By Ladi Ayodeji
Happy new year to my teeming readers. We give God the praise that we are alive and well. This year, Nigerian youth should redefine, refocus and reinvent themselves if they’re to make significant progress with their lives.
It’s archaic to rely on government or others for your own life, going forward. When others decide your future, you’ve surrendered your destiny to them and that’s not nice. The issue here is that, you take full charge of your life in 2022 and beyond.
President Muhammadu Buhari himself has just said that government won’t Happy new year to my teeming readers. We give God the praise that we are alive and well. This year, Nigerian youth should redefine, refocus and reinvent themselves if they’re to make significant progress with their lives.
It’s archaic to rely on government or others for your own life, going forward. When others decide your future, you’ve surrendered your destiny to them and that’s not nice. The issue here is that, you take full charge of your life in 2022 and beyond.
President Muhammadu Buhari himself has just said that government won’t be able to provide jobs for the unemployed, obviously in view of the current economic crisis. The Covid-19 induced global economic crisis is destroying businesses around the world. Every nation is now expected to evolve individual strategies for survival.
Now, folks, I put it to you: how do you survival, as a young person in 2022? Buhari can’t help you. Even if the President wants to help, he doesn’t have the resources. Our crude oil export on which we depend for revenues is down, due to alternative energy sources and other factors.
What then, do we do? Nigeria’s economy is still diversifying. The process is continuous and, in a way, it opens up the economy and creates the opportunity for those who are creative and courageous, to take advantage of the challenges to meet some demands in the society.
When an economy is down, it creates problem and opportunities. There’re two ways to look at problems, because there are two types of problems. The real or obvious problem and the virtual problems. The invention of the motor car, aircraft, ship and other means of transportation solved the problem of closing distances and moving people and goods faster.
These devices took over from land animals like camels, donkeys, horses etc.
The creation of the motor bike is an improvement on these animals, while the motorized vehicles were an improvement on the bicycle.
In all fields of endeavour where technology has brought comfort, solution or the economy of scale, as in production of goods and service; real problems have been solved because there were real, obvious needs. Therefore, needs or problems create demands and tough challenges, which are solved by inventions. That’s why we say, “Necessity is the mother of invention.”
There are hidden problems or challenges that are not so obvious. There were no real challenges that prompted the creation of Google, Facebook and other Apps in the World Wide Web. The inventions of these devices nevertheless helped to solve virtual problems. The email is an improvement on real mail, or the post office and courier service.
Apps like Whatsapp, Instagram, YouTube and the rest, either met a virtual need or improved an extant device.
The take away here for our youth is this: Look around you to see what obvious, old problems there are; or new problems arising from the economic crisis in this Covid environment and find ways of dealing with them. There are hundreds of problems around you; just look around. There’re environmental problems like refuse, security, food supply, water scarcity, etc. If you can solve any of these ones, you’re in business.
Now, let’s look at the virtual problems. There’s always room for improving existing solutions. Facebook and all the Apps can be improved. The electric car is an answer to the environmental problems caused by the current fuel-powered cars. In Nigeria, power supply is a perennial challenge. Find ways of providing power to homes, factories, etc, and you’d be in business.
Improvement is the name of the game. Ask yourself this question: what is it around me that need improvement? The No 1 thing that needs to be improved is you! You’ve got to try to improve in all areas of your life before you can improve others or things around you.
How can you improve others when you need improvement yourself? Every invention provides a solution and is a direct response to a challenge. It could be a medical problem, a production problem, or any type of problem in virtual all aspects of life; solutions have come because of a need to either improve or overcome a problem.
Therefore, do not see Buhari as a problem, he is a pointer to solutions waiting to be used to solve larger problems that are obvious, like insecurity, unemployment, ethnicity, religious bigotry, sharia, terrorism, etc. All the existential problems associated with Mr. Buhari have been there before he came on board in 2015, and would remain after his exit in 2023.
You, the youth will still be here and unless you solve these problems, they’ll remain till the second coming of Jesus Christ, and even God will not help you solve them. God doesn’t solve problems that people are equipped to solve.
Nigeria’s problems are the inspiration you have to better your life in 2022 and beyond, if you decide to improve your life and see what needs to be improved and you decide to deal with them.
Happy New Year, once again!
Weekend Spice: If you’re attracted to Ponzi schemes, you’re a greedy person.
Ok folks, thanks for reading. Protect yourself against Covid-19.
Ladi Ayodeji is an Author, Speaker, Activist and Pastor. He can be reached on 09059243004. (sms, email or Whatsapp)
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