Even if the government is irresponsible in the discharging of its duties, here are 10 things ordinary Nigerians could do in their private lives to help revive the economy post-coronavirus

Ayo Akinfe

(1) Suspend all religious pilgrimages for 10 years. You going to Jerusalem, Rome, Mecca or Medina is putting undue pressure on our foreign exchange market. With oil prices in the doldrums, Nigeria needs to save as much foreign exchange as it can

(2) Reduce your attendance at Owambes to once a quarter. Spraying is actually a very inflationary practise

(3) Instal solar panels on your roof to enable you generate some electricity

(4) Communities should suspend the installation of new monarchs for now. If one king dies, let the monarch of the neighbouring town take charge in an attempt to save costs. This is done in all areas of business

(5) Every Nigerian should take a patriotic oath to use the country’s medical facilities even if this means dying in the country

(6) As many of us as possible should commit to buying Innoson vehicles despite their short-givings. Buying foreign brands is just depleting our foreign reserves

(7) Members of the Nigerian middle class should seek to spend their holidays within the country. For instance, say you are a senior civil servant like a director of the National Agency for the Control of Aids in Abuja, take your family to Obudu, Tinapa, Idanre Hills, etc for their vacation instead of Seychelles, Dubai, Hawaii or Tasmania

(8) Every Nigerian should take a solemn oath today to suspend all those extravagant parties they hold in Dubai for at least a decade. It is unpatriotic and highly irresponsible to hold weddings, birthdays, old school reunions, etc in places like Dubai when we have our own resorts that are highly under-utilised. It is downright economic sabotage in my opinion. How will our own hospitality industry ever grow?

(9) Can every Nigerian man commit to easing on procreation a little for maybe the next five years. We once had a target of asking each woman to limit her offspring to four. If every Nigerian man could agree to limiting his offspring to four, it would ease some of the pressure on the primary school system

(10) Every Nigerian should decline accepting new chieftaincy, religious or honourary titles for the next 10 years. Apart from the costs of such parties, vanity is one of the biggest causes of corruption in our society. What exactly is wrong with the simple prefix Mr?