Who made such an audacious assertion?

You never heard of the data survey firm IHS Markit? After crunching the numbers, they put out a statement in which they said among other things that “The global economy has reached an important milestone in the second quarter of 2021, surpassing the pre-pandemic real GDP peak attained in the fourth quarter of 2019.”

Then the world must be an elephant.

Why do you say that?

Here we are fixated on banditry, terrorism, kidnapping, insurgency, ethnic nationalism, 2023 elections, inflation, and the rest, and you tell me the world’s economy is back to pre-Covid-19 levels

I thought your first reaction would be gladness at the news. I was thinking you would feel a sense of cheer and hope from the report

You forget that ‘na where dey pain person dem dey put for near fire,’ as they say in the land of my fathers.

I am familiar with that adage but why don’t look at the brighter side and what the substance of the report means for the world. We are a part of the world, remember? Besides, the report also indicated that Africa and the Middle East economy will attain pre-Covid-19 status beginning this July

You see why I say the world is an elephant? One part sees the ears, another part sees the trunk and so on. One part begins to experience good news first before the other part joins the wave. But why does good news always first happen overseas?

Who told you that?

You just said so.

I didn’t say that

You did

I did not

You did. And nothing you say will convince me otherwise

That is not how to engage in a fruitful discussion. You should be ready to follow the light anywhere it leads. You seem to have forgotten that Covid came from overseas too

Well.

So, it makes sense for the recovery to begin from there, I guess?

Mm

I’m not happy the way you are taking this matter. I was convinced you will be happy with the news

Happy with what news? When the news circulating inside my pockets is not a happy one?

Must you equate everything with the conditions of your pocket?

Do you know how much I bought a paint cup of beans last week? N3,000. Are you saying that in July, which is only one week away, that a paint cup of beans would sell for N1,200, which is what I bought it in Nigeria’s pre-Covid-19 economy? Do you know how much I bought a paint cup of garri last week? N1,300. Are you saying that in July, a paint cup of garri will sell for N350, which is how much I bought it for in pre-Covid-19 Nigeria?

Can I shock you? I bought a paint cup of garri last week and it disappeared in two days. Gone completely, into several stomachs.

Is garri the only thing you eat in your house?

Why do you want to make this discussion personal?

You started it first. Ok, I take that back. But so you know that until the impact of whatever news enters the personal space of the hearer, it is nothing but a vanishing mist. The news is welcome when it changes the material condition of the hearer.

I don’t agree with you. Sometimes, the rain does not fall until a cool breeze has first appeared to rustle the leaves. If the plants get angry and say they want rain not breeze, they miss a great opportunity. See the news as breeze before the coming rain

Majek Fashek is back! Send down the rain!

To that I would add, ‘O that today they might fall!’