As expected, the Nigerian government has extended the lockdown by 14 days in Lagos, FCT & Ogun.
What we also expected was for the president to address the hunger & insecurity in the land, give more details on how the palliatives will get to those who need them most.
We expected a clear & concise action plan on what to do about insecurity in the land. We didn’t get both. We can only be ‘hopeful’ that the hunger doesn’t escalate into more death & pain than the COVID 19 might have brought.
My thought now though is not about the pandemic or the hunger or the insecurity. It’s about the world after it- do our eyes finally open?
Nigerians have for long mortgaged our future by being lackadaisical about things that should matter. We fail to recognize the importance of a well meaning & functioning government, one whose ethos are focused on service & progress? Many of us do not care to go vote.
Many of those that do, act like it’s only a 2 party system, thereby recycling the same old politicians and their allies. How do we expect progress? In 2020, when the world is fighting over upgrading to 5G technology, we are still battling over generation of a few hundred megawatts of power to service over 200 million people.
My hope is that this pandemic, and on a smaller scale, this lockdown gives us time to think about what world we plan to leave for our children and how we plan to go beyond living just to pay our bills. There is a lot to say but perhaps the conversation should be personal reflections. Reflections where we remind ourselves that “Unity & Faith, Peace & Progress” are the goals and we are very far from any of it.
Okegbemiro Oluwaseun
ookegbem@gmail.com
