By Richard Odusanya.
Despair is defined in the dictionary as the complete loss or absence of hope. Many if not most individuals feel a deep sense of despair, made more intense by the near hopelessness that is part of their lives. Whereas, Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one’s life or the world at large – we hope, we despair, and then we hope again. Interestingly, in our beloved country Nigeria, almost all the government that comes to power has their own wonderful agenda. At the end of these regimes, we end up going back to square one. Will the new administration under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, be different from the previous? Nigerians are anxiously expecting a clear departure from the past.
Hope is an essential curative for despair and necessary for survival. How can we balance accepting a difficult reality with preserving the excruciating effects of both Hope and Despair? Psalm 13 provides a typical pattern of lament, maintaining the balance between despair and hope. How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? 2 How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
At the twilight of Buhari’s eight-year pain and the combination of the previous maladministration of successive government, life became very unbearable and tough for our citizens with excruciating pain. Millions of citizens are going through excruciating pain and really in despair. A new dawn and the realities of misgoverned society and the effects of yesterday’s mismanagement of resources, squandering of riches, and recklessness of many of our public officeholders with unimaginable levels of impunity.
Nevertheless, we can still balance the despair with HOPE by giving definite timelines on when relief will come from these recent policies. For instance, if it is three months, six-month, or one-year sacrifice? Rather than leaving citizens in limbo. Realistically, some level of sacrifice is expected from both sides of the divide which resultant effects will be painful leading to an economic crisis. The unprecedented crisis requires an equally unprecedented policy response from the entire Nigerian public sector, in collaboration with the private sector, to save lives, protect livelihoods, and lay the foundations for a strong economic impact.
This is to say that an average Nigerian has a mindset prone to material benefits and is self-centered, which in itself is capable of undermining policies aimed at mitigating the effects of the numerous challenges. Likewise, Nigeria could recover looted funds, and name and shame pillagers forever. But the chance of remotely reducing corruption would remain a pipe dream for as long as people cannot hope to reap the dividends of hard work, for as long as quality education is out of the reach of the common man, for as long as quality health care delivery remains a luxury and decent housing and transport continue to be unattainable for honest and conscientious people.
Undoubtedly, Nigeria is a fractured nation that is experiencing enormous polarization due to the overwhelming presence of tribal sentiments and a lack of social capital. It is, so noticeable in all the recent elections and the subsequent political discourse are driven by tribal sentiments. This is exemplified by the events of last weekend when some Nigerians called out Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala the WTO DG for not posting a picture of President Bola Tinubu in the pictures of her meeting with some other nations’ presidents on her Twitter handle on Friday. “Let’s unite to build our country, not attack” Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. This is an area of concern where HOPE should become the balancing force. This is the real essence of “Balancing Hope And Despair In Turbulent Times”
Consequently, In the recent past, the consciousness of the ubiquity of ethnic diversity has significantly increased. There has been, however, an inability to stem the tide. Therefore, the issue of national integration in a diverse society which includes de-emphasizing religion in politics and governance – has eluded Nigeria, where the volatility of religious expression has contributed to violent conflicts and killings in the country. Different religious sects and infighting commonly occur among the ranks of Muslims and Christians. The sensitivity of religion in Nigeria has been of great concern for quite a while. To now imagine the effects of polarization in addition to a religious crisis is worrisome and deserves to be urgently addressed.
Above all, God is the unifier. He gathers people by bringing them together for a purpose so that he would be worshipped. On the contrary, religion is a divider which separates people hence the division between CAN, PFN and the orthodox churches but the same Bible. The same thing applies to the other religion which has given birth to ISIS, Al Qaeda, boko haram and so on. Will it be right to say that, “religion has done more harm than good”. Sadly, a Muslim has just been stoned to death in Sokoto for a blasphemous statement without any proof to nail his guilt. Politics have so divided us to the extent that people don’t appreciate the good things the other person does because they don’t share the same faith.
In conclusion, I like to admonish and encourage us that adversity plays a vital role in growth and greatness. In simple terms: no adversity, no growth. Instead of avoiding adversity, we need to hug it! It is the fuel for greatness. You don’t have to like it. You don’t have to enjoy it. But, you do have to believe in it and the role it plays in turning a storm of energy into a true source of strength. It is the learning that comes from the adversity that creates the opportunity for growth. However, it is unfortunate that we all have to pay the price of the wastefulness and mismanagement of resources by the elites – mindful of the excruciating effects of “Balancing Hope And Despair In Turbulent Times”. It is expected that our dear President’s zero tolerance for wastage of resources will be cascaded down the ladder and the content of good governance efforts will spontaneously mitigate the pains.
Finally, with profound respect, I wish to join our dear President C-in-C of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Asíwájú Bola Ahmed Bola and our compatriots home and abroad in felicitation with our Christian brothers and sisters particularly the ones who don’t discriminate against others to say: Barka da Sallah to all real and genuine Muslim faithfuls who don’t burn or stone to deàth anyone who disagrees with them. “The Glorious Qur’an compares the killing of a single person to the killing of the whole of humanity just as it compares the saving of life to the rescue of all homo sapiens (Qur’an 5:32) In like manner, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) himself condemned all acts of violence and advocated peaceful conduct at all times.
Odusanya, a Mind Restructuring Enthusiast writes from Abuja
