by Jumoke Olusoga
“There’s a place for talking and criticism but there’s also a place to let our ACTIONS do the talking”
– Fela Durotoye
There are many things I would do for the people I love, but to sit around and wait irks the life out of me, I totally hate waiting and when I have to, 5 minutes feels like 5 days.
Last Friday, my cousin and I agreed to meet for lunch, she wanted me to help with a surprise party for her brother’s 40th birthday and I was really excited about it so I got to the restaurant in Ikoyi 10 minutes earlier than we agreed. I decided ten minutes wasn’t such a bad wait, especially at the angle I sat, where I could see every one coming in and tried to decipher what their stories were.
Twenty minutes later, my cousin was still not there even though she kept sending me messages every five minutes to say she was only five minutes away. It was at that point I had to figure out how to make my wait interesting to keep me from losing my mind.
I got a drink and stepped out to the terrace with the most amazing view and got a seat behind two gentlemen who were engrossed in their lunch and discussion. I couldn’t help eavesdropping; it was a good distraction from the now thirty minutes wait.
Gentleman 1 – “Hmmm…it’s getting really crazy, I still haven’t been able to pay my son’s college tuition in London and my bank keeps telling me they’ll process my Form A application as soon as they have FX to settle, how much longer can I wait? My son calls me every day now, asking me to save him from the embarrassment and yet my hands are tied here with no choice but to wait for the bank.”
Gentleman 2 – “Tell me about it, my daughter’s boarding fees in Toronto is still hanging for the same reason, she’s supposed to have gone back last week but I don’t want her to go back to school without paying her fees. It’s plain ridiculous.”
They went on and on complaining about how the situation is so dire and how sourcing for FX from the parallel market isn’t an option seeing how high the rates have gotten within such a short period. They went further to complain about the educational system in Nigeria and how it has forced them to look outward in the hope of giving their children a brighter future.
As I listened, I understood the perspective of the gentlemen and why they thought educating their kids in other countries could give them and their families a secure future. However, it seemed to me that they were in a position that proved that running really isn’t the answer to anything. I started to wonder what difference it would have made if these gentlemen had taken an interest in the decadence they claimed had eaten into the educational system in Nigeria and had done something about it, even if it was just raise their voices loud enough to be heard. Would things be different? Better? Would there be a desperate need to educate their children in other countries regardless of how expensive and stressful it is currently?
The truth is, in a matter of months, maybe shorter, maybe longer, the situation will improve (at least that’s what we pray) and sourcing FX to make certain payments to foreign countries will not be such a hassle, but it does not change the reality that while we complain about things that do not work in our country it may a better option to do something about it rather than look for a way out of it, because, you just never know….what if you get stuck in it?
My cousin finally came through and she had a huge ‘I’m sorry’ smile on her face as she walked towards me, I wasn’t sure whether to smile back or give her the ‘I’m mad at you’ face, I settled for the latter and that got me free lunch plus take-out for dinner, the look always works!
I was engrossed in the party planning and free lunch when I noticed the two gentlemen leaving the restaurant, I genuinely wished them the best in their pursuit for FX but more than that, I wished that they would consider an option that hadn’t come up in their discussion (at least, for the part I listened) an option to fix what they thought was wrong with the system rather than run from it, because really, if they (you, us, we) don’t…. who will?
Op–ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija
