“Lust for possession and greed has ravaged the soul of humanity like a great cancer, metastasizing throughout society in the form of a nouveau post-human, consumer hedonism.”? Bryant McGill, Voice of Reason

Prediction is basically about forcasting the future or a guess work about events likely to happen futuristically speaking based supposedly on evidences available at the moment of making such prediction. On another level we can make prediction based on logical reasoning or abstraction an intellectualization of thought, seeking coherency of data as we often observe in economic analysis with a caveat ceteris paribus because of speculation and the failure of our knowledge and experiences if/when we justaposition them sometimes with reality. Therefore, prediction of socio-economic and political fotunes of Nigeria in 2017 is not something I would like to get myself into for obvious reasons.

It is important to note here that evidences presented in claim(s) to support whatever prediction made may not always be absolutely justifiable since data or circumstances and factors prevalent might change accordingly. My hope is that the change promised for 2017 by the president would be realised and the data presented to Nigerians during his budget speech to the joint session of the national assembly would sustain any permutations within the change paradigm.

I am not very optimistic given the wastefulness, padding and duplication observable in budget 2017. How do we explain ”Presidency’s ‘kitchen equipment’ gets N100 million despite N325 million spent before” – http://www.premiumtimesng.com.

If you read further in the same article you cannot but have hypertension when mind boggling amount in naira was budgeted for food stuff and catering materials for the president and the vice president respectively in a country where majority of the populace live on less than a dollar per day really this is beyond comprehension when you juxtaposition the gross wastefulness, avarice and hedonisticism purveyed in this budget 2017 taken into consideration the mantra of “change begins with me”.

What are the nutritional values of the food stuff or is the president and vice president going to eat one cow per day. I wonder whether they spend that much on food stuff as a private citizen. Is it not the same Eba, Amala, Ewedu, Fura, Tuwo Shinkafa etc they will continue to eat in Aso rock?

Let us even per assumption granted that they have private visitors everyday, is that good enough reason to engage in hedonistic lifestyle of wasteful spending spreading food largesse to every Tom, Dick and Harry?

Father Mbaka is right with his latest advice to the president to ”Act, Nigerians are hungry, Father Mbaka advises President Buhari” -http://www.premiumtimesng.com

My sincere opinion is that corruption has crept into this administration big time to the extent that the paraphernalia of power has made those in authority become myopic to the sufferings of Nigerians, they are now only interested in pursuing their own happiness via material accumulation and unbridled hedonisticism spending our commonwealth on expensive wining and dining costing the taxpayers millions of naira per year. WHERE IS THE CHANGE?

“Men in the vehement pursuit of happiness grasp at the first object which offers to them any prospect of satisfaction, but immediately they turn an introspective eye and ask, ‘Am I happy?’ and at once from their innermost being a voice answers distinctly, ‘No, you are as poor and as miserable as before.’ Then they think it was the object that deceived them and turn precipitately to another. But the second holds as little satisfaction as the first…Wandering then through life restless and tormented, at each successive station they think that happiness dwells at the next, but when they reach it happiness is no longer there. In whatever position they may find themselves there is always another one which they discern from afar, and which but to touch, they think, is to find the wished delight, but when the goal is reached discontent has followed on the way stands in haunting constancy before them.”? Johann Gottlieb Fichte

President Mohammadu Buhari must wake up and stand firm against wastefulness and corruption in the corridors of power in Aso rock if he wants 2017 to be a gloriuos year for Nigerians. Nigerians are willing to persevere but those at the pinnacle of power must change their apetite for hedonistic lifestyle.

OTUNBA ADE ILEMOBADE is a philosopher

Twitter: @pearl2prince