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#Nigerians Dealing with Dashed Hope

March 6, 2023 679

With the 2023 election gone, millions of Nigerians especially the youth are really sad and angry. I know that right now anger, depression, anxiety, exasperation and fear have become most people in our nation Naija. Many in the diaspora are overwhelmed with the situation they are going through and really crying and moaning asking God, when it will end so they can come home to their mother land.

This election meant the world to many including the children, young and the old. Nigerians gave it their best and expected result not with the false transparency INEC promised them. The efforts of age group especially young in every state mobilizing and coming out in mass to vote candidates of their choices despite all the odds presented in many areas of the country.

Some were beaten some clubbed, shot or burnt to death yet many were not deterred and still voted dripping blood and sweat. Many videos abound where infants and children were praying and crying that God elects the man of hope [Peter Obi] so that their lives and country will be better.

It really was disheartening as the result of the election was a colossal failure and an insult to the entire people of Nigeria. At this point we really wonder why INEC should not be scrapped as they have consistently failed Nigerians. International observers were the first to be disgusted by the apparent lack of transparency and the brazen broad day light of rigging goind on to the glare of all.

The failure of the [BMVAS] Bi Modal Voters Accreditation System devices to transmit election result to the server in real time was the first major straw straw that threatened to break the camel’s back. Joining it were the destruction of most of the valid votes cast for Labor party’s candidate and the disenfranchisement of most voters from conducting their civic responsibilities. Then there was the delay in collation of the result and the doctoring of the real votes before the late announcement of the winner, to the chagrin of the nation.

What a shame and a sham. What a country, what a people, what a nation. It is so sad and so troubling to any sane and conscionable person anywhere who witnessed this election. There is this eerie quietness as people are stunned, confused and angry. the depth of the anger is such that they have been sapped of strength to even protest, many are just so sad, sobbing and moaning inside so ashamed to come out to share their grief with others.

It is like the earth and the land even God has conspired with some entities to still their joy and the last string of hope their lives and future were hanging and dangling on.

I am numbed, stunned and speechless. Then it dawned on me that I have to do something to encourage others even as we grieve and seek from God the way out of this. You might be saying, leave God out of this, where was He when the mandate of the people were being stolen and many died in the process while vile, crooked and evil men seem to have the day.

Well as emotional beings, we do feel horrible when we do not understand the workings of God in the affairs of men, but I tell you, God is God, sovereign and all-knowing and like He said all things work our together ultimately for those who will dare trust Him.

So I say to my people, please take heart and know that God is still in control and working things out behind the scene. I will therefore proceed to let us know how to cope with this huge loss and sadness about the atmosphere. No song of victory anywhere, even the so called winning theme cannot even openly rejoice. They too feel shame and deflated.

This is not the first time events in our lives took a downward turn and we lost hope. So many of us have lost hope while pursuing a goal and hitting a brick wall. When this happens we tend to lose sight of the bigger picture. But that should not be as hope is defined as “the expectation of good things to come”.

I like the way Merriam Webster dictionary defined it “hope implies little certainty but suggests confidence or assurance in the possibility that what one desires or longs for will happen”. This is so beautiful a definition because it means that what we desire still have the propensity to happen. It means that our desire for a better Nigeria is still possible.

One good thing I learnt in life as I grew older was that I have a choice in how I feel about any situation I encounter in life. I can either choose to be sad or be happy no matter what is going on around me. I might not be totally happy but I never allow anything steal my joy, for like the Lord said, the world did not give it to me and so does not have the right to take it away. I just cling unto it like a child will cling a toy or sweet.

I am therefore imploring us to focus on the positive side of the coming outcome. As they say like attracts like, so if we focus on the positive aspect of what the ‘Obidients’ have accomplished in this election, we can direct our energy and resources on how to navigate the next course of action which seems to be the court case ahead.

Steps to not losing Hope.

Right now it does not matter if you have lost hope before, or loosing it now, what matter is that you can bounce back and take charge so you do not despair and become despondent.

Situation Assessment – Take a very close look at the situation

We all must take a close look at just not the Nigerian situation but our lives in particular. There are so many things we have lost and have given up on that we need to revisit and conduct a thorough assessment of. this is the time to review the 3Ws which stands for What, Why and When. This is the time to look at what we must do that is legally and morally right, why we ought to do it and when to do it. If there is a legal recourse to getting back our mandate, the time to get to the drawing room and review, plan and execute it thoroughly is now.

