The impact of the current economic crisis in Nigeria has driven many Nigerians into hopelessness; turning them into hungry beggars even though without bowls in their hands. And without any battlefield warfare, a lot of ordinary Nigerians have become as vulnerable though as persons devastated by war. The country is collectively faced with a national economic tragedy from which Nigerians are struggling daily in their homes, offices, marketplaces, and farms to survive. Nigerians live in an unbroken succession of hardship. It’s a hard-to-finish struggle against inflation, deprivation, disease, hypocrisy, sycophancy, and animalistic greed. Some elites in this part of the developing world believe that the economic challenges particularly in sub-Saharan Africa are stage-managed by powerful nations that globally determine and control economic trends.
If Charles Darwin were to have a second chance to return to this world and Nigeria in particular to review his concept of evolution, he would likely change his popular social theory from “survival of the fittest” to “survival of the most corrupt” because corruption appears to be at the center of our national challenges. The devastations brought by a continuously dwindling economy on Nigerian citizens depict a country where many of those in leadership positions at various levels lack two fundamental characteristics of leadership, namely (1) The fear of Allah, and (2) Consideration for the poor and the weak.
Wars are not usually won on the strength of number but rather on account of well-thought strategies and tactics. Fighting today’s ‘war’ of survival and winning it in our individual ways requires a persevering heart and a firm faith in Allah. Cool nerves and patience in all circumstances are needed to suppress high blood pressures that may arise from accumulated frustrations. We must remain resolute in our circumstances because people who remain determined, yet patient, always receive help from their creator as did the Prophet (SAW) and his companions at Hudaybiyyah. Allah states in Qur’an 48: 18 “Good pleasure was on the Believers when they swore under the Tree: He knew what was in their hearts and He sent down Tranquility to them; and He rewarded them with speedy victory.”
While today’s survival crisis is multi-dimensional, let us not allow it to distract us from aspiring in our lives for an end that would justify the means. We must not allow the crisis to divert our focus from the pursuit of higher goals in life. Similarly, non-constructive criticisms by sycophants and hypocrites should not be allowed to steal from our precious time that is earnestly beseeched by more important and beneficial matters. Failure in business, examinations, elections and other forms of disappointments in life should never discourage us from desiring to achieve the better parts of this life and the bliss of the hereafter. In spite of the deprivation, an inflation rate of over 34 percent and general hardship in the country, we must not lose faith in Allah’s willpower to turn around the unfortunate circumstances bedeviling us as a nation.
With a preserved faith of this nature, we would be guided to give attention to our individual and collective problems only according to its size, weight, and measure they respectively deserve so that we do not deprive ourselves from reaping from the premiums of other useful endeavours. This was how excessive lamentations by a man who preoccupied himself with grief over his lost camel, missed the pledge of allegiance at Hudaybiyyah, which consequently denied him of the reward reaped by others.
Let us vacate the path of lamentation and despair, and think of other ways to get out of the quagmire we have found ourselves. If we desire to conquer today’s battle for survival, we must make efforts to replace sadness with happiness, and despair with hope as in the case of ordinary Nigerians whose major predicaments are beyond their immediate control. Grief and despair weaken our spiritual strength in worship as they also subdue our faith in Allah’s omnipotence. We might be surrendering to the clutches of sadness by merely treading the easy path of giving up everything called hope.
Apart from being a good source of stress, providing hopelessness with a place in our hearts could lead to some mental illnesses. By remaining sad, one may have allowed himself to become a victim of today’s war. As believers, we have no reason to look hopeless. Hardship should, in truth, cheer us up to remember Allah. When we supplicate, glorify Allah, recite Qur’an, visit our friends and relations, we would be able to surely overcome the hopelessness that is vigorously pushing its way into our hearts. When you give away a single minute to hopelessness, anxieties would quickly find their ways into your life. Such a lapse would only stir up the forces of today’s war against you.
Our strong weapons in the current survival crisis are faith, prayers, and a persevering patience. Allah affirms in Qur’an 2:45 saying “Nay, seek (Allah’s) help with patient perseverance and prayer. It is indeed hard, except to those who bring a lowly spirit.” May Allah (SWI) arm us with the right gauge of faith to work over the threats of survival, amin.
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