Of Writers as Agents of Change.

If the goal of my involvement in writing or public intellectualism is to fulfill ulterior motives, and not to make a change, or be capable of making the desired impact, I will NOT be writing. "Change" is why I'm involved - developing commonsense recommendations that are most feasible and capable of implementation.

Most Nigerian writers like some other stakeholders want to solve our problems but are afraid and unwilling to confront the causes of the problems. Can you, for instance, name one developed or developing country where you have different markets for foreign currency conversion - one, the black market rate, and the other, the official rate?

But that's an untouchable area in Nigeria, because of the caliber of the designated recipients of hard currencies disbursed by the CBN at the official rate, which the privileged recipients then sell to the nonaligned public at the black market rate.

The biggest joke of all is seeing them engaging in macroeconomic analysis, talking about inflation rates as well as the movement or performance of the market when they do not know the volume of foreign currencies in circulation in Nigeria. What they do in Nigeria is textbook-based analysis, ignoring the facts on the ground. Or simply put, they lacked the wisdom to tie the reality on the ground in making economic projections or developing solutions.

That's just one of the numerous national ills evading scrutiny or confrontation.

Therefore, acknowledged or not, celebrated or not, and compensated or not, given that my original goal is to reach senior policymakers, create awareness, and catalyze a responsible government on behalf of the people and for the well-being of the people, that is enough reward, the greatest glory of all.

Only the braves, through truth - the knowledge of it and a systematic exposition of it - can provoke a change and make society better and safer for everyone.

Today, thanks to the internet and social media, the world is now a global village. And your works are easily discoverable. How you eat, what you eat, how you dress, where you shop, what you read, who you date, your romantic lifestyle, political beliefs, etc, etc, are now in the public domain.

But don't be afraid, your truth shall set you free and place you in high places.

And as long as you stand for the truth, writing to provoke awareness about unnecessary divisive agitations in Nigeria that are rooted in greed and a sense of entitlement, but accepted as national norms, thus eluding public scrutiny and rejection; and those who sit in judgment against you based on your provocative truth become more knowledgeable of the truth as well as your superior knowledge that makes their awareness possible, they, too, do become the braves. (Long sentence).

That's the beginning of change - someone making the sacrifice, fearing nothing, and desiring nothing, but with a vision for sustainable change and development, anchored on egalitarianism.

(I know very well that the penultimate paragraph is one long sentence, so read it slowly or read it multiple times. Thank you).