Abisola Smith The Young Nigerian Dreamer

“The language of friendship is not words but meanings~Henry David Thoreau”
For this reason I still do not possess the capacity to describe BB -OFUNNEAMAKA BISOLA SMITH.
The truth is that I have been able to sustain a certain amount of balance because of her support.
One day I would find the right words to describe Bisola to the world but till then I would let her tell you her self .

Dear World,

I am the Future; I know I am because I was created to be the Joseph of my generation
I can only realise this future if the system is in congruence with my actualisation of this future.
I am the new generation Nigerian brand with a possibility mentality and a drive to impact and change my world. This ideology has been etched in me by reason of my university (COVENANT UNIVERSITY) and family upbringing.

I have always wanted to make a difference and stand out for something positive, but this desire is soon becoming a burning thirst because I realise that I am not getting any younger and for our future to be in view we need to rise up like the phoenix from the ashes of ignorance and start to demand the change that we so desire.

I am that Nigerian child that by reason of divine election and the grace of God, have been able to have some level of international exposure and quality education; but how many can boast of such a privilege?

I am indeed saddened because despite the fact that I have enjoyed the privilege of having quality education in Nigeria, in the international community my level of education amounts to nothing or fails to be acknowledged as quality, because they regard my country and the dark continent, devoid of development and abounding in corruption.

Several times when the older generation are reminiscing on the Nigeria they met, I try to fathom such a time in my head, but out of frustration and great disbelief , I laugh it away and I conclude that it is just a farce, a sort of old wives tale, told to us as one of those stories. I can never believe that a Nigeria that seemed almost perfect once existed……………it’s just too good to be true!

The international community may not want to admit the fact that Nigeria is a very blessed country and even one of the richest, but they know! Now as vague as this fact may seem to us Nigerians, we are richly blessed.

But the state of the polity is neck deep in corruption and greed that the concept of us being a rich nation seems like a great exaggeration.

Our leaders are living for self and for self alone……oh yes lest I forget they think they are being selfless by placing their offspring’s in positions of authority, all in the name of continuity, so that those ones with their opaque and blunt intelligence quotient think they are doing their fathers a favour by helping them launder money or carry out their biddings of greed.

I am not opposed to the idea of wealthy living, in fact I am a lover of the good life and I enjoy it, but when it comes to living the extravagant life at the expense of my salvation or the lives of a significant number of people, a right thinking person with a godly conscience would revisit such a life style and think of ways to help the less fortunate.

Regardless of my prejudice for the repugnant state of the polity, somewhere within me, where that hopeful young Nigerian dreamer once was, there still exists a little flicker of hope…I still believe all hope is not lost, we will get to our promised land….someday.

Try as I may, I find it very hard to imagine it. It’s even harder to say it out loud with a straight face, without bursting out in rib cracking laughter. Why? Because it is incredibly laughable!
But still I believe in my country, because I believe in ME and that is all that matters.

I like to see myself as the Joseph of the information technology age, despised in the now, but celebrated tomorrow, and that is enough to keep me going, that is enough to fuel my jet of positive ambition, that is more than enough to encourage me to not loose hope and to not give up on my Nigeria!

I have resolved within myself to keep trying, though the grinding is tiring, it’s just a matter of timing.
The New Nigeria shall emerge, sooner than I even think…but until then I remain hopeful and prayerful.

By Abisola Smith
The Young Nigerian Dreamer