NO PLACE FOR MY DREAMS?

Two days ago, my mother left the house before 6:00 AM for the NNPC Mega Filling Station in search of a more affordable fuel for her car especially given that the exorbitant rate at which the products is sold for in other stations.
Well, she spent the whole day waiting and it was a no show as they were not selling. She left her car there and used an alternative means of transportation to come back home.

Very early yesterday morning too, my Father went to continue from where my mother left and once again, he was not able to purchase fuel, only that this time around, he decided against leaving the car behind.

Two days ago as well, I used Eight Hundred Naira to buy four litres of fuel.
Yesterday, I spent a thousand Naira to buy the same four litres of fuel.

Two years ago, I campaigned vigorously for the incumbent President Buhari because I was fed up with former President Goodluck Jonathan's administration which was renowned for it's tolerance for corruption as well as cluelessness regarding the security situation in the North Eastern region of Nigeria.
President Buhari promised an explosive war against corruption and frankly, I had every reason to trust him on that especially going by his seemingly clean slate which is unfamiliar with former Military Leaders in Nigeria as well as his reputation as a no nonsense Military Head of State way back in 1982.
He also promised deep rooted reforms in the oil and gas sector and also to rid the oil and gas sector of the selfish cabals who derive so much pleasure in stealing away Nigeria's commonwealth.

Two years later, there is yet to be any meaningful progress in the war against corruption; the National bureau of statistics report that there was an unprecedented job loss in 2017 alone and of course, the price of fuel has risen from 87 Naira per litre in 2015 to 250 Naira per litre in December, 2017.
So basically, two years into the Buhari administration, if I'm being honest, and I am, there has been way too little to smile about.

The next general election comes up in 2019 and worryingly, the incumbent President Buhari who has been ostensibly toothless in his war against corruption and who has failed as President and Minister of Petroleum as evidenced by what is probably the most biting era of fuel scarcity in Nigeria's history would probably go on to win with an even wider margin than in 2015.
And even if he doesn't win, the alternative, most likely in the person of former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar comes with a baggage of corruption, with an outstanding corruption case in the United States of America and frankly, he will be bad for Nigeria's image.

The incumbent President Buhari is 75 years old while his closest rival, Atiku is also in his 70s and you begin to wonder whether there is really any place for young people to thrive in Nigeria.

Young Nigerians prefer to expose themselves to all sorts of harm in their quest to travel to Europe by road through the Libyan route because Nigeria is becoming unbearable for them and in the course of the journey, they end up being sold off as slaves, the young girls being used to fulfill the libidinous excesses of Arabian men.

In this same Nigeria, youths get harassed and even maimed by the law enforcement officers who ordinarily should protect them merely because in their "hallowed" assessment, these youths look like criminals and as such, must be criminals.

Despite the deluge of very capable and talented young persons in Nigeria, it's almost not possible for them to have a shot at being in Leadership positions and the best they get is to manage the online campaigns of our old and tired politicians.

It's a rarity to have intelligent and capable Young Minds in leadership positions in Nigeria; rather, the old guard elevate hoodlums with the very least intellectual capabilities to positions of authority, thereby continuing a reign of impunity in Government and further destroying the hopes of the Nation.

I am a Law Student and I'm bothered about what the future holds especially given the stories we hear and read of how young Lawyers are treated with utter disrespect by the senior Lawyers.
As a Law Student, I am bothered that instead of the legislature to enact laws to protect Young Lawyers from abuse and low or no remuneration, the Legislature seeks to enact a bill to establish a compulsory pupilage of two years without pay for fresh Lawyers.

I am bothered that regardless of where I go and how much I know, people will always have certain prejudices against me because I am from a particular ethnic group.

I am a Student of the University of Benin and it breaks my heart to think of how much my school's academic calendar has been interrupted this session alone; I am faced with the reality that I can't say with certainty when I will graduate because as a Nigerian Student in a Government owned University, you will always have to make arrangements and projections subject to if and when the ASUU, NASU or SSANU will embark on their customary strike actions.
I have dreams and ideas but then again, I am afraid that the environment is not conducive for these ideas and dreams to thrive; I am afraid and my fears are expressed in the name of Femi Kuti's critically acclaimed album, "No place for my dreams".

Frankly, I am afraid that in Nigeria as presently constituted, there is no place for my dreams.

But then, I recoil and agree that as a Nigerian youth, I have gone through a whole lot of terrible experiences and those experiences didn't kill me as I learned from them and they only made me stronger.

I am at peace with the fact that regardless of my exposure to the very worst of what Nigeria can offer, I am still strong and this encourages me to understand that though there be no place for my dreams to thrive in Nigeria, I can actually like I have always done so far, overcome the challenges and create in Nigeria, A PLACE FOR MY DREAMS.

Wilson-Okereke Elochukwu Clinton.