Will Nigerians’ sacrifices pay off?
Fola Ojo
Growing up as a teenager in Nigeria, rebellion and rambunctiousness ladened my bones and marrows. Just like the slippery ways of many young people around the world, I was preoccupied with happy-times, and party-here, party-there fiddle-faddle. A few people in my orbit believed I had it all well-stashed up smart in some areas of academics. I believed it too. But there was no strand of result to show for my hollow and haughty thought. However, my mother of blessed memory didn’t let up or let go of her third surviving son. She threw it all into me to ensure I succeeded. Mum sacrificed her money and other valuable treasures to make me stand strong as I flunked one examination after another.
At a season of life when reality hit, I had to have a conversation with my soul. Running into younger guys from my neighbourhood who were riding high in various universities home and abroad was the motivation. I assured myself that I was better than them as I struggled. Then suddenly, a turnaround hit at age 21 when I gave up on distracting lifestyles and focused on the needful. This turnaround was due to my mum’s sacrifice of precious financial investments in me alongside much prayer. It paid off. Sacrifice simply means giving up something you cherish to get something better you hope for. It may also mean giving up something in expectation of nothing.
Over the course of life, I have heard it many times in church when clergies urged their sheep to sacrifice time and money for the advancement of God’s work. We responded to our spiritual fathers as they encouraged us. Some of them were over-the-top in their prod and push. And sometimes it was tough and not convenient, but we responded to calls for sacrifice. The truth about sacrifice is that it is painful, agonising, and sometimes destabilising. Sacrifice is tough, my friends. It upends routine lifestyles. But anyone who wants to rise and ride high in life, and nations that wish to record progress and advancement must be willing to sacrifice. Life is not life without sacrifice.
For almost four decades, I have lived and done business in a nation known for huge sacrifices. The growth and development that we see today in the United States are the result of plenteous sacrifices. The American Revolutionary War of 1775 -1783 is a good example. Colonists fought for independence from British rule. Many soldiers and civilians sacrificed their lives, livelihoods, and safety to secure the freedoms and rights that would later define the United States. The Civil War of 1861-1865 also was a time of immense sacrifice, with hundreds of thousands of soldiers from both the Union and the Confederacy laying down their lives in one of the bloodiest conflicts in American history. This war was fought over issues of slavery, states’ rights, and the future of the nation. The Civil Rights struggle in America involved immense sacrifice from activists who faced violence, imprisonment, and discrimination in their fight against racial segregation and injustice. Leaders like Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and many others risked their lives to advance the cause of equality. The journey may still be far ahead, but sacrifices made have paid off today for millions of Black Americans. These few examples highlight the spirit of sacrifice that has shaped America’s history and continue to inspire its citizens to work towards a better future, grounded in principles of freedom, equality, and justice.
The island of Singapore did not become self-governing until 1959. In the 1970s, the nation pursued economic growth and became one of the ‘four Asian tigers.” These became part of Singapore’s history because she sacrificed. Singapore’s story is a remarkable testament to resilience, sacrifice, and determination. From its humble beginnings as a small trading post to its status as a global economic powerhouse today, Singapore’s journey has been marked by numerous sacrifices made by its people. The country has invested heavily in infrastructure and human capital, sacrificing short-term gains for long-term growth. It has sacrificed some of its natural habitats and historical sites to make way for urbanisation and modernisation. Singapore’s diverse population has sacrificed some of their individual cultural identities to create a unified national identity.
This Asian nation does not joke around with its investment in education. For example, in 2022, 13.28 per cent of the GDP was spent on education and the nation’s Ministry of Education invests around S$300,000 per person across their lifetime. Heavy emphasis has been placed on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, and that is why students from Singapore tend to excel in science and mathematics. The nation’s “Teach Less, Learn More” initiative moves instruction away from rote memorisation and toward deeper conceptual understanding and problem-based learning. And the “Every School a Good School” initiative ensures that all schools have adequate resources to develop customised programmes for their students. Today, Singapore is a bustling metropolis in South-East Asia with a GDP OF $467bn and ranks number one in government effectiveness for the second consecutive year.
People in all nations often respond to the call for sacrifice when they hope to see the light at the end of the tunnel at the end of the travail. Nobody wants to sweat it all out in sacrifice if they’re sure that their efforts will end up as a blighted ovum. That is why I ask the question this week: Will the sacrifices that Nigerians are making in this current dispensation pay off in the long run? When President Bola Tinubu came on board a year ago, it was like a war waged between the bold and faceless brutes. This president inherited a hodge-podge and a gulag of local and international debilitating debt. As of December 2022, Nigeria’s total public debt had hit N46.25 trillion. Revenue ratio to GDP was 93 per cent. In a layman’s term, if Nigeria’s revenue is $100, $93 goes to servicing the debt this president inherited. Tinubu inherited a nation torn into shreds by insecurity, a people in despair, and a labour workforce with dwindled enthusiasm to work.
Tinubu yanked off the oil subsidy. As a result of other painful steps he took, the situation has become topsy-turvy. The egregious effects of the severance of oil subsidy are now the crux of an expansive and far-flung anger and angst among Nigerians. And the people’s anger and misery are becoming a heavy cross to carry for a new administration struggling to steady its gaits as it governs. Now petrol is N701.24 per litre, up from N238 when Tinubu came in. Diesel now sells for N1415.06 up from N844.28 last year. Food inflation was once 24.82 per cent, now it’s 40.54 per cent. Inflation generally is now 33.69 per cent up from 22.41 per cent. The US dollar sells for around N1450 today as against N461 when Mr President took over. Nigeria’s debt profile was N87.38tn in 2023; now it’s ballooned to N97.34tn. The only sectors we have found good news are in foreign reserves which is up $35.09bn from $32.74bn; and oil production up to 1.28mbpd from 1.18bpd. President Tinubu acknowledged that the economy is going through a tough patch and Nigerians are hurt by it. But he insists that there is light at the end of the tunnel. How bright and illuminating the light will be is not known even by Mr President. Will Nigerians’ painful sacrifices pay off at the end of this journey? Nobody has a magic wand in revamping Nigeria’s shredded economy. But the efforts must continue and adjustments made as we go on. I hope and pray that at the end of this experiment, Nigerians’ sacrifices will be rewarded with buoyancy and prosperity.
- X- @FolaOjotweet
