A SATURDAY TO REMEMBER

Today is 25^th of February 2023. A day when history of my country shall be written for good. Nigerians above the ages of 18years will today go to the polls to choose who the next president of the country will be. It will be a day where perhaps, the president that will pilot the affairs of the country for the next 8years will be chosen. So, for me, today is very historic!

Every 4years, Nigerian decide who their president will be and indeed who the administrators would be. But beyond the euphoria of the election, there is the need to set the agenda for the incoming administrator and Nigeria is currently facing a myriads of economic, social, and political issues. This indeed not a good time to be a leader in Nigeria.

From the north to the south, there are issues that will confront the incoming administrator, and looking at it critically, the incoming president must be hands on to be able to tackle these issues and Nigerian will definitely expect so much from whoever eventually win this election. There is the issue of terrorist and banditry in the North where thousands of nigeran currently living in refugee camps – even in their country. There are quite a number of out of school children which the incoming president must decide how to solve the problem. The issue of cattle rustling is also rampant in the north and this had led to loss of lives of properties which sometimes led to burning down of the whole communities.

In the south-east, there is the issue of agitation for separate country and that had led to the loss of lives and properties. I even learnt that some days have been declared as work free day, where no economic activity will take place. That is loss of income to the small-scale businesses. That is huge loss for the people residing in the region and this problem must be tackled head-on. I still won’t envy this incoming president. In south-south, there are also agitation combined with huge theft of crude oil, Nigeria’s biggest source of income. I know the current administration is working hard to restore that, but whether such solution is sustainable is better imagined!

In the South-West, the issue of kidnapper needs to be tamed. Just recently, a friend of mine was kidnapped in his farm in Oyo State and he was only released after a huge ransom was paid. This problem is endemic and need to be quickly looked into. This issue also contributed to the brain drain that is currently being experienced. After my friend was released from the kidnapper’s den, he quickly relocated!

On the national scale, the issue of currency redesign which had left to some vandalization of banks majorly in the southern Nigeria. The currency design, we were told was to curb the problem of kidnapping, vote buying and inflation. On the economic side, inflation has never been this high in the history of Nigeria. The current rate of inflation has actually affected the value of Naira negatively. There is also the issue of foreign exchange that needs to be tackled.

I pray Nigeria make the best choice. For me all I wanted to see is just a better Nigeria. Which I know is POssible.

SGD