‘Water moving against itself cannot flow’…
This write up is born out of an old realization and now growing concern about a pervading retrogressive mindset that has stagnated Nigeria as a country and Nigerians.
I call it ‘One Voice Discordance’.

This cause is multi- layered, stemming from family values, formal and informal miseducations, religious disharmony, selfishness and a lack of patriotism.

What is OVD?
This is an intentional or inadvertent drive to invalidate, repudiate or sabotage an opinion, observation or criticism by another who is contextually incorrect in other to subterfuge the undiscerning crowd.
Eg. Policeman assaults a bystander or citizen assaults a policeman. Both scenarios should be condemned by all and sundry. Assault is the offense irrespective of what lead to it.
With OVD, some people would celebrate the assault because of the political affiliation, religion or ethnicity of the victim.
For a people that fought so hard against racism, segregation and stereotypes I’m always bemused at the level of intolerance Africans hold against each other. Our minds are partition by polarized values. If it comes add up against our wishes, we hate it. We cannot grow or achieve much this way.

Drawing allusions from the issues of today.
Let’s scrutinize the economy, elections were won in February. Campaign was done with a manifesto months prior, the problems of Nigerian had been laid bare years earlier. It is only logical that whoever vies for office is armed with the solutions, meaning rigorous research and consultations was done to consider the benefits, risks and consequences of any and every given action. Every given action being allotted a timeline as fundamental project management illustrates.
Criticism in ‘one voice’ should be channeled along those lines. As of today, almost 6 months post election and 3 months post inauguration nothing is still certain. What is the timeline to adjudge a policy as failed?
Out there right now, there is a woman in need of urgent orthopedic surgery but due to the cost implants and the surgery, she is at the mercy of bone setters.
Out there right now, there is a diabetic, hypertensive, asthmatic and SLE patient that cannot afford their medications and imminent death awaits.
Out there right now, there is a young entrepreneur that did his feasibility studies before taking a loan, but is currently contemplating suicide because he has no more money to finalize his projects no thanks to inflation and his debtors are coming for his head.
Out there right now, there is a student in a foreign university being ridiculed and on the brink of being ousted from the university because his family cannot make up the difference in the cost of tuition due to the exchange rate.

The economy was too unstable for extreme measures as what was taken. I believe the risks and consequences are currently outweighing the proposed benefits and with ‘one voice’ we should abrogate furthermore.

It is claimed that subsidy money has been saved, little has been said about our foreign reserve. CBN no longer sell to commercial banks or BDCs, and the oil theft days are behind us, crude oil currently sells at over $85, these should imply large sums of saved up USD which should fast track development but that’s not happening, why?

No Nigerian will get good amenities and hate it, that I know for sure because of our love for foreign countries, their amenities, provisions and products. We should desist from celebrating mediocrity. In all works of life, mediocrity is abhorred except in politics, why? A medical specialist, IT specialist, Engineering specialist is expected to produce immediate, short and long term solution not propositions but we tolerate this in politics, why?
Are we sincerely saying that the current situation in Nigeria is the best we can have at a time like this?

I propose a ‘one voice movement’ not a protest just a common understanding. The movement is hinged on austerity measures, transparency and performance index/appraisal.
Please join me and other well meaning Nigerians to call for these. The largesse of government must end, more freedom of information should be provided to the press on government expenditure form the office of the accountant/auditor general of the federation, even if a tyre is changed we would like to know this. Also, we hear of this every rising illusory demand for forex by Nigerians, I request that all commercial banks should publish on their websites names and/or amount of those on the wait list demanding forex, (I believe the so called rise in demand is fictitious because quite a sizable number of Nigerians depend on funds from family and friends abroad than banks) and lastly I ask that NGOs in conjunction with the press put each and every politician in the spotlight, tag them to performance in line with their constitutional duties, less that 55% performance in 2 consecutive months should be a call to impeachment.

No matter your tribe, religion or idiosyncrasies if it’s for the betterment of this country speak with one voice.
God bless Nigeria.
@Seun
@mods