The before and after price

We pay a price for everything in life. Most people would readily agree to the positive assertion that they paid some price for the significant achievements they have recorded in life. They would do so with a smirk of satisfaction and self-adulation.

Further reflection shows that there are two prices for every situation. They are the “before and after price”. Various scenarios exemplify the before and after price. Examination at all levels of schooling but particularly at higher levels is a good example. The “before” price is the assiduousness of the student in attending classes, doing his assignments, and reading recommended as well as extra curricula literature on his subjects. As proverbially stated often, the student “burns the midnight oil” and forsakes all other pursuits for the prize. That prize –success in his examination – is the “after price” for the efforts put in. The other type of student also pays a before and after price. He wanders aimlessly in relation to the goal by attending all parties in and out of campus, being the school fashionista, the hottest thing around and all such. At examination, his resounding Fs are a fitting price.
Take the matter of exercise and wellbeing. The favourite expression in the gym is “no pain, no gain”. It translates to no price, no prize. People intent on managing their weight vote for fitness and weight loss by paying a price: they do the gym round by waking up early or going after hours; they learn not to salivate at certain foods; they eat in moderation; they do crunches. The after price is a toned body as well as feeling of satisfaction at attaining the goal.
A young family acquaintance’s experience has been very illustrative. Chidiogo is 24. She has just earned her degree in International Relations from one of the state universities. She returned home to hearty welcome as well as consternation. Chidiogo weighed 120KG, and considered herself unworthy and undesirable. Flab reported all over her body. Her worried mother took action and placed her on a fitness programme of diet and exercise. Three weeks after, the fruit diet yielded good results. Chidi, who had earlier begged the coordinator not to disclose her weight, now heartily called to disclose her current weight as against what it was at the beginning. She is still paying a price, but appreciating the “after” prize of the price.
Price is of course at the heart of marketing. Price is the crux of the exchange that happens between buyer and seller. Price represents value to the buyer and revenue to the seller. We pay various prices as consumers. We pay even more fundamental before and after prices in the various decisions and actions of our lives. There is always a price, before and after. Choose wisely, so you get a desirable prize for the price you pay.
What price are we willing to pay for the development of our towns, cities, local governments and the Nigerian nation? Are we aware of the price for the choices we make or the prize available at the end for those choices? Are the implications clear and straightforward?
There is abroad in our clime currently a Get Your PVC campaign as a clarion call for political engagement. The message is for all adults to fully exercise their rights as eligible voters and participate in the electoral process.
The PVC campaign is a good and desirable first step in political engagement. As it is framed, possession of the PVC enables the citizen actively participate in the choice of leaders through voting.
It is a seductive proposition. It is also a correct one. However, voting is only but one aspect of political engagement. To deepen our democracy, all citizens must commit to paying a higher price. The price would be to engage even more actively than merely securing a PVC and coming out to vote on election day, even as that is very important itself.
Citizens need to be more involved from their neighbourhoods up in the issues that affect their existence. Wisemen have affirmed that eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. Citizen vigilance and engagement are the currencies for sustaining democracy.
Many issues call for concern across the states and the federation. They range from education to healthcare, urban planning to management of the environment, and much more. Years of military rule meant that citizens were removed from the grassroots mobilization of ideas that is part of policymaking. Who is your councillor? Who represents your neighbourhood and then your local government? What issues have you brought to their attention? We must find our way back. Pay a price today for the prize of a democracy that works for Nigeria.

 Chido Nwakanma