This is not the time to exert energy on needless time consuming and unrewarding activities. It is a time to garner all the human and material resources needs so that the goal set before each and every one of us not just politically but in every sphere of life is now.

Most of the time we forget that when God is involved in anything the result always comes on His terms not ours. The fact that we do not get what we hope do at the time we desperately want it does not mean we still cannot get it, sometimes we just have to let God be God even as we do our best as human. Most often Hos time really is the best. A good example is the situation of the Israelites, Pharaoh and the Egyptians.

Be Objective and Honest with Yourself

This concerns external and internal influences or control. Here you are expected to know situations you have absolute control over and the one you cannot control. The one you can control you look for winning strategies that will bring you the desirable results and purues them with all your might, applying wisdom every step of the way.

The external one are the ones you have to be very careful about for these are the ones tat frustrate you more. Now we know that because the ‘Obidients’ are angry. that does not mean we are to vent our anger in a way that is lawless, illegal and moral wrong. We must at all times be within the ambits of the law while exhibiting good and flawless character which is the unique selling point of the president we desire.

When you review the situation around you, you are expected to be honest with yourself. You are to be SMART as you chase your goals. With honesty comes truth, deep awareness of your situation or goals as well as the approaches to use in solving them. Looking at that which confronts us now as Nigerians, we already know that there are things we cannot individually do to fix the level of corruption that has scuttled development in our nation.

This in itself is overwhelming knowing that there is nothing you can do on your own no matter the grief and turmoil you are going through right now. So you must know not to worry yourself to a point of sickness but to focus on the things you can do to contribute to the greater goal of wrestling Nigeria out of the hands of evil people.

The most you can do is have a clear head, be grateful for your life and the opportunity you have still ahead to fixing things right personally and for the nation. That will require a good attitude, engaging in fruitful things as much as you cand and reaching out to a support group that will help propel and fix the things you cannot fix by yourself. This leads us to the next step which is

Seek the Support of Others

Joining a support group that has a proven structure to drive the cause you are fighting for is very crucial. This is where your talent and skill will be better harnessed and put to good use. This is where you have the opportunity to see the bigger picture in a wider perspective with the planned actions that will drive the change you seek. As you begin to plan and work with like minds, the despair and hopelessness ebbs away and hope, courage, strength surges back to your body enabling to face and carry out the arduous task ahead.

Be Grateful and Thankful

We must be grateful to God for the gift of life and for a war free nation. If we know the cost of war we will do everything within our means to avoid it. Just look at the hardship that has bedeviled countries at war for issues they would have resolved over time through dialogues and negotiations. Many die and those alive starve sometimes to death because, greed, pride and avarice played out.

When we are grateful for what we have, we can see the possibilities of having more. When what drives us is the good of all, we are mostly grateful, but when we covet and strive endlessly for what others have that we don’t, we are hardly grateful. We must be grateful for the Nigeria we have and for the life we have and work towards a better one,

looking at the incredible result of the hitherto unpopular Labour party, the said party without structure yet mechanics and okada riders got elected to the house of rep unseating money bags, ex governors. long seating senators and house reps who have made the positions their eternal offices. We ought to be grateful knowing that this is just the beginning of greater things to come.

Trust God and have Faith

I just like how WANDERLUST WORKER puts it “ No matter what you believe in: God, Allah, Buda, or the Singular Universal Oneness that binds us all, by having faith, you can learn to understand that nothing is impossible to overcome. No situation, no matter how dire or bleak, can defeat you if you don’t let it. We are all a product of the lens of focus from our mind’s eyes.

So, don’t allow things to defeat you. Instead, use your situation to fuel you. Having faith is something that comes from within. Everyone has what it takes within them to get past any situation. Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day, and countless people have failed more times than they’ve succeeded”.

I believe that whatever you trust God for not wavering, He will definitely come through for you if you do not lose faith. It might take time but it surely will come. Let us hold on to hope, trusting God all the way no matter what our emotions might be pulling us to.

We must never take laws into our hands for Justice will surely be served and God will be glorified for He still reigns and rules in the affairs of me. Money too fails so my people guard your heart and trust God, for Him alone is sovereign and the earth and it’s inhabitants belongs to Him. He will take the glory still.

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