Here’s wishing all Nigerians home and abroad belated Independence Day greetings!
As we are aware, we celebrated our 62nd Independence Day last Saturday. Expectedly, it was marked more with sober reflections than pomp and pageantry.
As l am wont to, I will be discussing the 3 lessons I can glean from Nigeria @ 62:
This life no balance – for a land blessed with an abundance of natural resources and talented people; we’ve been unfortunate to be led mainly by subpar leaders.
One just has to do a roll call of the best in each field of human endeavour to discover either a Nigerian or someone of Nigerian descent featuring prominently. From entertainment to sports to academia, we are well represented.
However, we are yet to translate this level of excellence to the calibre of those who rule us. Actually, the less we say about our leaders, the better.
As King Solomon did say, a people whose leaders feast in the morning are in trouble.
At this point, we can only pray and work towards choosing serious leaders going forward.
🎶Allow me to enjoy myself🎶 – I recently had cause to help organise a relative’s event and the quotations received for services; just made me realise that we truly spend a small fortune on ceremonies.
Trust me, it is not just limited to Yoruba people, it cuts across all tribes.
In fact, I realised that vendors at the top of the food chain are minting money.
I really can’t blame us, we must find ways of enjoying ourselves given the current state of things.
Even when it comes to our sense of humour, Nigerians are in a class of our own! Truly, Naija no dey carry last – not with our witty and savage responses.
All I can say is, as we enjoy ourselves; we should remember to save for the future.
1 rich man, 9 poor people make 10 poor people – this Yoruba adage holds true given the present state of our economy.
With the unrelenting inflationary pressure and the steady devaluation of the Naira; the middle class has been unfortunately decimated.
Many perks Nigerians took for granted a few years ago – new cars, foreign vacations and credit cards now seem like the ghosts of Christmas past.
More worrisome is the fact that what’s left of our economy is still being sub-optimally managed. So the chickens will surely come home to roost sooner than later.
In all of this, the silver lining is the fact that these frustrations are making many Nigerians, especially the young ones interested in who leads this once heralded entity called Nigeria.
So, as we celebrate 62 years of independence; please take out time to reflect on what role you intend to play come February 2023. Irrespective of who your preferred candidate is, please make sure you vote!
Let’s all ensure that a better Nigeria is part of the inheritance we intend to leave behind for our children.
God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria!
PS: As we enter the last quarter of the year, there is no better time than now to invest in your Personal, Finance, Career and Business Development Growth.
Please use this LINK to access the replays of the 2022 Smart Stewards Summit.
Toyin Oguntuyi