December 31 on the Gregorian calendar in any year means many things to many people across the globe. It is the last day of the year. It is the eve that heralds a New Year. It is the bridge that connects the old and the New Year. December 31 plays a significant role in the lives of Nigerians. It affords them the opportunities to pause, reflect and push, pray or drink their way into the New Year.

We all look forward to the New Year. The electorate eagerly looks forward with enthusiasm, hope and expectations of better deals in governance from political leadership as the old year fades away. The greatest asset that the electorate possesses is optimism. Reuben Abati in How To Be A Nigerian said, “Indeed, to be a Nigerian, you must be an optimist. This is the only way to survive in a country where there is so much distance between government and the people in form of widespread poverty, incompetence in high places and established disregard for the rights of citizens.” The electorate this year will explore December 31, 2005 from personal, religious and economic perspectives as we count down into the New Year.

Ours is a secularized society. In recent times, we have sought comfort in materialism because of the widening gulf that exists between the political leadership and the electorate. Some people in the electorate who cannot beat the system have decided to join it. There is so much emphasis on pursuit of pleasure and elimination of pain. For many people, December 31, 2005 is a prelude to enjoyment, entertainment, fortune seeking and pleasure seeking in private homes, families, communities, fast-food joints, pubs, clubs, cyber cafés, motels, hotels and holiday resorts across the country. As we count down to 2006, many people have set aside December 31, 2005 to booze and rock their way into the New Year. But, life is not all about hedonistic pursuit of pleasure. December 31, 2005 should be used as a mean to an end, and not an end in itself.

A host of other people, religious and irreligious alike will seek solace in worship places in town. The last five hours of the eve of the New Year are very critical to this category of people. They flock Churches, prayer houses and synagogues to keep vigils and make petitions to the Almighty for a successful New Year. Some get drunk and stumble their ways into these worship places all the same. December 31, 2005 should not be used in this manner. Year in, year out millions have trooped into religious homes and screamed themselves into the New Year without corresponding impact in their lives. The reasons why individuals miss out of the Providence's train of benevolence on the eve of the New Year is because they abdicate their responsibilities and pretend to hide under collective petition of the multitude.

Individuals in the electorate must accept responsibilities for their lives. The way to prepare for the New Year is to set a personal agenda for oneself. The importance of agenda setting in life and governance cannot be overemphasized for both the electorate and our political leaders in 2006. Abuse is eliminated when event or relationship is decided beforehand. To decide beforehand means to say, “this is it, and I will stick to it”. If the electorate must avoid abuse from the political leaders in 2006, they must decide beforehand (and December 31, 2005 presents that opportunity) what they want to see happen in their lives and communities in 2006. Are you contemplating that just one day is not enough to achieve this type of agenda setting? December 31, 2005 is not just one day. It is symbolic. If we make up our mind, commit the decisions into writing on December 31, 2005 and meticulously pursue these decisions in 2006, our political leaders will wake up to their responsibilities of governance. And, our society will be the better for it. It is a cliché in management that what gets measured, gets done.

The electorate has been docile enough. We have been zombies long enough. It is high time we began to demand accountability and good governance from our political leadership. We must now be interested in the way we are governed.  We must set agenda and face the New Year with dogged determination to ask our political leaders to govern well in the New Year. We should stop using December 31 as an escape. Escape is seductive. It is a vicious circle. He who runs away today will have to run away another day. It does not absolve us the reasonability of reckless living in the fading year. It will not transport us into a golden 2006 if we do not plan for it. What do we want to achieve as a people in 2006? You must draw up an agenda for yourself. You need a game plan to beat the vicissitudes of life. You must strategize a growth schedule according to what you expect to accomplish in the New Year. 2005 is fading away. Everybody in the electorate should use December 31, 2005 to cross into 2006 and burn the bridge behind him.

Africans are deeply religious people. Unequivocally, the worship places are usually filled up to the brim on December 31. Clergy will be busy ministering to the spiritual needs of regular and December 31 attendees. December 31 attendees should note that there is nothing for them if they hope to use the eve to ease their conscience with regards to religion. Religion, standing alone, cannot develop our society. We need spirituality that transcends religion. Spirituality is required to promote holy living, brotherliness and good works that will lift our society from its present decadence to decency. We need to do more than religion this December 31, 2005. We require spirituality to distinguish us as a great people with an unusual destiny. Spirituality is, however, not achieved amongst the crowds. As we count down to 2006, you need to separate yourself from the crowds. You need to spend time in solitude, away from people, food, wine, pleasure, fun, distractions that come from party noise, radio and TV. You need time alone with yourself, an appointment with your creator, the source of life and good prospect. Do I hear you say, “I do not go to Church?” Never mind, you do not need religion or churchgoing to be spiritual. Do I hear you say, “I go to Church and our service starts from 9:00 p.m. so how can I separate myself from the crowd?” It is your life. Choose to attend your Church service on the New Year but spend this December 31 205 in solitude. It is better, and I would strongly recommend you do just that. And, as the saying goes, you will come back with testimonies if you practise solitude this December 31, 2005. Spirituality is not necessarily developed in solitude but solitude is the gateway to true spirituality in our materialistic world.

