My plan was to write this before the end of 2014 and give it some kind of valedictory spice for the year ending; that is not to be. A lesson I am taking into 2015 is that my best is to have plans and only prays for divine guidance when it comes to executing these plans. It is an eternal truth that man proposes and that I did.
I would have successfully taken you all through the events that shaped my 2014, share thoughts on the very many events in our dear country and then open the discourse for what to expect in this new year.
Permit me to welcome you to 2015 and pray that all that you hope and pray for is granted as long as it aligns with the will of God and it is good for you. This may sound like an inconvenient prayer except you give it a second thought; we need to learn to separate roles to allow us concentrate on what is within our control and let God play his role. I won’t worry too much about a rainy day but find myself a good umbrella.
My articles in 2014 were more about politics; something I had thought would change drastically. I want to do more of issues around academics, love life and maybe technology. I just couldn’t stop writing politics and it appears that was just what had to be. Not that I had too many to write actually as I had to rely on my Facebook posts and tweets to convey my messages instead of doing similar essays over and over.
While I am careful not to dedicate this New Year message to the very weak and directionless leadership of President Goodluck Jonathan, his cronies and their very irritating vituperations, a part of my message needs to feature them to position our minds on the need to think through the choices we are set to make this New Year. We are, this year going to make a decision whether Nigeria would continue on this ugly path that has torn us apart along ethno-religious lines or get a chance to sample another seeming viable option to get our country back on track.
The sky-rocketing confidence of boko haram resulted into several needless deaths, village take overs and whatever you can think of. My thought is particularly with the families of the kidnapped Chibok girls and very many others unaccounted for. We were able to equally understand how porous our borders are and ill-equipped our security formations are. From the underpaid, bribe seeking alcohol infested police officers to the absconding soldiers in the face of superior firepower in the hands of the insurgents. We saw in clear light the rosy relationship between the president of this country and high profile criminals both within the cabinet and the PDP. The loose talks from over pampered criminals threatening the unity of this country deliberately overlooked by the state security, the deepened threat of organized crime and commercial abduction and most interestingly the fact that the presidency could be scammed by her own people pretending to enter into a cease-fire agreement with boko haram.
How interesting we survived as a unit but how far can we get with these attacks? 2015 offers an opportunity to take some realistic steps in keeping the country within the sanity mark. I have clearly stated where I stand whether or not my reasons have been properly conveyed is another matter entirely.
Maybe this year, I would be more proactive in writing and also interface aggressively on the social media. I may also step up my electronic media appearances. We just have to drive home the message of redemption for our dear country. There can be a better time to lend our voices in support of agenda that puts our survival as a people ahead of any other interests.
Let’s not be carried away by the call for change however; where we have pitched our tent in opposing the years of catastrophic leadership of the PDP is a mere convenient option and not necessarily the alternative we would have preferred as a nation.
So for me, I am not expecting a magician but a man who can in the least stop the reckless acceleration into oblivion so that we can now begin to discuss pragmatic way forward. We can however, get this change to translate into something big if we participate and let the mandate represent us. We need to engage the political class more than ever before and ensure that the letters of the constitution are clearly spelt and upheld. We have a choice to make in 2015; that choice that will undoubtedly define a lot about us as Nigerians.
The highlight of this year besides our respective resolutions would be the elections and this is important enough to get us thinking.
I am starting this year with a lot of positive energy and something just tells me it’s going to be a very rewarding year. I hope you share the same energy and sincerely hope we can forge ahead as a people with a strong resolve to take back our existence from the lily livered, callous, intellectual vegetables and political jobbers masquerading as leaders.
I look forward to your reactions and opinions.
Do have a wonderful year ahead.
