By Lateef Adewole
Compliment of the season to all. May we live to witness many more years in good health and abundant wealth. May our country, Nigeria, our continent, Africa and the world at large, experience peace and prosperity as we begin this year 2023, and going forward. May God put an end to all the troubles and uprisings plaguing our country and the world over.
For those who overburdened themselves as they prepared for the new year celebration, putting unnecessary financial and socio-economic pressure on themselves, running into needless debts in the process, the festivals have come and gone now. “Eye don clear”. 2022 ended and 2023 started, world did not come to an end, whether you killed cow or you killed fish. Why then would anyone stress themselves unnecessarily?
The title of my last week article looked “somehow” to some people. I was asked to make clarifications about it, which was: “May Our Own Year Never End Yet“. A reader specifically asked what I meant by that. My explanation was simple. I told him it’s my own interpretation. That I implied that the calender year continues to start and end, but a man’s life doesn’t stop, it continues. His years on earth only end when he breaths his last; when he is dead. That’s when his year has ended. And I put “YET”, because, no matter how long a man lives, he will eventually die. So, I prayed that our own death not come YET! Many who couldn’t or didn’t bother to reach me could have had similar question to ask. This should lay that to rest.
There is this hilarious message circulating on social media within the week, I first saw it on the 2nd of January, 2023. It stated: “363 days to the end of year 2023, what have you achieved this year?” A respond in the same message stated: “Don’t allow motivational speakers kill you ooo”, with laughter emojis. I had a good laugh at the messages too. In barely 48 hours into the year 2023, how on earth would anyone even asked such question?
On the platform where it was posted, as much as I also took the message for a joke taken too far, I was sobered when I read someone’s response to the message. He wrote that “being alive up to that 2nd of January, 2023 alone is an achievement”. He told us that his friend died on the first day of the year. This shocked me and shook me to reality of life. I was reminded how we take so many things that come to us naturally, for granted. I was humbled. I thanked God for being alive.
The essence of bringing this up is that, it actually sounded funny; such question asked because, as humans, our scale of evaluating everything is material things. We measure our achievements in “naira and kobo”. We value our progress in how much money we have made, how many houses we have build, how many cars we have bought, what assets we own, what promotions we have gotten on our jobs, how progressive are our businesses, how well our children are doing in their academics, and so on, which might not have happened within that period since the year began. But, are these completely accurate?
These are very important indices actually but they did not capture our essence completely. Life is far beyond all these things. That was why I was reawakened by that comment on the hilarious message. I supposed many others who could think deeply would have felt the same way. Every day is critical in the life of a man. In our daily engagements, we are actually running against time.
Ironically, like I opined last week, days after days are the same. It is not time that is really going, we, human beings, are the ones going. As we celebrate every new year, witness by us, we see and celebrate it as an addition to our life. We rejoice about it and keep increasing our age numerically, while in reality, it is actually a reduction. Every single year we have experienced, which we survived and has passed, is a minus to us not a plus. It is subtracted from our lifespan, thereby shortening what we have left to live on the surface of the earth, not increasing it.
In the true sense, are we supposed to be celebrating or be sober? These are difficult realities we don’t like to hear and reflect upon as human beings. However, whether we like it or not, it won’t change anything. It is what it is: our reality! So, if this is the case, why should we waste our previous times on inanitities and irrelevances? When we don’t know how long we have to live, why do we focus our energies on less important things or even procrastinate in doing what are?
It is interesting how, we as a people, continue to act as if we know for how long we will be here. We make promises we cannot or may not or intend not to, keep. This is applicable to all but in a political election season like we are now in Nigeria, we have preponderance of that. Politicians, who are contesting and their supporters, are everywhere promising the people heaven on earth, just to win their supports and get their votes in the coming general elections.
This is at variance with their actions after they have won and entered the offices. “Na that time story go change”. All their promises will “lule”. They will begin to give one thousand and one excuses why they could not fulfilled their promises. Yet, these excuses would not reflect in their personal benefits for occupying such positions. Imagine a state governor who complains of paucity of funds, that is responsible for his poor performance or inability to pay salaries, do projects, build infrastructures, but still driving in a convoy of over ten exotic cars, all manned by drivers and filled with acolytes, fueled and maintained by the state government using public funds. Isn’t that irresponsibility?
