"Who Can Get The Job Done? " - Showunmi

 

Segun Showunmi Writes Birthday Note To Self

..... Laments Over State Of The Nation, Loss Of Value Among Youths.

Segun Showunmi on Thursday, February 3 2022, in marking his birthday aired his thoughts about the present state of the nation and the issues that confront Nigerians daily. 

In his letter titled;  ' Birthday Note To Self', Showunmi reflected on the journey of his life so far. 

Read Note In Full : 

Anthony Olusegun Olabode Adeyemi-Showunmi, happy birthday to me. As I reflected on my journey so far, I realized that in all of my adult life, the one thing that has occupied my mind above all others is Nigeria, her well-being and her progress. 

My mind rushed to 1994 in the Hilton hotel in Düsseldorf Germany and how it seemed from that moment I have had only one pursuit, that GOD cannot be justified when he judgeth if Nigeria is not given a chance. Somehow, I believed that the odds were stacked against us with the global order of things, and in that instance, I commenced the search for who will get us out of the woods. I began to study, research, pursue anything and anyone that gave the nation an advantage. As I looked, I found that most of our leaders are naive, and perhaps they only become slightly wiser when it is too late, and they are off the saddle. As for the citizens, I concluded that maybe they could be spared, for how are they to honestly know that no one will save Nigeria but we, the Nigerians ourselves. In the build-up to the democratic dispensation, I played significant roles that only the topmost leaders of the mould of Bola Tinubu can vow-say, or perhaps one of the son’s of the late Abacha. The role was so significant that most people will boast about it but not me. For me, the issue remains that, are we getting it right? The biggest sacrifice on this journey has been my family and sons, especially my twin boys Adewale and Adedimeji, for the love of country has robbed them of my time. As I reflect on where we are now, I have a mixed feeling of sadness and Joy. 

Sad that those who have to lead our country from Obasanjo right down to the present set of leaders have tried but have not seen that until you craft a vision that all citizens of the country can buy into, you will never galvanize the patriotic zeal and human resource required to build the nation of our dream. It is made more depressing, for we are in a democracy that ought to give citizens the hope that their lives will be organized in a manner that makes meaning to them. As it is now, everywhere you look, the citizens of our country, both at home and in the diaspora, have all but given up from too many failed expectations. For really, Nigerians are some of the most optimistic people on the planet, but who can blame them when the social contract does not exist. They are truly scared by the twin effect of insecurity and needless poverty. The hopelessness has resulted in criminality, the type of which is not how we know ourselves to be. Imagine young lads now killing and butchering their female friends under so gruesome archaic medieval, and all forgotten witchcraft barbaric tricks that at best-aided organ harvesting and scare-mongering now represented to impressionable young minds as money rituals. How did young kids get to such a demonic pit, and what is their understanding of money, and what do they need such for? Clearly, kidnapping, terrorism and all of the gang-like crimes are a reflection of the hopelessness occasioned by the breakdown of culture, values and everything African. In the midst of all these, it is most unfortunate that as we prepare for another round of the election in the country, we have painfully not focused on the critical issues and how to solve them and who can be helped to solve them. How will I not be sad? 

Surely. I am happy and thankful to the owner of life for the gift, and I am exceedingly grateful to those who love me and show me love. I get it, I see your belief that I can make a difference. I understand that you expect me to make the right judgment calls on our behalf on the way forward. Our reality of who we have become cannot be ignored in navigating the future. I get the age argument, and I get the equity and zoning argument, I listen deeply even as I speak loudly, every opinion is not lost on me, the primary thing I hold sacred and primos is who can get the job done, who is most prepared, who has the need for the least personal benefits, who can show up at the international negotiating table and would be able to put the Nigerian Card face-up and can walk away with the best deal for us all. That, my companions, is what we need to focus on now. May the Lord help us in our sober search for the person whom the cap fits. 

Happy Birthday, Segun Showunmi. May the Nigeria of your hope and dream begin to emerge, and may you live long and healthy enough to enjoy it.