The 2050 Nigeria by Arinze Igboeli

Straight from London, a sojourner coming into Nigeria would be awed by the strict efficiency and professionalism of the airport officials, impressed with the state of the art airport facility,  he is immediately chauffeured to his five star hotel as he prepares to meet representatives of the Minister for Trade and Investment. As he is driven through the streets, he marvels at the quality of infrastructure in the country, noticing that the traffic gridlock which was synonymous with Nigerian roads 35 years ago is now a thing of the past. Noticing a couple of smartly dressed police officers who seem interested in ensuring a free flow of traffic as well as securing such environments, he sees a billboard celebrating 25 years of uninterrupted power supply, a remarkable feat by past administrations.
A quick stop at the hotel, he flips through the television as he catches a live debate going on in the country's higher parliamentary body, the Senate. The senators though from different political parties have come together to formulate legislation aimed at ensuring free and quality healthcare for all Nigerians. He notices that the debates are quite healthy ones, enriched with facts backed by research. Unlike Ben Bruce then, these ones are making common sense! Nodding in approval, he makes up his mind to tell his bosom friend who happens to be an MP on the need for the UK parliament to learn a thing or two from the Nigerian Senate.
Off to his meeting with a copy of Leadership Newspaper , he picks interest in the story of the trial of a former minister for corruption charges, as he lifts his eyes for a view of the scenery he is again greeted by another billboard celebrating thirty years of food sufficiency by the nation.
At his meeting with the minister's representatives, the visitor is enthralled by the passion and sheer intelligence of these young Nigerians. These are officials who have  put country first as there is no sign of anyone  wanting a back hand deal, not since he started the process of engaging these people three months ago.
Back to the hotel room, he flips through the channels to catch some business news and there it is, news about the Nigerian economy,  the third largest in the world with an annual GDP of 10 percent growth every year, one Naira is equivalent to 24 Dollars with the unemployment rate sitting pretty at 4 percent.
The program is interrupted for a live coverage of the president's broadcast to the nation. Young and energetic, the president who is just 42 years of age, cuts an unusual figure of an African leader, tall and with broad shoulders, he exhibits confidence and an aura that assures millions of his citizens and the world of Nigeria as the world's safest investment hub; a land of fast economic growth and efficient economic governance with immense advances in all sectors of the country.
The president this time is speaking on the immigration crisis affecting the country. Attracted by Nigeria's booming economy , migrants from distance and far countries daily require to come to Nigeria majorly using the Seme, Ilela, Damboru- Ngala, Jimbiya, Banki and Bakassi border areas. The president intends to fix this and his speech is suggestive of new executive measures to control such immigration.
Part of our visitor's itinerary will be to visit a number of tertiary institutions as part of his firm's corporate social responsibility mandate. Six in the six regions that make up the country. In three days he makes a complete tour of these universities and to say that he is impressed with the state of Nigeria's tertiary education system is an understatement, he is awestricken!
Time they say passes on quickly especially when one is having fun. Our sojourner has to return back to his base. He has a lot to tell his people and he will surely be talking about this visit on his personal blog. He cannot wait to return back as the Trade and Investment  Minister is billed to approve his firm's request to invest in the country. He hopes to be the country manager, maybe he should lobby for it.
As the pilot announces finally that the plane is about to take off, our sojourner is indeed sad to leave but one thing is for sure, this Nigeria is not the Nigeria he read about in books like Karl Maier's ' This House Has Fallen' or Martin Meredith's 'State of Africa'. This is indeed a different Nigeria, a Nigeria where freedom, justice and economic prosperity are the norms of its society.  Where tribe and tongue are merged into a diverse but great country. Where the tintinnabulation that greets the world from its orbit is nothing else but progress, surely Africa's largest country has  come of age.
Arinze writes from Abuja.