FINALLY (Away from the trend)

It is not like I don't have stories these past days to tell y'all. It isn't as if I have hit a writer's block. No! I am just tired and want to use this piece, the last piece before the Presidential Elections tomorrow to speak my mind. It may be a long read as I will put no hold barred on my thoughts. You should brace up...

Nigeria is a great country, o yes, we have heard that a couple of times. We have also heard it over and over again how we are the worse country off in the eyes of the rest of the world. Okay, a few elements in this country have put it on their shoulder to make sure everyone views Nigeria in a bad light. These elements are the drug pushers, the human traffickers, the internet fraudsters etc. You introduce yourself as a Nigerian online, and everybody holds onto his wallet.

You see, the last statement in the last paragraph was first used by Chinua Achebe of blessed memory in his book, Chike and the River. That was the first time I read about fraud by promising something you do not have. That book had been published long before I was born. I learnt something; no be today some Nigerians begin fall hands.

The trend hasn't changed today. When you try to do business with a man not from this country online, you stand a chance of losing out if your country of origin is Nigeria because of these few people. I have witnessed it firsthand. I have lost a couple of jobs because of my Nationality but I did not give up. Instead, I kept pushing. I have proved to a number of people that Nigerians are worthy of trust too.

Now let me come down to the issue at hand. The elections tomorrow that will determine what direction we will be steered in for the next four years. Need I remind you how the past four years has been? The upsurge in crime in the form of dare-devil robbery, rituals, kidnaps, highway robbery, massacres of whole communities and blatant disobedience to the Rule of Law marred these years. I don't want to make reference to the economy which has been on a steady decline and a recovery from recession that is only on the pages of some newspapers. Statistics released a couple of days ago showed the growth in the economy since we "recovered" from recession. We know there was no notable difference. Just some 0.something% growth.

The education in this country has also been adversely affected. More students are out of school than in school. Dilapidated structures lies everywhere. The curriculum is outdated. ASUU is fighting for the interest of students whose executives are only interested in promising 20 million votes. I understand the pains ASUU goes through. No lecturer enjoys the community and country calling graduates that have gone through their hands unemployable. So they are saying, provide this and see. Other countries have a higher budget for education but our dear country is more interested in spending billions feeding primary school pupils daily than equipping the various tertiary institutions sprawled around the country. Overcrowded lecture rooms, outdated curriculum and non-funding of researches that will bring about breakthroughs.

When do we get it right?

In a democracy, you get the opportunity to choose your leader. You go through the scores sheet of a leader that is vying for a reelection and compare it with what is obtainable anywhere in the world. When the score doesn't tally, your thumbprint kicks that leader out and replaces him with one who is ready to lead. If the new one fails too, you have another opportunity at the polls to correct that mistake in four years time.

We have watched our country change ranks. The corruption emanating from our country stinks to the high heavens. There has been a lot of carpeting and cross-carpeting. Promises and I will do. The power to change this entity rests squarely on our shoulders. Are we ready to go hungry in the name of fighting corruption while our position in the corruption index doesn't change? Are we ready to look watch our children, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, die in our hands because our healthcare facilities are not equipped? Are we ready to watch our business ideas go up in smoke because one person prefers to impoverish us by empowering us with N10,000? What about graduates that are paid N30,000 after spending years in the university? Is that all the country can offer?

Lest I forget, my current location only gets 3 hours of power supply daily. There is a power station close by yet the small community of Mararaba-Akunza only get to see power supply for 3 hours daily. No effort has been made to replace the transformers in the community so they can experience growth that comes with steady power supply.

Tell me, are the roads worthy? Security? Health? Schools? Power? Recreational Facilities?

The choice is yours, to continue or to effect a change. Go out and vote tomorrow. Vote whom you believe has the best interest of the country at heart. Vote who won't tell the outside world you are lazy and would only address the Nation when he deems fit. Vote for he whose progress you've seen and not one whose cattle are sterile and infertile.

One more thing, nobody should trek this year. I got tired trekking these past three years. Please enter into a car, a motorcycle, a private jet, a speedtrain just to celebrate the victory of whoever wins.

God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The end...