What’s our balance of trade with other countries of this world? What’s the state of our foreign reserves? What’s our GDP? When you figure out these questions, then you will get close to fixing the foreign exchange tragedy. Meanwhile, keep buying imported goods. I met someone in London last year buying cases of bottled water and other groceries, and I asked her why? You don’t want to know her answer.
Have you been to some homes where 8 to 12 luxury cars are parked? People from countries where those cars are made own one or at most two, if at all. We are the world’s 2nd largest importer and consumer of champagne. As GEJ once said, we are the country with the highest number of private jets. Meanwhile, China is planning to have 300 new millionaires by 2020, just 3 years away! How’s Buhari going to fix what’s taken decades to destroy? Tell me how? Don’t wail.
Many here do not pay tax but they want public amenities. Everywhere you go in the U.K., you pay to park your car. If you drive V8 engines, you pay Emission Tax. In Nigeria, the FIRS is always shutting down business premises to compel the owners to pay tax! Yet, some of them, wealthy men, pay millions in tithe to flamboyant pastors. Robbing Peter to pay Paul or rather refusing to give Caesar what belongs to Caesar! There was a time in this country someone gave waivers to people who imported luxury cars, and the streets were filled with Roll Royces, Bentelys, Maybacks, Mercedes Benz cars, BMWs and so on and the car dealers were making a killing. Just imagine the import duties we lost by such hedonistic approvals!
Well, the good news now is that all that is changing. Step and step, little by little, the rebuilding is going on. Most of it won’t be evident now. The hardship will linger a bit more. Many more will have to suffer, unfortunately (apologies to Bob Marley). But the turbulence will abate, and the plane will not crash, by the grace of God. And together we shall experience a New Nigeria.
Sounds like a ramble. Yeah right, but look closely. Look in the mirror and ask yourself how you have contributed to the situation we are in today and then what you’ve done or are doing to help dig us out of the hole we jumped into with a flourish. You’ve got to start creating wealth one way or the other or patronize local manufacturers, pay your taxes, stop cutting corners and then you’ll have the moral justification to wail.
Many people-built mansions, magnificent edifices, which they can no longer maintain. I’m not advocating you shouldn’t own a home, but how about moderation? You’ve got 3 kids, who study abroad and you have an 8-bedroom house with 4 living rooms with six cars parked inside (mostly unused)! Turn the house into a hotel and move into an apartment, where amenities are shared and costs are shared too.
As a landlord, I ran two generators, bought 1000 liters of diesel monthly, paid Area Boys money each time diesel is delivered to the house, owned a borehole, owned three dogs, had electric fence, had a Maiguard, and a driver. Chisos! Thankfully, I saved myself from myself. That’s the much I can say for now.
We need a paradigm shift. We can’t continue like this. We go to Europe and the US and we plug into their simple way of life, to the extent of washing our own dishes. But as soon as we return home, we launch back into our big man ways. Na waa!”
Culled from Emeka Opara’s Facebook wall in 2017.
