IS DECEMBER REALLY HERE?!

Truly… truly… is December really here? Yesterday, my phone was full of 'Happy New Month' messages from friends and well-wishers, all announcing that December has arrived. Ordinarily, December should be the month of happiness, the month of celebrations. It used to be the month to count one's blessings and give glory to the Almighty.

Before the cellphone revolution and the emergence of sms, and WhatsApp messaging, mail men everywhere would by now be busy delivering greeting cards to one and all. I used to have friends in the design and printing business who used to make a killing at this time of the year, designing and printing greeting cards and calendars of all colours. Now, they are killing nothing. Instead, digital technology has killed their hustle.

December is the month when the whole world goes on leave and celebrates Christmas. Usually, the quarrels and bickering in the world are put on hold. No… no, not this December! Yesterday, on December 1, the Israelis and Palestinians halted their one week old truce and 'pause'. They resumed the carpet bombing and slaughtering of thousands of innocent men, women and children in Gaza, not far from Bethlehem where Jesus was born!

Lest we forget, the Russians and Ukrainians remain at each other's throat and in Sudan, the rattling of firearms continues unabated. Instead of the December sound of beautiful carols in the air, the common people are tortured by the never-ending horror of rockets and missiles. The exchange of messages of goodwill has been replaced by the exchange of bullets and bombs!

Last December, the traumatized people of Nigeria, my homeland, held their breath. The suffering was almost unbearable. Those who can fast, fasted; those who can pray, prayed; those who can mobilize, mobilized and those who can campaign, campaigned. Like East African marathon runners, the Nigerian people sought to find that extra strength to get to the finish line. We said to ourselves, "After all, there would be elections in February 2023 and the Nigerian people would then have the chance to start digging the country out of the deep hole it has fallen into". We looked forward to the hopelessness of December 2022 giving way to hope by December 2023.

Very few people in Nigeria can tell you that they understand what happened to the country in 2023. Very few can explain how the hopelessness of December 2022 turned out to become despair in December 2023. Suddenly, nothing seems to make sense.

One of the features of the Nigerian society is that every December, millions move from the big cities to their villages where they celebrate with their kith and kin. How is that going to happen this December 2023? Transportation costs have spiraled out of control and security on the roads and in the villages has gone from bad to disastrous.

It took only a few words from the declared president of the Nigerian nation for the price of petroleum products to quadruple in a few days. That development has practically shot the cost of everything in Nigeria super sky high. Aided by the foreign exchange volatility, things have clearly fallen apart and the center can no longer hold. It is now so dangerous and expensive to travel to any destination in Nigeria. If you are driving, you have to have good money to fuel the car and enough to give to the ubiquitous men in uniform flagging you down practically every kilometer on the way. If you don't like that, you have to cough out the outrageously high cost of air travel in today's Nigeria. Head or tail, you lose.

One other feature of the Nigerian society is that every December, no matter how rich or poor you are, you are able to cook a good pot of rice supported by some bouncing chicken for you and your family to be part of the celebration. It is difficult to state what percentage of Nigerians can comfortably afford that now except for those with some pipe connected to government coffers. If you can buy the rice at the crazy price and buy the chicken, you also have to find the big money to buy the kerosene or gas to cook the food. I am sure that for many Nigerians, if they had their way, they would ask that this December be postponed!

Last December was challenging for me. I had a frightening battle with my health that dragged to much of the first quarter of 2023. For about three months, I was either in hospital, a diagnostic facility or a theatre for surgery. There were those who were not quite sure whether I would make it. Here I am, the guy who drives on a full tank of faith. It is another December and by God's grace, I am not in any hospital.

December had always been a special month for me and my family. My birthday is celebrated on December 22. Madam's is on December 24. My family's December celebrations begin on December 4 when Stephanie, my youngest daughter, was born. By now, you may be a little more familiar with Stephanie, my daughter who is in every way special and ready to give of her time and immense talent for the good of everyone.

If you cannot travel this December, please my friend, do not fret. If you cannot afford the kind of food you would have loved to eat or acquire the clothes you want, still do not fret. My prayer is that the Almighty will give you many better Decembers.

This December, I send felicitations to my friends and those who have not been so friendly. I particularly thank the thousands of members of the COSON family. May our tomorrow be better than our today. I beg Nigerians not to lose hope. I am certain that soon, we will have a December that we will remember with joy in our hearts. Warmest wishes to all of you who join me every week to partake in Saturday Breakfast.

See you next week.