When Professor Ndubuisi Ekekwe walked into the Nigerian Embassy in Washington, D.C., recently, he braced himself for the usual scene many Nigerians know all too well: the endless queues, the anxious wait, the chaotic buzz that once made the embassy feel more like a crowded open market than a diplomatic space.
Instead, he was greeted by something he hadn’t expected: calm.
Inside, he found fewer than a dozen people waiting to process passports and visas. Within minutes, they were all attended to and gone, no shouts, no “connection men,” no endless hours under fluorescent lights. The staff, he observed, were not just working; they were excellent!
For Ekekwe, the transformation was nothing short of astonishing. A system that had once been infamous for delay and disorder was now running with world-class efficiency. He couldn’t help but commend President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's Government, the minister, the consulate general, and the embassy team for what they had achieved.
And then came the real spark of hope: his reflection.
“If Nigeria can fix passport issuance in America, one of the most notoriously difficult systems to navigate, what else can we fix? What other problems, one by one, can we solve?”
That’s the story worth holding on to. Because progress doesn’t always come in grand gestures. Sometimes it starts with the small, everyday systems that affect ordinary people. When those are fixed, hope takes root.
Today, Nigerians abroad no longer need “a big man or woman” to get their passport processed. It’s simply a matter of walking in, being served, and walking out, the way it should be.
And if this can happen with passports, then it can happen with power, with education, with healthcare, with all the everyday struggles that shape Nigerian life.
One by one, Nigeria is succeeding in various sectors. And stories like this remind us that hope isn’t just a dream, it’s already happening.
This is the Season of Hope. Be a part of it -> Share Your Hope Story.
source: LinkedIn