Each time I get to listen to people say nothing changed in the last sixteen years in nigeria;that it was wasted and all of that,I just get irritated at their ignorance or is it deliberate amnesia?

I have decided to do something about it by listing out certain things in my observation that positively shaped the landscape of nigeria without necessarily pandering to or trying to defend a particular political party. I've listed them below:

1.Salaries\minimum wage: in the last sixteen years,there has been a review in wages and salaries of civil servants and workers generally;at least twice within that period which is quite commendable considering how static the salaries were for a long period before 1999. You will understand this better if you look at how a lecturer for example,who was earning less than four thousand naira per annum now earns between 250,000-500,000 naira per month depending on the level,that's change!

2.Gsm revolution: this is so damn obvious how this has impacted on our lives and businesses. If you remember the stress you went through going to the few nitel phone booths to make calls to a few people who owned land lines or how only a few rich business people owned cellular phones back in the day which they flaunted to high heavens but now every other random guy has not just a gsm phone but smart ones too,that's change!

3.Banking reforms: sustained reforms in the banking sector has made banks stronger and well positioned to impact the economy positively. Even it has engendered competition among banks such that they come up daily with new products to satisfy varied markets and customers. Check out how efficient and fast banking operations have become in the last sixteen years;the banking halls have become more beautiful with improved air conditioning. They have even added cashless economy and mobile banking to the mix,things can only get better in that sector.

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Well said OP. Maybe Baba will take us to paradise this time

4. Entertainment: this sector enjoyed a massive rejuvenation within the last sixteen years as it became a money spinning business that made it contribute a healthy sum to our GDP. Artistes now enjoy greater rewards for their talents and can now rub shoulders with their contemporaries abroad in the same industry.

5.Agricultural revolution: we have always been taught in school how agriculture used to be the main stay of our economy before oil took its place and it became relegated. The consequence of this saw us importing all kinds of farm produce and processed foods into the country which put a strain on our foreign exchange. Successive govts made efforts to introduce schemes to get farmers back to the farms without much success, but things have changed in that sector in the last 10 years as we are beginning to reduce food imports and bolstering food sufficiency,that's change!

6. Pension/insurance / integrated personnel and payroll information system(IPPIS) reforms: the introduction of the contributory pension system saw the emergence of pension funds managers (PFAs) saddled with investing monies collected from employers on behalf of workers to pay the latter after retirement with interest. This has guaranteed the payment of gratuities and fixed spread income for retirees which is a far better improvement on the previous system. There was also reform in the insurance sector to enable insurance companies secure individuals and companies from various risk in their operations. The IPPIS ensured the elimination of ghost workers and engendered a more efficient pay roll system, that's change!

7. National identity card/permanent voter card: there have been efforts made over the years for nigerians to have a national identity management system but it didn't see the light of the day till 10 years ago when it became a reality with national identity cards being distributed to nigerians. It didn't stop there as permanent voter cards were also introduced which played a major role in giving us a credible electoral process in the last elections,making people's votes to count,that's change!

8. Biggest economy in africa: nigeria overtook its south african counterpart when its GDP grew to over 500billion dollars making it the largest economy in africa,that's no mean feat. This was arrived at when other sectors apart from the oil industry were factored into the calculation. This revelation has made the country a darling bride of investors in spite of all the challenges in the system.

9.Power sector/transportation: in the last 16 years,efforts have been made to increase the megawatts of electricity in the country. Though we are not yet where we want to be in the area of power generation,but efforts being made so far are commendable as we have seen the building of more gas plants and independent power plants. There have also been efforts to introduce pre paid metering which wasn't in existence 16 years ago. The immediate gains of these efforts have seen more areas being hooked to the national grid more than ever before. There have also been improvements in the transportation sector with more roads being tarred and dualized,bridges have also been built around the country,our airports are looking very modern,even the trains are back,that's change!

10. Oil industry: there have been a lot of initiatives in the sector to deregulate and improve local content. In spite of some cogs in the wheel of progress here,one would readily appreciate the efficiency that has characterized the distribution of petroleum products in the last sixteen years considering the incessant hoarding and subsequent scarcity of petroleum products which used to be taken as a given rather than the exception before 1999.

11. Resuscitation of the automobile industry: efforts have been made in the last couple of years to bring back the car assembly plants that closed shop in the 80s. Now that effort has produced the first indigenous car manufacturing company;innoson motors,which manufactures cars and suvs in the country from the scratch. Other car companies have been trooping in to start theirs too and it can only get better with additional efforts being made to also start spare parts industry alongside.

My people,please let's appreciate that we have come a long way from how things used to be. Let's stop this unnecessary bickering and devaluation of progress already made by previous administrations. Government is a continuum so let's encourage our leaders to do more so we can achieve the nigeria of our dream. God bless nigeria!

Cc.lalasticlala