The Uncertainties of Tomorrow

Usually the fact that the future is tentative is unsettling enough, so having something further increase its ambiguous nature could only give rise to more anxiety. I know not what the future holds but yet, I trust that all would be fine; it’s been written that my expectations shall never be cut short, so I have nothing but trust in the sovereign nature of my God coupled with absolute confidence in his capabilities. I’m sure my every need would be taken care of but I’m more concerned about everyone else; as I said in my last post about ‘Finding Purpose on Facebook’, when you discover that there is more to life than just you, then you have found true purpose. In case you missed it, find it HERE

I know He causes the sun to shine and rain to fall on both the just and unjust, and that pretty much encompasses all of us but does that also mean that the child molesters and the Boko Haram guys would have their needs met too? I wouldn’t want to entertain such thoughts because it might cause me to ask some questions I shouldn’t, but I hope there is a clause in there that counters this premise.

The uncertainties of the coming year are so disturbing that it should give any right thinking Nigerian a cause for concern; what might look like the do-or-die attitude President Goodluck has adopted in making sure he wins his second term is bound to come with some resistance from some faction, hence the rest of us have to be careful. Let us pray that the Lord continues to direct our path and bless our going out and coming in.

Also, the dwindling oil prices and the zero demand for our crude oil by the United States of America since discovery of their shale oil reserves is going to take a major toll on our economy and in as much as the common man is going to be affected the most, our government is not left out as they have already started making cutbacks.

The question on the minds of those who are not just thinking out-of-the-box, but also into the future should be an alternative source of income because even the government is making contingency plans; the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has also expressed worries about this and in a bid to insulate the economy from falling prices of crude oil the Federal Government announced the adoption of stringent austerity measures. Part of the immediate steps to cushion the fall in oil revenue, the minister said, was to significantly increase non-oil revenue in the country; she announced an aggressive tax administration in which, private jets, yachts, champagne and a list of others to be announced would be taxed. The minister said that the idea of Luxury Goods Tax was not to stop wealthy members of the Nigerian Public from enjoying their wealth but to create an avenue for them to share with those at the lower levels of the ladder.

In the same vain, individually we should also adopt cost-cutting measures; frugality would be a necessary virtue to have at this time, because you would need to learn to be economical in your expenditures while saving prudently, just like Egypt did with grains for the rainy day under Joseph – be rest assured the rains are coming. I’d personally cut back on some frivolities and entertain fewer of my wants and focus more on the things I really need while I try to find an alternative source of income to buffer the effects of this wind of change that has decided to blow our way.