Yesterday Wednesday 22nd April, 2020. I had one of the best conversations of 2020 with a respected elder brother from Egbaland and based on my plan to spend the whole of this week to meditate as I approach April 25 gradually which is my birthday in accordance with God's word that stipulates that we must apply our heart unto wisdom as we number our days.
Celebration by meditation is my way for over 40 years.No one can claim to have seen me celebrating my birthday with a party right from primary School.
My Personal Doctrine forbids it as a child since I read Psalm 90 verse 12.Some said it was because of the village up-bringing while some call it old school..but I call it personal doctrine.
In my usual thinking process and from discussions with this elder brother in question, I then put this down.Enjoy as you follow me line by line with plan to act on the issues.
In 2016, there was an attempt to diversify the Economy. I was one of the resource persons for training Directors and Permanent Secretaries in a particular State via a one day seminar.
Nigeria was very eager to find a cure to the economic crisis that followed 2015 election and delay in forming the Federal Cabinet then which was aggravated by drop in crude oil price globally.
Most of the counsels from experts over the years are as good as on paper.No affirmative action to implement them.
Many brilliant minds have also put together a master plan for different states but government care less to read or follow through like we say in golf . This account for why our SHOT is SHORT when we don't follow through.
I once met an Engineer well refined and well travelled with one of the best team at an Economic Summit Meeting in the house of one of us and he said with disappointment that a Master Plan developed for a particukar state was set aside by Government.
I was of the opinion that they do not undertand the plan or expert opinion and counsel but someone corrected me by saying ..No no..they understand and they probably have read many Master plans but as long as oil money still.comes in..No.one cares about other stuffs and that is compounded with greed too.
Thanks be to God for the oil price going to zero because when no one is buying then the product is worth nothing than zero.
The reality has now dawn on us.
I recall one funny proverb I heard from my parents as a small boy..( Yoruba Version says..Toba de oju sisu, Iwo idi ala) meaning when it is time to excrete, the anus will open.
The time.has come.now to wake.up.
If we were trully serious about that diversification in 2016, by now which is 2020, we would have achieved tremendous growth in Agriculture .
In one of my meditations; I concluded that the greatest enemy of a successful man is Success as it makes him complacent and feel that his success will not expire.
So it is with our oil.
Yes and yes oil will fail out soon and it will not recover for ever. That was our success before but because it has blindfolded us from looking elsewhere; trouble looms.
What does this imply then? These are my views:
1. Government will soon fail and become unable to meet up with their obligations.
2. Demand for oil globally will drop steadily and continuously until oil becomes useless.
3. There will.be little or nothing to share at the Federal level.
4. As the world shift faster and speedily into Electric cars; demand for.oil will be gone.
Demand and.supply determines price anyway.
Now from all Economic Theory..We.have more oil on the sea..
Our Reserve Tanks are filled up.
We may not even be able to produce and so ...price downfall occasioned by less and less demand coupled with too much supply is working to confirm the theory.Our Production cost is a no.go area as it will distract my focus on citizens.
5.More people will work from home and so, movement of cars will reduce significantly, globally; even in places where they still buy PMS.Thanks to COVID 19 awareness and social distancing rule.Those rules will stay with us for many years to come.
Meetings will.be held via Zoom and Skype.
6. Right now in UK; as I can confirm from one of my trips last year, Electric cars are now the order of the day.Everyone is changing now to a clean environment.
(By the way don't send me for COVID 19 test ..I.travelled in August and returned in September ..So no.COVID Here.That is just on a lighter note anyway.)
7.Abuja will become like a desert soon as the money to be shared will not be there. No one will worry about producing the next president.As that office will be a burden without any serious blessing.
8.Whereas Blessings goes with burdens. When there is no oil revenue, the Power that comes from.financial muscle will disappear.
Before you say God forbid...Let us jointly rise up as citizens and act individually. Some may say oh...This guy is a prophet of doom.No, not at all.I do pray for Nigeria but what is coming is not a joke.
WHAT CITIZENS MUST DO TO RISE.
1.Citizens must create oasis of sanity in the midst of chaos which is our desert.
There is chaos already.Let me not go into details of line items of our chaos & desert in Nigeria.They are too many.Water does not run again.Power is not available.Healthcare is terrible.Education is another thing.Security is another matter.It is better to stop here on the chaos and deserts.
