Love Series: My first Love

         I attended a boys only public secondary school in Lagos State, and my experience in one word would be adventurous. Once i became i senior i tried out various clubs till i found social satisfaction with Music club which we had everyother Wednesdays. As a senior it was fun to flout school rules unless you get caught. On a regular, during our numerous free periods, we freely talked about music, movies, social life and mostly girls which mostly was x-rated, just so you can imagine the state of my mind then. I was 16, rounding up my penultimate year in high school when i met Chioma. Her elder sister was my class mate at a time in primary school while she was a class my junior but none of that mattered then. Luckily for me, she was class mates and friend's with Julie my neighbor back then in Ikoyi. It was a miraculous reunion as i can still say she was one of the prettiest girls i had seen in my life, simply "breathtaking". After soaking in lots of motivation from my source, unending infatuation, rehearsed lines and realizing the bragging rights at stake i made my move and she agreed. I was ecstatic and felt like a man, though she had opted giving me a later response, but i insisted knowing my shot was on point and that tall fine boys like me are rare. I really thought i was in love, though we couldn't really express ourselves as i was broke, had no apartment and was from a humble home. I remember gifting her a phone, perfume another time and a couple of mini outings which was a big deal for me then. I broke up with her about a year later, when i learned she was involved with someone else and didn't feel respected.
Though i think we still had feelings but my ego couldn't tolerate her any longer and that was it. A few years later i had done A-levels, expecting to get admission to the University and also had a partime job, meaning i was a bit upgraded. We somehow reconnected and hooked up, this time things went down a couple of times because the beast had been unleashed and had become a wild. It proved to be just as good as it could ever get as we  grew apart, while the feelings died naturally, having satisfied it's cravings. She is now married with kids and doing well. Happily married i would think judging by the huge smile on her face as she cheerful embraced me last time we saw about 3yrs ago. Thank God i am now in a better place with the girl i love and enjoying an upgraded version of myself. These days we only like eachothers post on Facebook and occasionally post short comments on each others wall.

THE LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE I SEE AND MY PROPOSED SOLUTION

           The leadership challenges I see are around us. They are the everyday news i wake up to hear on radio, television and see on the tabloids. It is sometimes very frustrating for to know that at my current level of influence, there is very little I can do to make a meaningful impact that will be felt in Abuja. Everyday I see and witness the failures of various institutions in Nigeria, which has all together linked up to form a faulty structure of the Nigerian system. The law enforcement agencies, such as the Nigerian Police force, the Customs, the immigration, Civil defence, Federal Road Safety Corps, Lagos State Traffic Management Authority and so on have lost the respect of the general masses and are mostly perceived as bribe-collecting agencies. The Government secondary schools in Nigeria are amongst the worst in the World in terms of standard of education, while our tertiary institutions are mainly known for their popularity within the country rather than in terms of qualitative research work and productivity as we see from some top universities of the world based on various rankings. Our judicial system is horrible as it is a fact that more than half of the inmates in our prisons have been awaiting trial for months and years without any hope of getting deserved ruling in the nearest future. It is a fact that the corrupt elite have their way of either stalling court process or aversion of justice. Our legislative body seem to have lost focus, which is primarily meant to be to represent the best interest of their constituents in the National Assembly but are rather than fighting for their protection and re-election. Our Executives are more concerned with partisan politics rather than actually delivering the dividends of democracy, which they were elected and appointed to do. The security challenges we now face in the country has now caused us to be on the global watch because we have never had it this bad. The worst of it all is that, the younger generations that are supposed to be the hope of rescuing our lost Nation seem to be in need of rescue themselves, if there is any glimmer of hope for the future of Nigeria. It is no longer news these days, when we talk about the many cases of internet fraud (yahoo yahoo), drug abuse, examination malpractices, alleged cases of foreign migration using very dangerous transportation means, while we have steadily witnessed a steady decline in performance in WASSCE and Jamb over the last 15year period. This is not to say that we have do not have youths that are shining lights and making global impact nor of the fact that we do not have a few men and women of honour and integrity, presiding over various sectors in government. Recent attacks on certain villages in Zamfara, Benue, Plateau are now beginning to pose a serious threat to food security, housing and worsening of the high unemployment situation in Nigeria, with the government not being able to find a lasting solution to the menace.
The biggest frustration from my end is that our current leaders seem to have accepted mediocrity as a norm and have failed in meeting up with the expectation of the voters and the Nigerian people. It is also true that our challenges as a country did not start overnight as our leaders have not governed with foresight over the years. We have seen various past Governments start schemes such as OFN (Operation Feed the Nation), PTF (Petroleum Trust Fund), KAI (Kick Against Indiscipline), OS (Operation Sweep) and so on, discontinued by the succeeding administration, no matter how viable, efficient and productive the schemes may have been. Thus, our leaders lack a sense of continuity proving that they scarcely have the future of the Nation in mind. Some may argue that the people at the helm of affairs are only as good as the average Nigerian hustling to earn a living. Hence we have been on the receiving end of the kind of people we are, except that those in government have only been opportuned to have access to power and juicy resources.
My proposed solution is that the change we expect to see must start with each and every one of us. We must look inward critically, examine ourselves sincerely and agree that, we have not been the best we can be,  both as citizens and individuals. We have grown into mediocrity, corruption and lawlessness and allowed it to defame who we are as a people. We must take urgent steps in collectively seeking to renew our minds. We must all begin to have a heart of service, patriotism, law and order, respect, honesty and compassion. We must stop voting on social media and actually start turning out in our numbers to vote for credible and competent leaders into public offices. Our leaders must make it a point of urgent duty to begin to re-structure and strengthen all of our institutions. The Government must have a mindshift from just making favourable laws for the elite to laws that are fair to all and see that it is enforced and obeyed. Nigeria should be a land of justice and equity. Nigeria will be great again.