Many times when we post certain articles or subjects on social media, we need to be careful and know for certain that the content being posted is one that would not haunt us years down the line.

I for one would rather not post at all on social media than hurriedly post the wrong content.

With everything happening all over the globe and most especially in my country of birth – Nigeria, I’ve come to realize one truth. Before I disclose what this truth is, let me give a brief background.

The citizens living in my country of birth, have recently been through the toughest and most daunting times. The aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic brought with it inflation and the attendant rise in living costs. As if this wasn’t enough, we generally saw Premium Motor Spirit / fuel costs soar all over the country and this was evident by a very long scarcity where the citizens were subject to endless queues in a bid to buy the product. Just when we thought it was all over, the cashless policy was implemented.

The cashless policy I must admit was very distressing. Such a system can only work effectively when network/data solutions in the given country are seamless. You force the entire masses to go cashless, meanwhile about 31% of the entire population are illiterate? Many of them do not have bank accounts, and cannot navigate internet portals. 

A vast majority of the population commute to work and the transport providers have not been sensitized with a proper alternative to cash payments. Also, many communities all over the country are villages and you introduce a policy that would leave them clueless and in a state of confusion. Even the banks became totally overwhelmed by the situation because of the poor and intermittent network quality. Point of Sale (POS) terminals were constantly going off the grid because the entire citizenry were forced to make payments on this terminal for very petty expenses.

We all lived through the above ordeal.

Just when we thought, it couldn’t be any worse, recently, the subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) or fuel was removed and this has thrown the citizenry into a state of despair.

We’ve seen fuel cost rise across board with no given benchmark throughout the country. Nigerians have been looking on since then. Many citizens have had to make drastic adjustments in a bid to commute to work, feed, house and clothe themselves.

I sigh, not just for myself but mostly for the minimum wage earners in society because they are the worst hit. They are the ones whose salaries have been rendered totally insignificant. Yet these grade of earners, need to feed themselves and their families, see their children through schools and at the same time provide housing and commute to work.

I could go on and on. How do Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) thrive please?

Despite these, we the citizenry keep forging on daily.

Nigerians definitely have an undaunting spirit. We thrive through harsh circumstances. I know for certain that we are a peace loving society. Many societies would have crumbled under the given circumstances but we haven’t. Instead we keep on smiling and taking on whatever challenges we face daily.

I stumbled on a video on instagram that reminded me of just how bold, happy and united we Nigerians can be. It’s a different kind of video but enjoy and let me know how many times you watched it.

Take care.