POST COVID-19, GLOBAL POLICY AND THE REMAKING OF OUR WORLD: Why I still believe in a Future of Individual Freedom and Creative Disruptions!

As we gradually wind down to the end of the year 2020, and getting set to begin a new year and the kick-off of this new decade (perhaps the most critical decade in the human era so far and our evolutionary destiny as a race), i believe it’s time to re-examine our individual or collective “opinions” as citizens and as a national society whether they indeed align with our deepest idea of truth, our solemn convictions, goals, ideals or aspirations for the future.

That a lot has happened to our lives as individuals, families or nation in the last 12 months or so is a rhetorical question. While a lot of us are fully back at it doing our best and trying to push our goals forward, which should be with the many in our country and around the world still trying to rebuild from the unprecedented disruptions and chaos of this pandemic, I have to remind us that a lot is also going on currently on the tables of our elites/national leaders across the world in terms of policy choices to rebuild and re-engineer a supposed better future post pandemic. Even at this writing, leaders and policy makers of the world are at it planning, strategizing and deciding what should be of people’s lives, their existence, and the human society, post COVID-19 and into the future.

With the now full circulation and absorption of brand new social themes or cliches introduced to our social vocabulary this year like social distancing, mass testings, new normal, etc, there are now emerging other new policy configurations and proposed social narratives by leaders and policy makers around the world that are being touted to “decide” the direction of our global society through the decade and the years to come. We are now hearing of policy cliches like The Great Reset, Build Back Better, etc, all geared towards “planning” society, livelihoods and living standards of citizens across the world.

As we have seen with the unimaginable economic, social, psychological and health impact we all experienced with the evolution and outbreak of this pandemic and the several attendant policy decisions that came along with it from our leaders and policy makers around the world, governance/societal policy making is as serious to the life of our nations and collective society as air, breathing and food is to our individual or personal lives. The business of policy making — the configuration of governance and governmental thinking or philosophy in our nation and in fact around our global society (now that the entire world has become digitally borderless and intertwined) — must be taken ABSOLUTELY SERIOUSLY by not just the current players, the selected, appointed or elected leaders of our various nations, but by us the 98% society’s majority; the everyday folk and private citizens of our nation(s).

If we the 98% majority in our nation(s) continue to just stand aloof and only watch for whatever comes to us out of these power offices, conference rooms and parliamentary chambers occupied by this 2%, or just simply continue to relinquish our thinking or God-given ability for discernment and critical thinking for the well-structured “information” or “narratives” provided to us by big and popular media (which to an extent are extended agencies playing their roles for the 2%’s policy execution agenda), then the future of our world — our individual lives, families and children — may just be decided by a “thinking” or “philosophical ideal” that we may not appreciate down the road.

As a concerned ordinary citizen and for all intent and purposes a proud stakeholder of the future of our society, I believe it’s my responsibility to continue to study, analyse and interrogate some of these policy suggestions being touted by our leaders to determine the future. While a big part of these policy proposals are foreseeing or projecting a narrower, more slimmer and linear human society, of Big Government, Big Media, Big Tech, Big Global Multilaterals, with less and less “expectation” or “belief” for more individual/ordinary citizens’ unique creativity, innovation and forward disruptions of established orders as has been the case throughout human history, I for one still believes in history’s age-old evolutionary path and trend characterized by radical innovations, shifting paradigms and institutional or social disruptions driven oftentimes by ordinary citizens hitherto unknown.

I hold the belief that through this decade and into the future, there would still be creative disruptions, positive socio-political advocacies, movements, and unique democratic changes coming from ordinary folks that would disrupt and displace the current social, institutional and political order and make for an even more evolved, expanded, innovative, prosperous, progressive and equitable human society. I still see, down the road, superior innovative ideas, business powerhouses and political movements rising to compete and perhaps displace today’s behemoths like Apple, Microsoft, Google, Facebook, etc; including political identities and multilateral establishments across nations, regions and nation states. I believe in history, in its progressive and progressional sequence that continually breeds new innovations, new leaders and new industries all on the path towards human and societal transformation, progress and evolution.

