I have read about miracles and I have also witnessed them in my few days on the earth.
But, the miracles I have read and seen are miracles on human beings. I have read about and seen where the lame walked, the deaf heard and the dead raised. I have seen human lives turned around 360 degrees from bad to good. I have seen people risen from grass to grace. I have seen God at work.
However, I have not taken notice of the miracle of a town or region or a country.
This does not mean there are no miracles of such, but I have not been privileged to witness one. May be because I have never travelled out of the shore of my country Nigeria is the reason why my scope is limited. But, truth be told, I’m yet to witness a community, regional or national miracle. What I have been witnessing is stories of deterioration of values which have been making darkness to be more visible ever than before in our clime.
Please, I don’t want to be seen as a pessimist because I’m not one. I believe there can be miracle. I believe there should be miracle and I believe there will be miracle in Nigeria one day!
As I grew up, I have been expecting things to go from bad to good and from good to better and best; but, before my very eyes, things have been dropping from bad to worse and from worse to worst most times. It is in our country that we talk about the good old days, we don’t talk about the current time as better than the previous time. Why? Why? What has gone wrong and where have we got it wrong?
I remember the good old days when I was growing up. I remember the days when the value of naira was strong and one naira was the same with one pound sterling and the dollar was a little less than both currencies. I remember the purchasing power was strong then and the people were able to do lots of things then.
I remember my dad used to give me 10 Kobo to go and by ‘búrédì olómú’ (double breasted bread) across the road at ‘Kìsáníjà’ compound, ìjò area at Okéhò. Búrédì olómú was then 3 Kobo per breast and 6 Kobo for the two breasts. I used to buy the two breasts, one for my sister and the other for me to take hot tea with egg or blue-band butter nearly every morning before school time.
At times, it was special bread from Òkunlolá’s bakery behind Kìsáníjà’s house that dad used to buy for us. Special bread was really special then because it was thicker and sweeter. As children, we used to crave for special bread then.
But, some days, it used to be yam, tea and egg or butter. And, we used to enjoy it so much, particularly during the time of ‘ègbodò’ (new yam).
Those days, there were no 50kg rice in Nigeria. What we knew were uncle Benz or Caroline rice in small size well-packaged 1kg páálí (carton). Today, there are no more Uncle Benz or Caroline rice, what we have are imported 50kg rice that have been manufactured for many years and some have even expired in transit on sea from Thailand or other countries.
During primary school days, I and Emmanuel Olalekan, my cousin, used to go to Lagos to spend our long vacation holiday with our late uncle, Michael Odunlami, who lived at No.14 Wakeman Street (now Borno Way), Ebute Meta area. We used to join Áyìsátù Transport, a Bólèkájà lorry that used to carry goods to Lagos owned by the elder brother of our maternal grandfather.
At Lagos, our uncle used to collect us at Ìsàlé-èkó which was the last bus stop for the Bólèkàjà lorry then.
After some time, our uncle got married and moved to No.7, Segun Close Máfolúkù Oshòdì. That was when we started holiday job with a bakery on the way to airport near MKO Abióló’s Concord where we used to collect either seventy naira (#70.00) or eighty naira (#80.00) per month. I and my cousin used to safe money then and, when the holiday was over, I used to buy plenty clothes while Emmanuel used to buy bicycle, pressing iron and radio out of less one hundred naira (#100) or a little plus that he saved.
Naira was very strong in the 70s and 80s. I remember my girlfriend who later became my wife used to collect hundred naira (#100) at Ronk New Age Nursery and Primary School, Àkóbò, Ìbàdàn then out of which she rented a room, used to buy a whole month foodstuffs and take care a whole month transport fare.
I remember when transport fare from Ìbàdàn to Lagos was a hundred (#100) naira or two hundred (#200) naira. Ife to Ilesha was also a hundred (#100) naira then when I was at Oyo State College of Arts and Science (OSCAS). I remember, a congo of rice was twenty (#20) naira at Bódìjà market while beans was fifteen (#15) naira then.
All of these happened between 1987 and 1990 when I had my first degree at the University of Ibadan.
I can remember and remember so many good things that used to happen in those days. I’m sure many people who are older than me, my colleagues and many young people who are closer in age to me will bear witness to all the testimonies of the good old days I have been sharing so far.
I remember our departmental course registration then was less than one hundred (#100) naira per course. I remember the accommodation fee for a year at Independence Hall and all the Halls of residence was ninety (#90) naira only.
With all of these testimonies of the good old days, I believe butthe question that should proceed from the younger generation and also us is: Where did we get it wrong?
Gone were the days when naira had value before we foolishly devalued it begining from around 1993 and allowed inflation and meltdown to destroy the value of our currency.
I remember, growing up, the price of a new PAN produced Peugeot 504 SR was seven thousand (#7,000) naira, 504 GL series nine thousand (#9,000) naira. Yerímbétó or Ìjàpá (Volkwagen) was three thousand (#3,000) naira. All vehicles were new vehicles because there was no need for Tòkunbò (imported fairly-used) then since there were Assembly Plants in the country that were working at full capacity then.
So, gone were the days when commodity prices were good, house rents were reasonable and life was relatively better and Nigerians were enjoying life as they ought to.
Today, things have become so terrible and life is becoming more unbearable for people. Our young ones are finding it hard to secure admissions into higher schools and, when they eventually finish, there are jobs in the labour market waiting for them.
At school, they were not prepared or equipped for the life they are facing outside school. And, when many of them could no longer cope with the hardship life is presenting to them, they often take to crimes and all the antisocial activities that we are witnessing among them today like armed robbery, kidnapping, human sacrifices, Banditry, cattle rusling, insurgency, terrorism, children/women abuse or trafficking, substance abuse/trafficking, Internet Scam, Advance Fee Fraud, etc.
The adult generation have failed the younger generation by allowing the values that sustained society to break down completely. The examples the young ones are seeing and picking from the adult generation are bad examples of unrighteous living.
The worst is, we want our young ones to do well, but we are corrupt ourselves. How are they going to do well with the examples we are giving them?
We are like the ‘Chichidodo bird in Ayi Kwei Armah’s novel titled THE BEATYFUL ONES ARE NOT YET BORN. According to Armah ‘Chichidodo’ is a bird that hates excreta or faeces, but loves maggot. We all know maggot can only be produced by excreta or faeces. This is the hypocritical situation we have driven ourselves into that has defied all solutions.
We know corruption is not good. We know it will kill us. We know we can’t survive it.
But, we find it difficult to retrace our steps and we are acting as if we are under a curse. Are we under a curse?
Again, permit me to ask, are we under a curse?
Why should we have abundance of everything, yet majority of our people are living in pains? Why should we be at the river-bank, but still be crying of thirst or are wahing our hands with spittle?
Is something not wrong with us?
But, to say the truth, without any attemot to deceive ourselves, a lot of things are wrong with us and we need cure for our spiritual and mental illness.
Are we sick? Yes, we are sick of selfishness, avarice, greed and materialism and these are the core sicknesses that we need cure for. And, until we find cure to them we are going to stay long in and with our problems.
Finally, to cure our problems, all we need are just few men who will embrace righteousness as a lifestyle and are willing and ready to stand for what they believe even to the point of death.
Until we have such people who are ready to die for the cause of righteousness, Nigeria and Nigerians cannot live.
Òdodo ní gb’orílè-èdè lékè, èsè a sì má a tàbùkù àwon ènìyàn
Thank you.
