Nigeria they say is a country with vast economic resources
and massive potentials for greatness. Since we attained independence on the 1st
of October 1960, we are yet to achieve our full potentials. It is always the
usual problems of our leaders being the bad eggs mismanaging the state's
developmental funds. The past five days starting from the 28th of April till 3rd
of May 2015 as I write this article could make one renounce his Nigerian
citizenship. Being tied to this country comes with vast pains. Apart from the 62%
of the Nigerian population living below $1.25 per day which is the poverty line
drawn by the World Bank, the fact remains that the basic amenities are not
there to encourage one to live in Nigeria. Fuel scarcity in an oil rich state
in the 21st century is actually a slap on our face. We can't boast of good motorable
roads. In Nigeria, the roads have gotten so bad that we don't avoid or dodge
pot-holes anymore; we actually make the inevitable choice of choosing the one
that could give our cars less damage.
I will like to digress a bit and make this article so
personal which is the idea I had in mind. It’s no point addressing the problems
we are already familiar with.
The
last few days haven't been comfortable for everyone. Fuel means so much to us.
I am a struggling writer belonging to middle-class society or maybe somewhere
below that. It has been financially tough going to work. I have a budgeted
amount of money on transport per month. This has actually doubled, I pay my
transport fare sobbing like a kid in my heart but smiling like all is well.
This abrupt increase in my cost of living has affected my lunch time at work. I
decided to cut my feeding allowances to stay alive. This is pitiful. I am a
very slim person and I have no extra pounds to shed. Will I shed my blood? God
forbid oh! More drama continues at work. The air conditioner only runs on
the PHCN light, it doesn't run on fuel just to reduce cost. For this reason, I endure
the maximum heat at the office because for sure PHCN known for restoring much
of darkness than light will never change their ways. Imagine the kind of heat
that emanates from 8 laptops and 2 desktop computers in a single room. That is
my plight. The company spends more on the cost of production. Incidentally,
this may affect the prompt payment of my salary or the company paying for
labour at a loss. Nigeria is a place where most entrepreneurs die with their
dreams. Some either fail to pursue their dreams due to a lack of an enabling
ground or probably start and fall by the road side. When your boss passes by
with his face frowned, thousands of miles away from a smile. Your heart beats
faster with the fear that you might have made a mistake in the course of work
but mostly it’s not so. How can a business owner smile when he runs on power
from a generating set almost throughout the day at double the conventional price?
It gives you the feeling that the witches in your village have trailed you down
to the city. You head home after work sadly and quietly paying another hyper-inflated
amount as transport fare after being frowned at by several commercial motorcyclists
in your quest for a cheaper deal.
You get home feeling tired only to face the reality of
darkness. The water project is a forgotten issue in Nigeria. We have given up
on the government in that aspect. We have assumed the role of ''local governments''
providing such facilities for ourselves. You either sink a borehole or dig a
well and distribute the water with a pumping machine. With your little
strength, you realize there is no water available to have a decent bathe. You
decide to pump water but you simply can't do that because there is no light. The
reality of the power problem is that PHCN or any name given to the power
company owes nobody any explanation. They hold a gold medal in providing
adequately the opposite of light despite the N550 billion President Goodluck
Jonathan invested in his 'pocket' through the power project. Since there
is no power to pump water, you dare not use the generating set due to the
scarcity of fuel. The last option is probably getting a water drawer/fetcher to
pull out water locally. With someone like me who doesn't have one, I have to
resign to my fate of sleeping with my sweaty body in utmost discomfort. All
nights, as Nigerians we all get unwelcomed visitors. They strive better when
the lights are off. They are female visitors; I mean the female anopheles mosquitoes
lol Anybody who had been threatened psychologically or physically about ''Xenophobic
attacks" needs to come see the "Mosquitophobic version'' in
my room. Which government will I actually report them to? I wish there was an
International Criminal Court for them where I would have sought for redress.
You spend most of the hours of the night awake staring at the ceiling of your
room due to the incessant romance you get from these 'unwanted females'. You try to cushion the effect of the long or
crazy night by fiddling with your phone but you later realize your Smartphone
battery especially blackberry phones have their own personal problems of
batteries to deal with. As you switch your phone on, it tells you the battery
is too low for radio transmission. You try to settle for the next option
playing music videos or probably some nice downloaded tunes on your phone but
in less than 5 minutes, it bursts your bubble. You get the message ''battery drained, handheld shutting down''.
The night becomes longer; the last option would be to settle for a sleeping
pill lol. This tells you how painful it is to be a Nigerian. A country
afflicted by the curse of oil. At your free time, you can read about the 'resource curse' this isn't a political
science class.
Back to my plight, its 3am already, Friday 1st of May 2015
and I can't find a decent sleep. My room is so hot. Probably the landlord
considered the location for a bakery before changing his mind. I am still
hoping to sleep. Rolling from one corner of the bed to another. It’s the
workers' day. It’s supposed to be a free day but not for all workers. I am a
newsman, I have to be at work but how can I head to work tomorrow with no means
of transport? How can I communicate with my colleagues when my phones are dead?
What if I decide to stay back at home? How can I leave my house to visit
friends to kill boredom? I am not a fan of trekking or paying unannounced
visits to people. Meanwhile, shout out to the legendary Buhari trekker Suleiman
Hashimu, going by foot from Lagos to Abuja and other wannabes taking the
desperate and hardest success route. You will not blame them. When your
certificates can't deliver you from poverty, your legs could be mandated to
deliver you. Maybe I will get inspiration from them and simply trek. Yes, it’s
a trekking regime hahaha. Most
certainly it will be another boring day for me. It hurts to be a Nigerian. I
read we still have 17 Nigerians on death row after the execution of the other 4
last 2 days in Indonesian prison since 2008 from the visit Abike Dabiri (the Chair
of the House Committee on Diaspora Affairs in Nigeria) and her entourage made. This
accounts for why some Nigerians desperate for success will prefer to take that
deadly risk to achieve just ONE thing for themselves despite the wide publicity
of a death penalty for drug traffickers in Indonesia. Even in South Africa,
despite the menace of xenophobia that has led to the gruesome murder of
foreigners, only 8 Nigerians officially submitted to the Nigerian Consulate in
South Africa to return home. Others prefer to die there than return
empty-handed to their expectant Nigerian friends and family they must have fed
with enormous lies. The only success our leaders have recorded is gulping all
the state funds successfully. If you think I am lying, check their pot-bellies.
Some of them have been pregnant for 20 years lol I learned Kashamu Buruji carries
twins in his tummy. I wish him a safe delivery. I can feel sleep finally coming
readers, this note should end here. Thanks for sharing my pains with me. We
hope our problems end with Buhari who has taken back all his sweet promises
during the electioneering campaign.
That old man sha. Hmmm. Thanks for sharing my pains with me.
I remain your blade-writer Osayimwen Osahon George.
God bless you.
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