HEAD OR TAIL, NIGERIA LOSES

When a man who is blessed with head or tail you win, slips to a win win scenario, he has a right to be a bit  sad but at least, he is still guaranteed a win, if only a shared win.
However when such a man slips further down to head or tail, you lose, then it is to be pitied. He frittered away sure horses and now must grapple with what it feels like to lose.
That is Nigeria of today. There is no sure horse painless winning hand any more.
For example, because the nation must be made more difficult to govern, Boko  Haram was born and spoon fed. Unfortunately in their bloodletting and mindless suicide killings, they taught different people different lessons.
Northern governments and the federal government learnt that criminal neglect and tilling only to ones selfish gate is not the way to go and so, the neglected north east must now be massively rehabilitated and rebuilt. Unfortunately, foreign exchange earning is down and there is no money to do the needful. Instead, all governments are looking for kobos for civil servants salaries
Now it is clear though that Niger Delta militants and Biafra advocators have learnt too that the Boko Haram kind of violence and social disorder is the only language that commands attention now. So they have resolved to go for Nigeria's jugular hitherto assumed not to be that a jugular: Blow up crude oil export and production installations to remind the cripple that it is in fact a cripple.
So from head or tail of the so called oil boom days Nigeria slipped to win win and now finds itself on the head or tail, you lose platform.
Let's see how the new scenario looks like. You name treasury looters who return stolen funds, you are doomed. If you don't, no luck cause no use saying a deadly snake is dead without showing its carcass.
For another, Nigeria is now riding the crest of galloping inflation yet the economy is on a fast lane downhill. What to do? Reflate to boost demand through infrastructure expenditure? May be but what goods will the empowered consumers buy? Imported rice? Imported pin? Or considerably lower farm produce already being pursued by too much money even now?
Or will it be better to control demand so that Nigerians can live more on locally manufactured goods and foodstuffs? That way too conserve much needed foreign exchange? May be but then how do you handle the national cry baby phenomenon that forbids pain of any kind because all Nigerians know or suspect that credibility is very scarce amongst the leaders? That Buhari and heaven promising APC have only raised the bar to All Pronouncements Compromised?
All because even Presidential pronouncements are made without thought to implications for a multi ethnic, multi religious and diverse political spectrum called Nigeria.
Fortunately, even head or tail you lose is not a dead end. No, provided the loser realises that losing is a good stepping stone for more study and reappraisal of strategy to bounce back with winning hand.
For example Henates posted a piece recently from National Bureau of Statistics data that showed that in the interim, it will be easier for Nigeria to fix exports than imports
So the more immediate questions now should be who can we export locally produced goods to worldwide? How can this be done? Which nation has the best opportunity given rules on the ground and the number of potential consumers? What type of goods? Industrial input? Local products for Nigerian communities in diaspora? How do we package them and encourage exploitation and production?
Unfortunately, like the federal directive to banks sacking workers to stay afloat show quite clearly, government is now about command not creating enabling environment for citizens to legally earn their living while adding value to the common till.
It is still about sharing spoils of victory even when the common purse is shrinking every day.
Too bad.