Nigeria’s Turnaround Will Shock The World -By Fola Ojo

When the dawn breaks and the sun rises from its 93 million miles abode tomorrow April 27, I will be celebrating another birthday milestone with my family, friends, and well-wishers dispersed around the world. I cherish every strand of divine privilege to live life and enjoy the blessings that our Maker has packaged in it for us as the works of His hands. I take not for granted the preciousness of life and every opportunity to breathe the breath of life. I am grateful.

And what do I want for my birthday? I will not ask anyone. Not even those in my orbit. Just like we often say in America, “I’m good.” But I will make my solemn request to God that before my next birthday, a titanic positive turnaround and progress be unleashed on Nigeria, and that her leaders lead with wisdom as we navigate the roughness of these times into the promised land. I am as certain as ever that Nigeria will not only bounce back from all that has besieged it but will boom big in the aftermath of the struggle it faces today.

I believe the philosophical submission that a global human society characterised by islands of wealth, and surrounded by a sea of poverty, is unsustainable. A nation beefed and buoyed up by natural wealth but encompassed by a spread of hunger and poverty is unacceptable. In a land flowing with milk and honey; in a territory where sweet water is plentiful, there is thirst and hunger. Young men with potential and abilities are kept in servitude of unemployment while some men with means are granted the liberty to haul the nation’s patrimonies abroad for “safekeeping.” Nigeria’s annual revenue runs into trillions of naira. But unfortunately, most of the citizens see no evidence of affluence at the dinner table. Are these narratives gradually changing?

Nigeria’s economic challenges are many. Yes, the value of the dollar against the naira may be bouncing about like yo-yo but some of our essential commodities are also slowly sloughing off in prices. A bag of cement is sold today for less than the outrageous N14,000 price tag two months ago. The price of diesel is also dipping, and many thanks to Aliko Dangote whose refinery recently announced a reduction in the price of its diesel to less than N1,000 per litre with further price reductions possible soon. The cost of transporting food and other items will thus be slashed. Its ripple effect will be a reduction in the prices of other items. Businesses that rely heavily on diesel for their operations must be smiling now. God, a titanic turnaround, must be unleashed on Nigeria. It is the birthday gift I seek from our Maker.

The angst and anxiety that were rife and awash across society are kind of slowing down. Yes, Nigeria has lost much strength. It has lost much money and resources to profligacy and corruption perpetrated by mean men. It once lost respect in the eyes of many nations in the world, but the narrative is flipping. Thieves robbed and pillaged her. They colluded with enemies and caused Nigeria to bleed. But a titanic turnaround is about to hit, and naysayers will cover their faces in shame. That is the birthday gift I seek from God. And I am sure He will approve my petition.

I have told this story many times in public around the world. It’s about a boy named Sam. His parents had waited for many years after marriage before mommy’s womb popped open. Prior to his birth, some divine instructions had been given about the don’ts and dos concerning Sam. One of the don’ts was that the lad must never be taken to a barber shop for a haircut. Why? The source of his physical strength which made him a mighty man in life was in his hair. As Sam grew up to be a young man, he also grew up philandering and lusting after women to a pathetic apotheosis. One of his many women became a mole planted in his life by an enemy nation. The secret agent eventually got to know where Sam’s power was domiciled. The slimy cocotte revealed the secret to the enemy who brought in a barber. Sam’s hair was cut. His strength was thus cut down. What made him stand out among nations vamoosed before his gouged eyes. Afterwards, enemies held Sam down, tied him up, and prepped the mighty man for a premature death. But before they could finally snuff life out of him, he turned to God in supplication one last time for his strength to be restored. God answered. His hair grew back. And the strength that made Sam stand out among men and nations came right back and in full force. My friends, I am only asking God for this special birthday gift for Nigeria. A titanic turnaround is about to be unleashed on Nigeria. Before our very eyes, it shall happen. I am certain that my God will approve my petition.

Quietly and without garrulity or gasconade, the men at the command-and-control centre of Nigeria’s finance and economy departments are working wonders. Check this out and this is why my hopes are fired up. MDA revenue in February 2023 was a paltry N154.25 billion. Just a few months ago it shot up to N835.7 billion. These verifiable figures should impress even any coarse adversaries and sworn enemies of Nigeria. Since Yemi Cardoso became the head pilot at the Central Bank of Nigeria, the institution has cleared the verified outstanding FX backlog of $1.3 billion. Total sum cleared backlogs now just under $5 billion since the new CBN management team came on board just eight months ago. Also, the CBN has paid Nigeria’s debt service obligations for the first quarter of 2024 to its creditors. The International Monetary Fund sees what I also see. That is why it predicted a reduction of Nigeria’s annual inflation to 26 per cent by the end of 2024.

Why am I so confident of a definite titanic turnaround in the Giant of Africa? There are many who stand with Nigeria rather than pit against it. There are more who yearn for its survival than those who campaign for its destruction. There are more who are interested in enriching and building it up than those stealing from it. I am confident that if the present purification and sanitisation trend from Bola Tinubu and his men is sustained, not too long from now, garroting corruption will become an abnormality in Nigeria, food security will be guaranteed, insecurity will be drastically reduced, and then, civility will reign. A new economic atmosphere in Nigeria is what I am asking God for as a birthday gift.

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