So, as we wind down to the end of this quite eventful year, I believe it’s time for me and you to rethink our collective focuses, to reinvent ourselves where necessary, and dare to dream again for a better and bolder life first as individuals and as a collective society. With new thinking, renewed faith and belief in ourselves and our God-given capacities, gifts and creativity, we not only can radically remake our lives and change our circumstances for the better, we can collectively expand and push for better future for our communities, organizations, nation and human society as a whole.

I am thus encouraging you to believe with me again for that bigger, fuller and more liberating future, where our individual freedoms, creative ingenuities and individual energies will abound and flourish again. Where we can exceptionally transform our lives, the lives of our families, neighbours, colleagues and our entire nation(s) to experience the magnificent wonders of God’s glory, joy, creativity, imagination and prosperity across our nations and society.

I, for one, has signed up for this positive future. In spite of the challenges of the past, in spite of the widespread leadership cynicism and doomsday policy choices being touted by our leaders across the world, I am enthusiastic about this future and I’m committed to being a part of contributing to inspire that ideal life of individual and societal freedom, creativity, innovation and collective growth and development for all in society. I will teach what I know to help others become better and more committed to achieving their goals and ideals of this “preferred future”. I will be committed again to building things, helping the not-so-opportune, and supporting social and political crusades and causes that seek to usher all of us, as individuals and as a society, to this more inspired, richer and equitable future for all.

Finally, I believe that it’s Africa’s time, it’s Nigeria’s time, in this race of nations into this new and imminent Future. It’s therefore Nigeria’s moment and opportunity at this particular juncture, where every nation is more or less trying to rebuild and reposition, to seize the moment and reorganize our societal structures, institutional frameworks and policy ideologies and dare to claim this “preferred future”. Nigeria, Africa, as a perennial emerging economy and economies, with numerous multisector gaps and by implication limitless economic growth opportunities, can unleash our individual and collective creativity and innovation to remake our societies and dare to compete with the most advanced and developed of these nations.

I believe in the energies and creative inspirations of people of my generation, and the younger generations behind us to take this gauntlet and run with it. Like our great African son and immortal leader, Dr. Nelson Mandela said, “Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great. You can be that generation. Let your greatness blossom”. I believe it’s time to take hold of our stakeholdership of society and prove our capacity to lead by first leading from within and unleashing our gifts and creativity to add our own share of value to society and to others. You and I can make a difference and I believe this moment provides that opportunity.

So, it’s time to set the past aside. These past months have taught us important lessons on grit, resilience and patience, and we are grateful for these lessons to guide us into the future. It’s time now for us to reawaken our sleeping giant of faith, bold visioning and creative inspiration again as ordinary every-day citizens. It’s time to Dream again! Paint clearly and write that Big Vision again! Set some real, practical and audacious goals for the short and long-term future again and believe in your ability, in God’s benevolent grace, to achieve those goals! The future is yours; the future is ours, and it will be GOOD, BETTER, MORE PROSPEROUS, FREER and more JOYOUS as against what some of these draft policies would have us believe. As long as we keep at it and keep working towards it, I believe this “preferred future” is very much in sight!

And remember, lastly, that the business of governance and the all-important process of policy formulation going forward should no longer be left to the current players alone; the marginal 2% of us in the public sector and their lobbyist partners in the world of Big business. You and I also have a big part to play in the policies that determine the future of our nation and the life that we and our children, our brother and sisters, and our future generations, will live or experience. We have to become more deliberately aware and more engaged with the systems. Learn all you can, study every draft document and policy plan you can, not only for our country, but across the global world as it concerns you, and speak up to express your opinion and insight on how things can be better.

If there’s anything the #ENDSARS protests by youths across this country, and all similar protests by ordinary citizens that have taken place across many other nations during these times, it’s that important fact that you and I, ordinary folks and private citizens, can make a real difference in our societies and demand accountability, necessary progressive and equitable policies and programmes that act to better our society and the lives of all. As we gradually gravitate towards 2023 elections, I believe that with this new attitude and belief from us the ordinary citizens, we can offset the status quo and change our society to fit those dreams and aspirations we have always wanted for ourselves and our country. I believe you and I can make “this” difference if we commit to it; and stay at it!