2006 promises to be competitive. You cannot achieve much if you are not spiritual. You can be very religious but if you fail the test of spirituality, you will not go far in 2006. So much for religion and spirituality! What is spirituality? It is a state of mind where all the animalistic instincts of man have been purged and a man is holy and clean without greed, selfishness and iota of destructive tendencies to pull down his fellow human beings. A spiritual person contributes positively to the uplifting of his fellow human beings and his society through education, arts, science, sports, music, etc. In fact, in 2006 you need to be spiritual to deal with the legion of problems confronting us in Nigeria. In the face of absence of basic necessities of life, poverty, hunger, unemployment, crime, abuse of human rights, domestic violence, gender discrimination, prostitution, bad roads, epileptic electricity supply, increasingly high cost of living, urban population explosion et al, you will go under in 2006 if you are not spiritual.

On the economic plane, the banking industry will be the biggest event in Nigeria on December 31, 2005. It is the d-day for the Central Bank, Boards and managements of across the six geo-political zones in Nigeria. This day signals the climax of the recent banking sector reforms championed by Prof Charles Soludo the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria. The race that was started by the then 89 banks last year when Prof Soludo ordered them to raise their capital to N25billion would terminate on December 31, 2005.

The latest information from news agencies reported that 11 banks are likely to be liquidated because they would not have met their target of raising N25 billion on December 31, 2005. The other side of the coin is that around 25 banks will emerge from the process after the December 31, 2005 deadline. The liquidation of the unfortunate 11 banks calls for consideration by the electorate because banking industry alongside telecom, oil & gas and FMCG is one of the most preferred employers of labour in Nigeria today. In the last few months, banks have engaged in rightsizing, downsizing and lay off to trim their workforce. The liquidation of 11 banks on December 31, 2005 will send ripples across families and homes in the New Year. Thousands of breadwinners and their primary, secondary and tertiary dependants will be seriously affected.

In a country where unemployment rate is relatively high and 60% is estimated to live below poverty line, there will be unpleasant consequences in the nation because of the hundreds of thousands who will lose their jobs to join the millions who are already unemployed. Homes will be impacted. Families may not be able to afford balanced diets. Children may not be able to pay their second term school fees in the New Year. Beauty saloon, mechanics, gift shops, toyshops, joints and bar parlour will lose their patronage. Relatives who depend on their brother or sister bankers for school fees or medical fees for their aged parents in the village will be disappointed.

Most bankers are not known to be spendthrift. They spend their big salaries on big things – clothes, cars, accommodation rentals in choice locations in town, restaurants and funs. They hardly invest in real estates, shares and bonds even when they know theoretically that this type of investment is the gateway to their financial independence in our type of economy. There will be different kinds of reactions because of this lifestyle of majority of bankers. Most bankers and their dependants will bemoan their loss of jobs, lament their journey into the labour market again and throw abuses at the political leadership for their bad economic policies. Some others will be quite philosophical believing that ‘what will be, will be.’ Others will be spiritual, concluding stoically that it is the will of God.

The implications of unpleasant consequences may range from loss of confidence in the system, self-depreciating thoughts, defeats, stroke, suicide to damage to relationships and marriages, children delinquency and community. When breadwinners are unable to fend for their families again, unpleasant consequences are bond to happen. The challenge here is how to manage the unpleasant consequences of job loss arising from the liquidation of the unproductive banks to avoid their implications.

The members of the electorate who find themselves in this circumstance of job loss have some options depending on their ages. It is time to seek another employment in other industries, particularly the non-formal sector in order to keep soul and body together if the affected members are between the ages of 19 to 29 years. It means this category is just starting career in life and there is no ‘do or die’ about pursuing a career in the banking industry. For those between the ages of 30 and 40 years who will be affected with the post-liquidation job loss, they may want to explore self-independence if they are the daring type. Entrepreneurship in micro- and cottage businesses provides an avenue for survival. Those who cannot dare to be self-employed can also seek other employment opportunities, but it will be equally tough for them considering their age range. Individuals above 40 should undoubtedly aspire to be independent if they have the means, or partner with like-minded friends to set up businesses. Loss of job is not the end of life. No member of the electorate should indulge in self-defeating activity because a particular job has ended. When one door closes, another will open.

See you in 2006.

You should accept responsibility for your life.

You should go into solitude on December 31, 2005.

You should prepare yourself for a life of purpose and service to yourself, your family, community and nation in 2006.

All the best,

Babatunde Ayoola Fajimi, Accra Ghana

Robot  # 1 | 28.12.2005 12:25

December 31 on the Gregorian calendar in any year means many things to many people across the globe. It is the last day of the year. It is the eve that heralds a New Year. It is the bridge that connects the old and the New Year. December 31 plays a significant role in the lives of Nigerians. It a...Read the full article.