I was discussing the aftermath and impacts of wars on the masses with Opia Oji Peter Bonnyface. During the discussion, I veered into how Nigerians would survive a full scale war with parents abandoning their children that cannot trek long distances to hunger, starvation and possible death.
What struck me was that his opinion that one does not need a Russsia to bomb and throw missiles at us. All the world leaders need to do, is to put an embargo on buying Nigeria’s crude, stop the importation refined products to Nigeria and it will take few weeks to throw the country into an internal revolution.
I sat back and held my breath. If our leaders knew this, why are they not bothered about the implementation of the PIA, which would address deregulation and subsidy regimes? Why would they be having preferences for crude exportation to make Dollars into the Federation account for sharing on monthly basis instead of ensuring that our refineries work by fire by force?
Due to the sanctions on Russia, fimancial institutions responsible for POS, Mastercard, Verve are shutting down. The implications of that are that if you have children in Russia, their cards can no longer be used. Meanwhile, one cannot send money through the swift system. Though the children are not in Ukraine, they may be forced to start coming home shortly.
As of today, McDonald’s with over 800 outlets in Russia and employing over 60,000 employees is temporarily shutting down operations. If this war goes on for months, these guys will lose their jobs.
Think about what will happen to us as a people if we were plunged into war. Let me bring it home succinctly. First imagine where no truck will bring onions, beans, tomatoes, cow, from the North to the South and no truck will take Garri, yam, Iru, etc., to the North.
Second, imagine where there shall be no vehicular movements for transporting farm produce to the cities across the nation.
Third, imagine what will be the fate of farmers and most farm produce that will perish. Imagine where hunger will be abundantly unleashed on the people, and lastly, imagine where the police and our military cannot be transported to areas of vulnerability. etc.
Think about these and other implications like cannibalism and ritual killings resurging in so many parts of the country. I don’t know about you, but what I am seeing about our country is so frightening if these agitations and loss of values take us to the extreme.
My counsel is that leaders across the divide should please, begin to engage themselves and the people in a very meaningful manner. Let us use more of mediation in reconciling and resolving our internal and external conflicts instead of the self help methods pervasive in our social spaces today.
We need equal rights and justice to forster peace and harmony. Would they come on a platter of gold?
Not sure.
Grace and peace!!!
