Thread by @segalink

I’ll continue to plead that you forgive the inadequacies of flawed beings while we magnify the positivity and advantage they bring. There’s nothing wrong in correcting momentary lapses of judgement but cancellation must never be an option. Let encourage those contributing. 🙏🏽

https://twitter.com/oloye__/status/1369343219490840593

It’s imperative to take a lesson from the cobra effect, which occurs when an adopted strategy or solution to a problem makes the problem worse due to unseen consequences. The term is used to illustrate the causes of incorrect stimulus in economy and politics. We’re all important.

For the purpose of illustration of a typical cobra effect scenario. Imagine a country like China or India having a problem with massive deaths of farmers due to cobra bites & serious economic cost on antidotes leading to the formulation of a policy that could help the situation.

Govt in their considered view and wisdom believe that incentivizing the killing of Cobras & rewarding each proven kill will decimate the population of Cobras and save costs on antidotes and lives of farmers restoring economic activities. It made sense in the short run.

Farmers made a fortune taking cash for every cobra they sent to the authorities & soon some wise citizens decided to initiate Cobra farming. Breeding cobras & selling for a fee to milk the policy & soon the cobra farm became an industry which invariably killed the policy.

Govt couldn’t sustain the Cobra for money policy and surviving farmers fat on cobra funds had to dislodge their cobra farms back into the forests and the problem worsened. In a short while the snake bites skyrocketed and became even worse than before. Govt & the people learnt.

There’s been several examples of the Cobra effect in most of our engagement with policies in Nigeria and citizens action. From the #EndSARS protest which justified the principled approach of the original Movement that’s been proven to save lives consistently for over 3 years...

...while sustainable legislative solution to the culture of impunity was being finalized. This by the way brought about the repeal and replacement of the 1943 Police Act leading to the passing of the New Police Act 2020 to Law.

A 90yr old problem was solved with the consolidation of all the efforts of years. No doubt many of the active citizens that worked on this didn’t become popular neither did it afford any of us room to take pictures on the street with the crowd. A major milestone was reached.

Anything achieved by force without legislation will be short lived and may have grave consequences that was never envisaged, while emotion and sentiments are the pilots of the plane of change. We must forthwith combine our thinking & unify our actions strategically.

CBN policies over the past decade is another example of Cobra effect. Many scholars may justify the policies as it justified what they were taught in financial classes of business schools but we will always be wrong to judge Govt policies based on intentions instead of reality.

Finally, let’s disagree in ways that will make us learn to see from the perspective of others and never allow our differences to make enemies of those dissenting. We are all we need to build Nigeria. Everyone/effort is critical to the change we seek. Cancel no one. Love wins. ❤️

Think about Govt’s approach to the economy & security and you’ll see glaringly the illustration of the Cobra effect how businesses sprung from the commercialization of Terrorism and banditry & reinforced by nepotism. See how the people kept electing & regretting. It’s vicious!

Days ago a state In Nigeria had a brainwave believing considerably that the solution to banditry is to arm vigilantes with pump action. Guess what happens years down the line when the vigilantes realize the value chain of banditry...Will Govt ever consider how they aid banditry?