It was a round dinning table discussion with my father as he shared his adventure/experience on how Nigeria was once a cherished and an enviable country. His lamentation were hinged on the fact that I and my sister have not gotten a job after serving our fatherland, then the chronicle of his breakthrough he shared to give us a brief knowledge of how Nigeria gave him several options to choose from on his job search table.
According to his certificate, he graduated from the university of Lagos, Akoka, and during his time, it was pay as you eat. This cafeteria basis method was so orderly that you had to pay as little as 45 naira per month to eat in excess because the federal government put the welfare of the people into consideration as at that time. I was surprised when I heard the meagre sum he paid at every stage to get food at the cafeteria compared to the value of naira we hold these days, and also shocked that the system is no more in existence in all the federal schools.
The story of his life adventure continued as we took the spoonful of rice to our mouth, sorry we had to break the table manner rule to solve the pressing issue of Nigeria that has its feet stretched to our home. He said companies' representatives were always visiting the school to find talents to recruit. And this gave him the assurance that before the conclusion of his National Youth Service Corps, he was sure of getting a good job, even with his lack of connection to people at the authority level, because job was like fishes in the ocean that time when Nigeria had her economy well sharpened. After his NYSC, he got a referral to visit savannah bank and the central bank of Nigeria for recruitment as a graduate of economics. He weighed his options and eventually picked savannah bank at his convenience. Even though the bank is no more in existence, but thanks to the system that favoured graduates by giving them a sense of happiness attached to education which is getting to work with their certificate.
What happens when the giant of Africa sinks like the Titanic ship on the sea ? It loses its title, and joins the queue of the struggling countries. A story once told and reality once shared is now a history. The story of the boom in the economy of Nigeria, her achievements and her generosity towards other countries is now a thing of the past. The stability of electricity in Nigeria was a well known achievement in time past as it was recorded that it supplied Ghana electricity, but unfortunately, the case is however the reverse in recent times. The economy of Nigeria has crippled to a level where no vaccine has proven to revive it from a state of paralysis. Electricity is now a bargain, fuel has turned into gold, unemployment is the order of the day, the most ridiculous is the fall in naira which has given dollar the ego and pride to torment our dear naira by making everything less valuable and expensive. The giant is turning to a dwarf, and now pleading for mercy from other countries following the tour of President Mohammadu Buhari to other countries in the favour of our dear Nigeria. How then do we draw the disparity between the Nigeria of the old, and the Nigeria of the new? According to history, some of the leaders that ruled in time past are still the once featured in this new episode of Nigeria saga. Now, how do we draw the line? Should we blame it on corruption, or lack of leadership quality, or on citizens' negligence? The cake is on our table to cut, and we have to know our onions.
The questions to answer by the people at the helms of affairs and the citizens are; How do we refine our oil, should we diversify by investing more in other sectors by disallowing our future to be judged by only oil, how can we curb corruption and make effective use of our money in the coffers of government, how will our naira fit back into the society, when will the clamour for foreign goods be reduced and attention shifted towards upgrading our locally made goods, how do we create jobs for youths to avoid hooliganism, how do we proffer solution to ethnicity, religion diversity and terrorism? All these and many more are pushed out to us, the government, experts and citizens to view and review in consonance with the redemption of our image.
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