2. Eventually, our oasis will merge and then turn our desert land to what we desire.
3.Private individuals must begin to develop new ways of creating jobs and employ our people.
4 Technical Education that is focused on how to get job done should be the next investment as against barrage of Certificates that is merely a sign of theoretical knowledge.
5.Soon and very soon Government may not be able to pay workers' salary but private sector will be able to do that as we take charge at different levels.
We must create clusters of businesses now.
6.What they use to deceive the people during election is going ...going ...and going..Oil Money..Soon, it will.be gone.
7.Those people that are employed at private sector level will then be more than civil servants.
Imagine a state of 7m have 90% of working class people employed in private entities.? What a good way to be in control.
Who will determine those to be voted for.? The most interesting aspect is that running for an office will be a very great task and sacrifice and God must have called you into it and not your GREED as there will be nothing to steal soon.
It will no longer make sense to spend billions to.contest election. Nomination forms will be free.
Foolish proliferation of parties will end quickly.There will be two or three parties and they will beg people to run for office
Civil servants will resign to go into farming as no one will be able to give any brown envelope under the table anymore.After all, the salary is not enough and so when no other inflow is coming; engagement in
Agriculture will make more sense than the Salary of a P.S.
That time is now.It is already knocking at the door.
8.CITIZENS!!!! PLEASE RISE.CREATE JOBS.
Government will.soon be overwhelmed by competing demands for funds yet, there will be no improvement on inflow from oil.
Only those who look inward will survive.
9.Before now, If you attempt to do a road; they can stop you...Hmmmm..That will soon end.They will even beg you to do it as we move to a new world order of reality.
10.Every business in a given cluster will do that without government blinking an eye.They will be happy rather than try to stop.you
11.We shall be in control of our destiny and act as if there is no government to help. Those asking for lockdown palliatives now will soon realise that it cannot last long even if they get it.
12.Power plants will be installed in every Estates and Farms. Solar field will be constructed and panels will be installed on hills and power will flow to communities.Flat Head of Olumo Rock in Abeokuta and similar mountains in Nigeria may become solar fields.
13.There will be running water again.Our streets will have lights and those lights will be installed and managed by citizens.
14.If you doubt me... Ask yourself these questions...How did you get water to your house in Nigeria.? Borehole? Well ?Be honest. How did you educate your children?.You went to public School and your children went to Private School.True or false.?
15.Our Public Schools will be equipped by citizens.Some citizens will.become Teachers free of charge.There will be good toilets and laboratories in our Schools again.Those football fields and Lawn Tennis Courts will be back.
16. Ranches will emerge all over.Irrigation farming will become a common practice.
17.Finally the Citizens shall take over the control of the community and secure it.
18.The above may sound like a prophecy that will take a.long time to become a reality in the eyes of some people but I tell those who care to read line by line; the appointed time is now.
19.Let no one have hope that oil price will rise magically again.
I heard that some.countries will soon begin to.impose penalty on you if you drive a car with fuel.End game for oil.
A friend in London told me two days ago about the new Transport Scheme her office put in place to help old people that are unable to enter the train move around.
All the cars are electric. Charging points installed in their properties across London.
20.Let us rise up.I was glad when I heard a seasoned journalist posted in a group that he cleared a farm land during this lockdown for maize farming.
I also received Pineapple yesterday from a man whose passion for Agriculture I have observed for about 34 years now.
This is the time to take charge dear Citizens.
Government will fail us because it is not in their DNA to act proactively as they do more of reactive stuffs but Citizens must rise up and begin to create the change we need at different levels.
Build Dams, Begin to plant cash crops, food crops, fruits and so on.
In conclusion , here is the final whistle, let us all blow it loud and clear.
CITIZEN ...ARISE....
Let no one claim he was not told.
As you hear and understand; Spread it to others as you blow this whistle louder and. louder again.
Not to government but to Citizens but citizens who are in government should also act on their own individually.
I pity our friends and colleagues who are in Government now as the next one year will redefine the irrelevance of certain offices when money stops to flow from oil.
You belong here..Among the Citizens...Arise now.
Dr. Gbenga Adeoye writes from the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
He holds a PhD in Management Accounting.
He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria,
A fellow.of the Chartered Institute of Taxation.of.Nigeria.
An Arbitrator of UK and Nigeria.
A fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Consultants.
He is an advocate of Good Governance
He can be reached on gbengaglobal@gmail.com
Or +(234) 8034050773.
No comments:
Post a Comment