S.O.S ALIEME

The year 2026 has begun with all expectations and blessings one could think off. To have been able to survive the year 2025 indeed in Nigeria is enough reason for someone to thank God. The year 2025 means different things to different people: where some could not earn their daily bread, feed the children, pay school fees, pay house rent, sick people in the hospital, crumbling business, banditry and kidnapping among others. To those who achieved their heart desires like booming business, getting appointment into juicy offices, getting good jobs, erecting houses, buying cars among others, it was a year of blessings. To those who were hired and fired in their various occupations, it was a year of supplications. To those who were kidnapped, abducted, and were later released from detention, it was a year of mixed feelings.  In all, Nigerians experienced a difficult economy with inflation rate rising higher than before. The Naira was always taking a nose dive down the ladder as Nigerians lamented under the scourge of a battered economy.

As we journey into the unknown, we have to be extra cautious and decisive about important things especially those related to the NEW TAX LAW that the federal government has just introduced and also the endless problem from the petroleum and energy sector. Nigerians must be ready to adapt to some difficult times for a while, and wait to benefit from the resulting effects of these difficult situations. This is a critical time for the country, as the price of oil is reducing and the revenue is falling, so what is happening now is not peculiar to Nigeria alone. But the country needs determination and a refusal to be discouraged or submit to the economic state of this nation. This is the time to look inward and generate revenue for the state. We have depended on oil for too long in this nation.

Furthermore, the oil price and the domestic security situation are both uncertain, presenting significant downside risks to the economic, commercial and financial landscape. Managing through this period of uncertainty, in the short-term, Nigeria’s policymakers have relatively little ability to influence which scenario the country may enter (particularly relating to the oil price). The next move for policymakers, even under an optimistic outlook, is to look beyond the experiences of today and plan for the future, reflecting on the explorations of the developed world.  In the real sense of it, all developed nations of the world are still developing, if not we cannot be talking about innovations and improvements in their discoveries.  Nigeria indeed cannot afford to remain stagnant economically when other nations like ours are making bold steps to improve economically.

The Government can also take responsibility for developing a set of priorities for federal and state expenditure, aligned to the national development plan. A policy principle might be to protect and support a few strategic industries during a crisis period, such as agriculture and MSMEs, who provide a large number of jobs to citizens. In the longer-term, Nigeria’s policymakers should aim to encourage a more resilient economic model, learning the lessons from this period and building an economic strategy fit to harness the country’s strong growth fundamentals, particularly that of a young, entrepreneurial and increasingly well-educated workforce.

The National Assembly (the Senate and the House of Representatives) should be the checks and balances for the executive arm of the government. It is expected that obnoxious laws are abrogated while dynamic and developmental laws should be enacted.  The development of this great nation should not be politicized.  Leaders should fashion out ways by which Nigerians can live a peaceful and purposeful life devoid of insecurity and corruption. If Nigeria is to be ranked among the successful nations of the world, insecurity and corruption should be addressed with utmost seriousness it deserves.  No investor will be attracted to a place where there is no security for his business. The call to service should not be the call to share in the national cake. Service goes beyond making money.  Service should be all encompassing; it should be regarded as commitment and dedication to duty. The untold hardships of 2025 which included insecurity, corruption, anarchy, thuggery, kidnappings, abductions, insurgencies, religious intolerance, witch hunting, clamour for independent states among others should not be allowed to foster in the New Year 2026. 

In a rhetoric question posed by my mentor and friend Engr O.P. Erondu, I care to ask: For how long will this land be great only in size? For how long will this giant called Nigeria remain an ant? For how long will our lands stay barren while we import everything we eat? For how long will our schools for the poor remain shut while the rulers use our money to educate their kids in sane distant lands? For how long must the politicians deceive us with promises they have no intention to keep? For how long must we continue to lose our young ones in the Libyan Desert and in the Mediterranean Sea in search of green pasture? For how long will my graduate put up with this Okada work? For how long will my beautiful sister bear this body-for-money shame on the streets of Italy because her homeland cares less for her? For how long will our pastors preach homilies of prosperity in place of salvation? For how long will it take me to see the man in uniform as a friend instead of a bully and a foe? How long will it take this land to redeem itself....as God’s promise to the Black Race? .....How long.....?

God Bless Nigeria!!!