That the citizenry is going through hard times right now as a people is to say the least an understatement.
Hard times may be as a result of
different happenings - such as natural disasters, (i.e. earthquakes, famine,
flood, tornado), human crisis (wars, diseases, spiritual and economic
corruption) etc. During the reign of King Ahab, the land of Israel faced one of
the hardest times in her history due to her spiritual corruption. Ahab reigned
in Israel for twenty-two years. The scripture says, ‘Ahab, son of Omri did more
evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him’ (I Kings, 16:30). He
abandoned the worship of the true God and led the entire nation into idolatry.
In the face of all this, Prophet
Elijah, though he knew he would be affected by the aftermath of his protest
against the activities of King Ahab (and wife Jezebel), he still went ahead to
pray to God fervently to bring a serious famine on the land for three and a
half years, to teach King Ahab that there is only one God (I Kings, 17:1). God honored Elijah’s prayer
and there was no dew or rain in Israel for three and half years (see Luke 4, 25 and James 5, 16-17). The man of God knew well beforehand that severe persecution awaited
him, yet he proceeded with the protest - demanding of his God to send a
draught. He had a strong faith in God’s divine provision for his daily living.
True to his faith, God provided him with all he needed to survive the famine.
The state of affairs in our nation right now demands men of such demeanor as
Elijah. Unfortunately, it seems the body of elects in our time are wary and
comfortable in our individual highly exalted zones; struggling to outwit each
other for relevance in the sight of the ‘Ahab’s’ of our time’ aiding and
abetting injustice, conspiring to loot and decimate the treasury - all in the
fear of being persecuted if we dare challenge the order of things as it were
and depend on God for survival like Elijah did.
The people on the other side of the divide act like they have been defeated, no one seems bold enough to ‘hear from and speak out’ the mind of God; gone are those days when men and women of courage like the late Obadiah Mailafia, the likes of the late Sage, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, men who are ready to sacrifice their comfort zones for prisons and other forms of persecution like the late Fela Anikulapo Kuti, the Chinua Achebes, the Frank Kokoris, the Hassan Kukahs - who over the last four decades continually speak to the conscience of our leadership as a nation. Gone indeed are those days, when the labour could call the leadership to order, when clerics could cry out at the top of their voices at the pulpits demanding justice - Today, at 64, Nigeria has attained a level of condescension that almost half of quality population are looking for means of escaping from the country by all means - who will bell the cat? Who will rescue us?
Continuous
observance of the Bretton woods institutions such as World Bank and the IMF has proven to be counter
productive and worsened our state of well-being as a people. Some of us still
believe borrowing a leaf from countries that have been able to evolve a ‘home
grown’ solution to their mirage of socio-economic woes is still a choice yet to
be explored. Countries like China and Rwanda readily come to mind among such
countries. Keeping quiet and being permissive of the cluelessness ravaging
every sector of our nation today, is a no-no. The men of old used ‘everything’
God gave them - Elijah used his office as a prophet, Mordecai used his only
connection - Esther, Chinua Achebe used his pen, Gani Fawehinmi used law, Fela
Kuti used music. Hassan Kakah, etc are clear examples we can learn a thing or
two in ‘salting’ the earth rather than remaining docile and non-concerned
because of fear of persecution of whatever type; we cannot afford to be
complacent in times like this, for the consequences can be more intolerable
than the initial comfort.
The education sector in Nigeria today
is one of the most shortchanged sectors in our nation. The
sector got 1.54 trillion representing 6.39%of total budget of Tinubu’s renewed
hope national budget for the current year 2024; in a sharp shortfall of the
UNESCO stipulated between 15% - 25% as agreed at the Paris declaration, which
Nigeria is a signatory to.
The need for government at all levels
to make education affordable to every citizen is to say the least duty of the
state. The cost of education and transportation has skyrocketed, making it
difficult for ordinary Nigerians to access quality education, thereby
increasing the menace of out of school children in Nigeria.
In a very privileged meeting,
COUNTDOWN’s Hadassah Omoniyepe had a quite educating and inspiring interview
with the Founder/Proprietress of TABITHA’S KIDS Early Years Centre based in
Abuja, it is a must read for all parents, especially the new ones. She answered knutty questions that often constitute obstacles to kids handlers on issues of
choice of School, curriculum and grooming; it is one of the features in your
regular column, instant reading.
The
significance of anniversary celebrations, whether of an individual or a
country, provides opportunities to reflect on memories, celebrate
accomplishments, look to the future and offer gratitude. This year 2024
October, marks the 64th year since Nigeria embarked on its journey as an
independent nation. A nation blessed with vast natural and human resources that
could drive the country towards greatness. However, it ought to be a period for
our leaders and the led alike to introspect, particularly the elected officials
of the state whose actions contributed to the nations ongoing struggles.
At 64, Nigeria is faced with a
humongous amount of lingering challenges. Majority of the citizenry is neither
happy nor free, the fuel subsidy removal policy of President Bola Ahmed
Tinubu’s administration has pushed millions into poverty and unprecedented
hardship. Many patriots are of the opinion that governance should be
streamlined in structure, by adopting a unicameral legislature which
accordingly would make governance cheaper, easier to maintain and more
effective; it is also recommended that tiers of government be reduced to two -
federal and local governments - thereby eliminating the need for state
governments.
As it were, the citizens hope can
only be renewed “when the government comes up with policies that are in tandem
with their beliefs” to give them hope. The government policies remain a mirage
if they continue to kill the hope of Nigerians who have been patiently waiting
for a prosperous society. In essence, we implore the government to use the
opportunity of this year’s Independence celebration to listen and come up with
resolutions that would be implemented, as this will make all and sundry know
that the government is serious and means well.
On the international scene, the month
of October also marked one year since the ongoing escalations of violence that
followed the October 7th 2023 unprovoked attack on Israel by the Hamas. On our
Discourse, we shall be x-traying the immediate cause of the bloodletting that
started in the 1920s, which culminated in the Arab/Israeli wars of 1948, 1967,
1973 and now 2023-2024, its origins and future destiny of Israel as prophesied
in the Scriptures. It promises to be a very bumper edition. Happy reading.
Taiyelolu Ojo, anipr
Editor @Countdownmag.com.ng
October 2024
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