our nation has never been so debased in its 64yrs of nationhood.

As a newborn baby will attract congratulatory messages from far and near in view of what it represents – a new hope and greater future for that family, likewise at independence, there were congratulatory messages with a great hope for the nation in view of the numerous abundant human and natural resources the new nation prides itself with.

A hope of a new beginning, growth, and development where people can cohabit while exhibiting their potentialities under a just, equitable and fair geo-political space without any form of intimidation, oppression, or suppression.

Our forefathers cohabited without the hindrances of primordialities. There was the rule of law which ensures dividends of governance to the people through the in-built strong institutions that equally paved ways for regional interdependence, healthy rivalry, and national cohesion. That new nation then became the cynosure of all eyes internationally.

Just like a newborn baby whose father passed on before getting to adulthood, left in the hands of uncared relatives that are only interested in the wealth left behind by the father will turn out to be a deviant and a thorn in the flesh of societal norms and values, so also, Nigeria’s situation can be likened to this.

Our nation is now like a gestapo of no value and integrity where everybody does what it likes with impunity while constitutionality has no more space in our existential boundaries.

The compass of our nationhood has been thrown overboard and the ship is now sailing haphazardly on the high sea without any form of direction.

Wither thee my country; what exactly has befallen the once beautiful bride of all nations now a desecrated weeping desolate and shadowy being, the former pride and giant of the black race turned a rag-tag dwarf of inconsequential integrity?

The dawn of the year 2023 came with the promise of securing a glimpse of where to find the national ship’s missing compass but alas, the year has further shown us that, our search is yet to begin. The seriousness, sincerity, and strength of character in our search for this missing compass has once again been jettisoned.

Despite the shown determination, capacity, and promises to the people in appropriately choosing the leader with his compass search team coupled with all the necessary support given by the people both in cash and kind, the society’s head of the selection commission in his own corrupted and dilutional wisdom inadvertently jettisoned the societal integrity with its value system (constitution) in choosing this leader and his compass search team through the back door and later told the people to authenticate his choices through the alleged highly corrupted noblemen (as corroborated by a former nobleman).

These alleged corrupted noble men equally bypassed the societal integrity standards, norms and values in validating various violations by the societal selection commission.

He that claimed to have understudied for thirty years the stream on his street was consequently bequeathed on our society to lead the search team of our compass inside the ocean.

I wonder the type of relationship between the gentle flow of the stream and the torrential waves of the ocean where our missing compass lies.

2023 thus unleashed on us an embodiment of boisterous individual who prides in building miscreants into strong individuals as against building strong institutions alongside, shielding his inconsistent questionable past of zero integrity for him not to suffer irreparable personality downgrade.

Our current Nigeria situation has therefore been so pathetic that, we prefer to spend over N40b on vehicles for our national assembly members than to resuscitate our Ajaokuta Steel Mills with a lesser N30b; allocating over N40b in renovating (not constructing) accommodations for just three elected leaders (dealers) while mere N5b was allocated as loans to all Nigerian students; allowing Nigerians to wallow in excruciating pains of poverty while a youthful minister is proposing to spent N1b on a mere conference in Switzerland; despite the N100/ltr profit by NNPC while the pump price of PMS was N150/ltr (as equally affirmed by the current NASS), this government still prefer to further unleash hardship on the people through fake subsidy removal (see Direct Supply Direct Purchase policy of NNPC pre-subsidy removal) and pushed up pump price to over N600/ltr……..and many more.

The then sweet waters of our national independence have further gone sour in 2023; where thence cometh help of getting the salt to make it sweet again, where cometh help to redeeming the former world’s bride that was the cynosure of all eyes?

Weep not my child as here cometh 2024 when you need to wipe off your tears in enablement to assessing and evaluating what has brought this decadence upon thee. Thou need to know the contributing factors towards getting the right antidote of therapy.

Our challenge of leadership conspiracy, disconnect and abandonment calls for resilience, resistance with a radical but strategic proactive approach which will be a departure from our current docility.

There must be that conviction, purpose and willingness to stand up for our integrity, values, constitutional sanctity and the rule of law than living without a meaningful purpose.

Let our inspiration come from the caterpillar that refuses to accept confinement and behold, transformed into a beautiful butterfly. These dark clouds shall soon pass away.

Fellow Nigerians, permit me to admonish us that, in this 2024, we all should strive to engage our different potentialities and capacities to laying the foundation of a new nation where equity, justice and fair play will prevail.

The whole world is waiting for Africa to emerge and invariably, Nigeria. Where do you stand?

HAPPY NEW YEAR NIGERIANS.

‘Dayo Kayode, PhD, a Socio-Political Technocrat & Aviation Safety Expert writes from Lagos, Nigeria.