THE EVE OF A NEW DAWN

Yaay! It’s the last day of the year again. This period is characterised with so much stock taking and retrospective moments. It’s been a wonderful year for me despite the long silence. There was so much I needed to put in place during the year, there was hardly time for me to share my thoughts with you. I decided to take some time off my activities to write this, as we are shutting down the year and ushering in a new one. I highlighted the high and not so high points of the year, firstly for Nigeria and then for me personally.

2015 started with so much uncertainties and predictions, both positive and negative [There were more negatives I must confess]. Perhaps all these tension was fuelled by the fact that the General Elections were scheduled to hold in February and the polity was really heated up with a lot of ethno religious sentiments being pedaled by politicians to exploit the political process. It was indeed a fierce battle between the two biggest political parties in the country [PDP and APC]. All the political propaganda driven by the media [both conventional and social media] made the 2015 Elections the most followed by citizens. Despite the fact that the initial February 14^th date was moved for “security reasons”, the elections eventually held in March/April and winners emerged with the broom of Change taking over in most part of the country.

The new government headed by President Muhammadu Buhari was inaugurated and some immediate Changes [improvement in power supply and fuel was sold at the official pump price in independent stations] were noticed across the country, which people attributed to the fact that Nigerians were scared as they didn’t know what to expect from the new President who has made himself known as a man with zero tolerance for corruption. This was eventually termed “The Body Language”.  Nigerians soon became frustrated by the President’s delay in constituting the federal cabinet and also by the fact that at the initial stage it felt like the President was only favouring the North in his appointments.

We must also not forget that there were so many speculations and predictions prior to 2015, about the threatened existence of Nigeria as a single entity. So many people thought the nation would breakup along ethnic lines. The elections came and went, the Boko Haram war continued and just some months ago, the Biafra movement started to carry out what they termed as “Peaceful Protest” throughout the South East for the release of their supposed leader Nnamdi Kalu who was being held by the DSS. But here we are at the end of 2015 and Nigeria is still together and the military has been fortified to take the war to Boko Haram and according to the Military and the FG, “the war has been technically won”.

Away from all the political brouhaha, 2015 was indeed a great year for me and I trust it was for you also. The highlight of the year for me was me successfully rounding off my Bachelor’s degree programme in architecture. [It wasn’t easy, but finally we made it!] I was able to discipline myself and put in my time and energy into achieving set goals and that made me a better person because I got to learn more stuff and all that. I also met new people as I became friendlier and open to conversations than I used to be previously. And then, there was Sprite Triple Slam. Yes I excelled at my favourite sport, Basketball when the Sprite Triple Slam train landed on my campus and I shared the stage with Nigerian music sensation and the Duro singer, Tekno. Completing my undergraduate thesis was also a highpoint for me as I was committed to doing it myself and I gave it my all that when I turned the final draft in, my supervisor said “Your work is really good. I would love to have a copy when you’re done. I don’t mind paying for it” [Those words really made me feel good. The resulting ego-trip was epic].

I can’t forget the long adventurous road trip to Kano from Enugu. It took us two days. We had a very good AC fitted Toyota Coaster Bus but an old driver who wasn’t only slow, but didn’t know the route to follow beyond 9^th mile, yes the very 9^th mile at Enugu. So I and a friend who was familiar with the Enugu to Abuja route were the ones that guided the driver on the roads to follow, through the night and till we got to Zuba, from where we now resorted to using Google maps which helped us to navigate through the northern cities of Kaduna, Zaria until we eventually got to our destination in Kano safely. The drive back to Enugu four days after was less stressful and it took us just one day. [I’ve resolved that after that adventure, I won’t head up north to a place as far as Kano on road again. It’s very far brethren].

I’m ending the year on a very high note and once again I’m grateful to God for a great year. A year devoid of, lack of whatever kind, the supplies were enormous. The year was debt free and also sickness free. I didn’t step into any hospital for any reason [I’ll try to visit and reach out to sick people in the coming year sha].

As we look forward to making the switch into 2016 in a few hours, most people in their usual stereotypical manner are already reincarnating New Year Resolutions they made 2 years ago and adding a little more bad habits they picked up during the course of the ending year to the list of things they will drop in 2016. I think the most common element I’ve seen across board, is the rant by so many people about who they are cutting off in the new year, not knowing that they just might be the Lot in the lives of those people. Well, for me I’ll be meeting new people and try to be nice to more people. [I’m expanding my client base].

Truth is, nobody really cares who or what you’re cutting off in 2016. Personally I think the decision to stop a bad habit or improve oneself can be taken at any point in time. We don’t have to wait until a new year or our birthday. Just strive to be a better person every day.

I’m excited about 2016 for so many reasons. It’s indeed going to be a great year for me and I believe it will also be your experience. Despite all the tensions and uncertainty with the nation’s economy, I see so much hope for Nigeria.

I hope to find time to keep this space more active and engage with more people via the comments section.

Cheers to a wonderful 2015 and to a glorious 2016.

See you at the TOP!