4/4/2015 MAY 29 2019: PROSPECTS OF THE CHANGE RALE

Despite visions of secession, despite tales of woe foretold, despite the electioneering ruckus and against all odds, Nigeria has survived the 2015 presidential election. Families of the éminence grises who were flown out of the country for fear of the unknown now return amidst repose, having survived the process unscathed. Throughout the electioneering process, one factor that never ceased to amuse me whenever mention is made of it is the change slogan, which even birds screeched in the skies and the rats squeaked in their holes. Change, now the slogan of interaction when men converge not only tickles the ear but also the heart, especially when mention is made of it in a same-cycle clime like ours. It is rather saddening that a majority of the mouths propagating the change gospel do so with shallow minds, with reasoning devoid of contemporary realities, minds centered basically on a change of the butt on the seat of power, change of the ethnic group whose own mans the reins. If you ask me, in a society like ours, the word change should never be permitted to be uttered with reckless abandon. If you ask me, I'll say fifty seconds of silence be observed at every point in time before the word is pronounced. Of the 249 countries of the world, Nigeria as at 2014 single handedly accounted for 13% of the world's maternal mortality rates with an estimate of 36,000 women dying annually owing to a defect-laden health care system. This figure excludes the 260,000 neonatal deaths occurring annually. Change? This is a good place to start. We listen with keen bewilderment to tales of how our now comatose naira once stood side by side the pound and dollar of this world, when now it has been washed ashore by the defiant waves of avarice and egocentrism. Maybe the annual take home of our indefatigable legislators should have been accorded a primacy of place here. It is now stale to the ears that Nigerian legislators are the most paid all over the 249 countries of the world; the amiable senate president earns 4 times the amount of Obama's annual pay; that the 385.80 billion naira received as salaries and benefits by legislators within a time space of three and a half years is the same amount needed in supplying 2,572 megawatts of electricity to light up the nation; that as at 1984, 3000 Nigerian officials in both government and private parastatals were discovered to have squirreled away 33 billion dollars in Swiss banks! Let's talk change. Let Mr. President Elect also note that NO administration in Nigeria has ever met 11% of the 26% minimum annual budget for education as recommended by UNESCO for developing countries. The outgoing administration only increased the stake from the erstwhile 8.7% as at 2013 to 10.7% in 2014 after a six month strike by academics in public universities. The eminences grises who cannot tolerate the rot in the education system send their children abroad for qualitative education while the children of the masses are left to enjoy the decadence. Recent statistics have shown that 53% of graduates in Nigeria are unemployed, 30% are under employed, 3% are self employed, while only 14% are gainfully employed. Forgotten are the days when as a graduate, a brand new car awaits you, and a job in your place of choice. I do not belong to the class of thinkers who believe that the figures of graduates being produced have reached a climax and thus, this is bound to happen. No country of the world is yet free from the bane of unemployment/under-employment, but the figures here are quite alarming. Mention at this juncture cannot but be made of the promising graduates who lost their lives in the Nigerian immigration service stampede during a recruitment process, though consolation awards which is nothing compared to the sanctity of life were given to families of the bereaved. Many of these graduates make recourse to political thuggery and other societal ills for a few thousands, while their privileged counterparts exhaust millions on a day's batch. Ever heard of the grandeur Madueke, Oduah, and Mark's children reel in? or the two billion naira found in Dimeji Bankole's late two year old daughter's account? The list will be completely incomplete if mention is not made of the rate at which importation is at an all time high, aided by the porosity of Nigerian borders. Indians do not refer to Mahatma Ghandi as father for nothing; at a time when the country was grappling with economic instability, he out rightly prohibited importation of goods and services. This at first led to an outcry from the people of the state, but after a while, they adapted and made recourse to locally made products, thus boosting their internal revenue. Will the tentacles of the noised change extend to these areas or has the change been achieved already? Nigeria after 57 years of oil discovery, can still not boast of a functional refinery nearly 6 decades after. Most Nigerian leaders have laid claim to the brevity of the constitutional term of office as a reason for their non-performance. I stand to prove them wrong today. Four years is no joke! Ghana, South Africa, Liberia, India, and some other countries who witnessed change within four years have proven that. For a leader with an acute sense of direction, four years is sufficient to make things happen and hand over the baton. Come 29 th of May 2015, a new administration will be ushered in amidst pomp and pageantry, what will be Nigeria's moirai come 2019?
'Gbemi Tayo Leezah