It looked as if 2020, would never end. Everybody was praying to outlive the year and looking forward, hopefully, to a better 2021. After all, without the hope that the future would be better, we would have all gone under the weight of our various life-threatening challenges, which are our daily bread in Nigeria. On 1/1/21, after celebrating the first phase my birthday with a thanksgiving Mass and the second social phase, which took place in the cloud, I spent the rest of the day thinking of 2021: how to start the year, my prophecies, projections, my personal plans and the feature of this column for 2021. I also spent some time going through the various messages of felicitation and suddenly, I came across this message from Inno Nduka, a long-standing pharmacist and a long-time comrade starting from our student union days.
Here is the message (He was not the originator though): ‘for those looking for 2021 prophecies, a ‘new year’ is a mere construct of man for administrative purposes, which does not alter the ticking of the clock, sunrise or sunset. All that needs altering is our ill-informed mindset’! I agree with this message though the New Year is a divine creation because even in the Bible, years are mentioned repeatedly. So, a year is a demarcation of our life spans into chunks of 365 or 366 days for administrative, statistical and planning purposes. Thus, NOTHING happens on any January 1 and thenceforth unless we make genuine efforts to change our mindsets, activities and behaviours. This is so because time just continues to ‘run’ regardless of seasons and I don’t think the clock (a first class tyrant) knows that it is new year, mid-year or year-end. However, this intriguing message will not stop me from making my own prophesies and then, the projections for 2021. These prophecies are coming a little bit late because I have been in the mountainous desert, praying and dry fasting, seeking the face of God over these prophecies.
My prophecies for 2021 are as follows: people, big and small, men and women, old and young will die in their thousands; the day will always be followed by the night; and rainy season will start from April. Government will continue to default in its agreements with ASUU and indeed every labour union; Nigerians will not take NLC seriously this year, the traffic gridlock along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway will not abate and the police toll-gates between Shagamu & Onitsha will be very active and even increase. People will get married; those who said ‘if I don’t marry her, I will die’ in January will later in the year be saying ‘if she doesn’t leave my house, somebody will die’! People will be making money like no man’s business, others will be losing money at the same rate and despite the stringent measures by Lagos State Government, people will still drive against traffic. The President (or is it the Presidency), will always be ‘shocked’ by our various audacious security breaches, while government spokespersons will continue to defend the indefensible while government agencies will continue to contradict each other and Nigerians will continue to be fed with bread of adversity and water of affliction (Isaiah 30:20). Politicians will continue to decamp and counter-decamp and many photo and WhatsApp projects will be unveiled by our politicians. Nigerian government will continue its strategy of borrowing all possible amounts from all possible sources without disclosing the details to us, the people. One more prophecy: other prophets will also make their own prophecies but the only difference is that the probability of my prophecies coming to pass is 99.9 %! It would have been 100% but only God is so perfect as to score 100% in His declarations. Kindly keep this 2021 Prophetic package handy and align your plans with them. It shall be well with all of us. I have spoken!
Read also: Abia schools to resume January 11, 2021
The government has also proved that its economic priorities remain the same (love your neighbour more than yourself) as it has just signed the $2bn Nigeria-Niger rail line
Now that I have finished with the serious business of prophecies, I will go on to the less-weightier business of predictions. You should be able to make up your mind on the differences between prophecies and predictions. As par the message that prefaced this piece, the New Year is nothing more than a construct designed for administrative, statistical and strategic purposes. What it turns out for individuals, groups, organisations and nations depends first on how they read the environment and most important, the actions they take and behaviours they imbibe as well as acts of God, which are things that happen (for good or bad) without our inputs. So what actions have we as a nation taken, and how have we rewired our behaviours to optimize 2021? What are the realities on ground? It is not good to start the New Year on a pessimistic basis but our (Nigeria’s) prospects for 2021 are as bleak as they were in 2020, at least in the near term.
The major recent economic developments are the opening of borders, 2021 budget and the new finance bill. While the borders were closed, criminal entrepreneurs had a field day. As such the opening may not make major differences. The budget is still a budget of deficits and debts for which the sources of repayments are unknown. The controversial 774000 public-works programme, which has shown the APC as the greatest opposition to APC will not scratch the unemployment rate that is approaching 30% neither will it make a dent on poverty. Inflation is working on all fours and even men who do not ordinarily get involved in domestic economy have felt the impact directly or through the gaping holes in their pockets. The size and cost of government is still VERY high and the level of inclusiveness and consultations in economic policy formulation is still low. The government has also proved that its economic priorities remain the same (love your neighbour more than yourself) as it has just signed the $2bn Nigeria-Niger rail line. In effect, our economy will still be where it was or even worse unless a new properly articulated and genuinely implemented strategic initiative is in place.
Oga-Coro did not go on Christmas break; it has bared its fangs in a manner we never knew. The second wave is upon us and the new, deadlier, strain is on its wicked course. About 80% of new cases are serious and in need of oxygen, which is getting scarcer and scarcer. While the newly inaugurated Lagos oxygen factory can produce 60 units of oxygen daily, the state needs 300 units, an indication of the widening supply-demand gap. Our eggheads and elites top the list of known cases, not because they are more affected but because their affliction is more news-worthy. After all, 60 workers on the Lagos-Ibadan rail-line have just been coronised! And by the way, the PTF says that to lock down or not to lockdown is in the hands of the people while the school resumption date at the national level, has become amoebic. Our security challenges are not abating and there has been no known major strategic shift, beyond recent postings of army officers. Southern Kaduna, Kastina and Zamfara are still our killing fields. As for the internal security, the hurriedly assembled SWAT and even the much hyped Amotekun have not weaned themselves of the sins of the original police. The ASUU strike is over but in less than one month, the Federal Government has breached key aspects of the agreement!
On the foreign scene, I have only one key prediction: The USA has survived the Trump-Challenge; a kind of whirlwind that nobody (except few of us) ever imagined. However, it will spend more than 5 years clearing the mess caused by Trump and his Trumpic politics.
As from next week, I will return to my normal beat. However, I will try to lighten the mood of my reader-friends by including some miscellaneous, odd and curious laughter-inducing stories. So as to remove our minds from our sordid realities. Once more, happy new-year and a Covid-free 2021. I also thank those who felicitated with me on my birthday, especially those who joined in the cloud. Please, stay safe, especially the elders like me. Our spare-parts are no longer in the market because the models are no longer in stock.