Same governor might be seen gallivanting around the world in the name of doing one thing or the other, on behalf of the state. The opulence in which they live is in discordant with the penury in which their people live. They, their immediate family members, friends and associates, enjoy what they could not provide for the citizens. They do these for four years without looking back, only to return at a time like this, seeking to renew such recklessness. Yet, the people still give them. Do the people actually have much choices? Not really. Why do I say this?
In truth, the system has been rigged against the populace. In a democratic governance, the people are supposed to be the “kings and queens” who, the political office holders, serve. But the reverse is the case here and in most African countries especially. It is automatic that some people, who are majorly politicians, will occupy leadership positions, one way or another, whether the people like it or them, or not. Nature abhors vacuum.
So, at an election period when leaders are to be elected by the people, if it happens that those presented are not the best among the people or not the people who the citizens will like to represent them, which is often the case, what options do they have? All the time, the people are constrained to choose from among those presented. It would be manageable if they are also allowed to make these choices freely, fairly and creditably, and allow the outcomes to represent their wishes, at least, they will feel responsible. Thwarting such power often happen also. We can only hope peoples’ wills are allowed to prevail in 2023.
Today is 7th already, the elections start by 25th of February, contesting candidates are running against time. Would it mattered to the day whether any one wins or loses? Will that alter any day? No. The day will still be the same for the losers and the winners. It is they who would be different in their personal feelings and experiences, not the day. This was my point last week. Everyday is the same. The difference is what the people do with each.
The present occupiers of various political positions are running against time. Whether they like it or not, their tenure will expire by 29th of May, 2023, less than five months. Whether they are sleeping on their jobs or racing in it, that day will come and go. It will make no different to time but to them, many of whom by then, will become “former”, by virtue of leaving such positions. Their lives will change but the day will remain the same. They are the ones racing against time.
By that same day, the status of many others will change too. From being “ordinary” citizens to occupying powerful political offices, wielding influence and power. Many, who cannot dictate to or control a small community, will start to give orders for a whole state or the whole country of over 200 million people and the people must obey. To the time, nothing has changed but to these people, everything will change.
If this is our reality, why then do we live as we do? Why do we act and do things like we own tomorrow? Why do we behave recklessly and carelessly when we have no control over the situation? Why do we do what we do, despite this transient nature of everything, including our own very existence? Why?
In our race against time, it will help individuals and guide them in their thoughts, words and actions, if only we can just imagine that we don’t have that many years we always wished for. Our perspectives might change if we think we only have now to do whatever we have to do. Now is the only guarantee that we have. Every other time is assumption and wishes. Nothing is sure. What would we do if we have only now, only today, to live? What would we do differently? This should be the way we suppose to be thinking as humans but it is difficult. It is scary. We love life. We can’t imagine leaving it so soon. We don’t want to think of it. That is human nature, contrary to reality.
Procrastination is a thief of time. No one should leave what they have to do now till later. No one should postpone what they have to do today till tomorrow. No one should shift what they have to do this month to next month. No one should procrastinate about what they have to do this year till next year. This is because, no other time is guaranteed but now. No one is sure of being alive beyond this moment. We are all racing against time.
Knowing this, as we have started 2023, each and everyone should reflect on this. We should accept this as our reality and let it guide our ways. This is in no way asking people not to plan for the future. No. Planning for the future is part of racing against time. What I am saying is that, why doing this, we should not be carried away as if we own that future or we have control over it. We should live today first before we talk of living in future.
Many forget to enjoy this moment in their obsessive worry about the future. They did not realise that was how yesterday slipped away from their hands while worrying about today. Now they are here today, they are missing on it while worrying about tomorrow. Life should not be lived like that. All we need to do is keep faith. We can plan for tomorrow, and hope to see it happen and pray our plans materialise, but we must make judicious use of our today.
Time waits for no one. We are all racing against it.
May God continue to protect us and guide us aright.
God Bless Nigeria.
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January 7, 2023