Will the New Year bring new experiences?

MY understanding of ‘new’ is that it is a departure from the known, a severance from the old, a migration away from the familiar, a voyage into the uncharted. In a nutshell, ‘new’ means a change, a difference. But when the ‘new’ is not distinct from the ‘old,’ is it really new? Is the ‘new’ really new when it appears as the continuation of the old?

By midnight tomorrow, we will all be welcoming one another into a New Year, but will the New Year bring new experiences for Nigerians or will it be a continuation of the old experiences? The outgoing 2018 has been a year of anguish, pain, sorrow, bloodletting and disappointment; will the ensuing 2019 be different? Will Nigeria have an experience that is different from the old one or will 2019 be a repeat of 2018?

Unemployment escalated in 2018. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), over 20 million Nigerians were thrown into the labour market in the third quarter of this year. In a similar vein, the total number of unemployed and underemployed people in the country spiraled to 43.3 per cent at the end of September.

Now, should we expect a reduction in the rate of unemployment in the country in the New Year or will 2019 be a continuation of the 2018 experience?

President Muhammadu Buhari said in December 2015 that Boko Haram had been technically defeated. But since he made that announcement, over 2,000 Nigerians had been killed by the group in its various attacks. The insurgents have become more violent and virulent. They have also become more adept in escaping the prying eyes of security operatives to the extent that quite a number of men in uniform have fallen victims to Boko Haram attacks. In the outgoing year, over 100 soldiers were killed by the insurgents.

Will the situation be different in the New Year?

According to former Chief of Army Staff, General Theophilus Danjuma, the killing by herdsmen in the Middle Belt region and some parts of the country is nothing but ethnic cleansing. The retired warlord might have arrived at this conclusion because the armed forces seem to always be a step behind the attackers. While calling on his people in Taraba State to rise in self-defence against the onslaught of the herdsmen, the octogenarian general said, “If you depend on the Armed Forces to protect you, you will all die.

“This ethnic cleansing must stop in Taraba, and it must stop in Nigeria. These killers have been protected by the military; they cover them and you must be watchful to guard and protect yourselves because you have no other place to go. The ethnic cleansing must stop now; otherwise, Somalia will be a child play.”

The most worrying part of the attack is that it appears nothing is being done by the government to stem the tide. In almost every case, the herdsmen would have unleashed terror on the farmers, killing, maiming, raping and disappearing into the thin air before the security operatives arrive for the post-mortem. The herdsmen have become so emboldened that they go about their murderous task with a confidence that stems from a feeling of seeming invincibility.

In Zamfara, death has become a companion of the people as bandits have upped their killing game. It is so bad that Abdulaziz Yari, the governor, who is also the chief security officer of the state, has thrown up his hands in surrender and is asking the president to declare emergency rule in his state.

So, will the wanton killing of Nigerian citizens cease in 2019 or will this continue?

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Another ugly incident that marked the outgoing year is non-payment of salaries by state governments. This got to a head in November when a 59-year old civil servant with the Ekiti State Scholarship Board committed suicide because of the extreme poverty and deprivation he had been subjected to as a result of unpaid salaries.

Corruption is the main business of the ruling class; it is also the preoccupation of the hoi polloi. The nation’s leaders assume they occupy public office for private gains. They create crevices that facilitate diversion of resources from government coffers to themselves and their cronies. Almost all activities of those in leadership in the country are geared towards self-enrichment.

If the leaders do what is right, the nation will turn in the right direction.

Who will scale down unemployment rate? It is the leaders by introducing the right policies.

Who will checkmate Boko Haram insurgents, rampaging herdsmen and murderous bandits? It is the leaders, by taking the right step.

Who will solve the problem of non-payment of salaries? It is the leaders by the right management of resources.

Who will get rid of the demon of corruption? It is the leaders by living right and enforcing the law.

Rot in a fish starts from the head and so is soundness. If the leaders will do what is right, the New Year will be the country’s new dawn.

Wishing you a prosperous 2019!