I intended publishing this yesterday, the 1st of October, but I guess Nigeria's NEPA had other plans. The angle I intended to write from has completely changed.
So the ‘birthday boy’ refused to share goodies for his friends. The NEPA light situation yesterday could be likened to a mother inviting neighbors to her house on her son's birthday just to have them watch him eat his goodies and go back with empty hands.
Maybe you had light throughout yesterday, maybe most people did, but isn't 61 years as an independent country enough to have sth as little as general steady power supply to boast of?
Let's leave stingy birthday boy alone and talk about his long years as a grown man.
I remember being a child and not knowing the overall situation of things in our dear country.
Thinking back, there was a time when things used to be steady and good. My mum used to go to the market at the end of the month and come home with a carton or cartons filled with beverages or her steady customer would deliver it/them to the house at the close of the market after she'd selected and paid. We used to have big tins of beverages in dozens, blue band, Nutri-c, cartons of capri-sonne, Black current.
The most interesting I can recall is how my big sister used ice fish every morning to experiment making fish sauce until she was perfect. This was because there used to be fish in abundance. My mum and my late aunt (Mrs Nor) at the end of every month, used to buy a bag of fish or however it was sold then but I recall that they'd bring it in a transparent fish leather and take equal halves. Funny how I was old enough to remember this even now. Should have been roughly around 2008 and 2009 cause I'd not yet completed primary education.
Now in my house, beverages (milk, Milo) cornflakes, cabin and provisions in general are FIRST for 'Mimi', the last child because, of course, the rest of us had it while growing up and are big girls now that can eat rice for breakfast or anything else.
How'd things get so bad?
I used this personal nostalgia to show that our dear country Nigeria, hasn't always been this tough. We've had good times as a country but the 'tough times' are beginning to last.
There was this time in school, I went happily to the market around my house with a thousand naira #1000 to get things for stew that my roommate would make for us (God, Lucy makes amazing food). Going into details of this would only make me sad again but I'd tell you that I went back home with nothing. Tomatoes were laid on the floor, five pieces for #100 naira, 3 tiny onions for #100 and God help me, spring onions with leaves looking beaten with just leaves enough to make 1 pack of noodles going for #100 naira. I live in Jos at the moment where we have greens in abundance so I wonder how it is in other paces.
At this point, you should have gotten the idea that this writer has great passion for food. Outrageous hikes in the prices of other goods and services don't affect me like the hike in the price of food.
For years and years we've hoped for better for our motherland. Some have gotten tired and moved out, some would have followed suit if they had the means.
What's the way forward? Right leaders? But who are the right INCORRUPTIBLE leaders? Are there still people who would not get carried away when they have a taste of real power and the privileges that come with it?
Dear FAITHFUL, LOYAL and HONEST citizens, let us remember on this day, to pray to God for our dear country even as we take small and bold steps to be the change we want to see.
‘So help me God’.
Happy 61st birthday Nigeria.
Photo model: Serah Shaba.
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