CONTRIBUTORS
New Year, new beginning. It feels so surreal that yet another year has gone past. What is more worrying is the numerous negative forecasts people have given concerning the state of the economy. Apparently many believe things are going to get tougher as our belts will be tightened even more than they have been recently. One of the most frustrating issues is not being able to spend your hard earned money abroad as you wish. Because of the sins of a few, the masses are su ering. Parents are nding it increasingly di cult to pay for their children's school fees abroad. Banks are proving even more di cult to give us our own foreign exchange and worse still, are not even collecting payments into these accounts. I went shopping a few months back and decided to pay in Dollars. To my utmost surprise, they insisted on Naira which they had never done of thatFX, shared before!not requiresto it Wein mentionhalf. foreignkept Half on the exchangeDollar, going enforcedhalf backis Naira. bleedinglimitedand Now forth expenditureprofuselywhat until doeswe because reached outsidethat tell of a the you? compromise.the country.Any soaring business rates We
Then as for people who cannot a ord diesel generators and use petrol, they have been told they cannot buy petrol in kegs anymore. It was a saddening sight to see people dragging their generators to the petrol station just to buy 25 litres of petrol! And this is just the beginning of the year. Yes we want change. Yes we want a breath of fresh air, a relief from years of abuse of power from the previous dispensation...but at what cost? We did not think the common man will be the one to pay the price...for something we had nothing to do with. Sad. Very sad. I can only pray, that like a terrible disease, we are being forced to go through the most aggressive course of treatment to nd a cure. Our body is ravaged and we are being pushed to the point of no return. It is trying. It is di cult. It is horrifying. But with perseverance, dogged determination and de ance, we will overcome the battle and...survive! We will see the light at the end of the very dark tunnel.
This is my prayer for Nigeria. This is my hope. We have no other place to call our own so we must collectively, amidst all the trials, amidst all the tears, hang in there, look within, strengthen ourselves, pray ceaselessly and believe that things will get better.
Also after much demand and years of insistence from people from all works of life, I have nally decided the time has come for me to resume my column Truth By Ruth. I will release the rst article on the rst Sunday of next month. It will be a biweekly column. So folks, let's resume our rapport!
Once again, Happy New Year!