Crafting a universal definition of middle age is extremely difficult and the reasons are not far-fetched. Incorporating factors such as infant mortality rate, GDP per head, distance from conflict zones, choice of profession, and quality of healthcare services, actuarial experts are able to calibrate life expectancy. Statistically, midlife somewhat confusingly ends at about two-thirds of an individual’s life span. From a purely non-commercial perspective, middle age lies anywhere between young adulthood and old age. However, with old age varying between 70 and above 90, depending on which part of the world one resides, a middle-aged person could range from 40 to 60 years old. Why is any of this important?

Psychologically speaking, middle age typically represents a melancholic and angst-filled stage in life when a person has had enough experience and baggage to look back with regret at missed opportunities. The onset of the so-called midlife crisis presents most people with self-doubt, physiologically and emotionally, precisely at the moment when youthful idealism, mental vigor and perpetual optimism begin to dissipate. Faced with a home mortgage, car loans and mounting school fees, it is rather amusing that balding or near-menopausal adults are usually the last to realise their altered status within their communities. As society’s pillars or backbone, the dawning reality of growing old leaves many of this species shell-shocked, smugly self-important but disoriented nonetheless – classic symptoms of people who believe they have too much to lose. In the prime of their lives and imbibing progressively more conservative values, standout or outstanding middle-aged leaders are those who harness stability while promoting innovation within their spheres of influence.

On the flip side, perhaps too many adults reach middle age self-pityingly disappointed with the hand fate has dealt them, worried about the prospect of retirement while becoming unduly risk-averse. In the anguished words of mythical, neurotic and, in spells, dangerous U.S. Lt. Col. Frank Slade (passed over in his quest to attain the rank of an army general):

“Now I have come to the crossroads in my life. I always knew what the right path was. Without exception, I knew, but I never took it. You know why? It was too damn hard.”

There you have it. Life is about the choices we all make and nothing captures life-changing decision points better than the over-exercised cliche, crossroads. For clarification, the word crossroads is uniquely singular and plural. It simply means the intersection (singular) of two criss-crossed roads. Unsurprisingly, young people are the least susceptible to crisis checkpoints, stemming from their archetypal belief that anything is still possible. However, with advancing years, when plans are under water, promising careers and relationships occasionally off-kilter, the suppressed whimper of a momentarily cross-eyed adult is a familiar refrain.

Sharing certain organic and evolutionary traits with humans, nations are equally prone to growing pains in the cycle of birth, maturity and oblivion. In political or actuarial terms, it is an open question whether Nigeria should be classified as an adolescent or a grown-up. Freedom-loving and eternally hopeful, the prognosis is that Nigeria has managed, in 50 action-packed years, to experiment and jettison much more than most nations experience over longer periods. For instance, history suggests that rarely can a nation survive two major domestic wars and remain intact. Whilst the United States of America transcended its bitter civil war to build a stable, unified and prosperous nation, some countries have not been so fortunate. A tragic case in point is our regional counterpart, Cote d’Ivoire. For decades, this former French colony appeared stable under the benign dictatorship of its former ruler, Felix Houphouet-Boigny. Since his passing, Cote d’Ivoire has reeled from one crisis to another and, unless checked, may be rent asunder with the looming prospect of a second polarising war. Meanwhile, forty years after the end of our internal war, Nigeria has shaken off numerous military coups, in the process swapping autocratic for more agreeable but messier democratic rule.

The pertinent question is whether Nigeria has sufficiently grown up to appreciate that we presently stand at the cliff’s edge with so much to lose, if we fail to protect the few gains from our chequered past. With a straight face, can we claim that Nigeria circa 2011 is the country of our dreams? Far from it! Could things get much worse? Sadly, yes! Are we at another crossroads? The facts speak for themselves. We realise, and the outside world has impressed upon us, just how important the 2011 general elections are. Without doubt, the significance of this poll is multifaceted. Almost unnoticed, Nigeria has slowly been liquidating hardcore myths and congealed illusions that have hampered our national development. Everything being equal, we may be at the cusp of taking a quantum leap into a less parochial, more level-playing future.

Rather than simply hoping that we choose the correct route at this new intersection, with a one-in-three chance of making the right choice (assuming we do not saunter down the treacherous road we have just plied), we could emphatically switch metaphors. By exhibiting better tactical awareness, Nigeria would do well to burn down hideous bridges to the past signposted in plain view, such as tribalism, ignorance, rancor, violence, corruption, selfishness, sloth, poverty, injustice, and other malignancies. Instead, let us walk across ennobling bridges calmly and confidently towards a future brimming with peace, justice, unity, industry, creativity, goodness, and compassion for one another.

LET US PRAY

Dear God, how many more barriers must we navigate as a nation before we reach our predestination? As we stride forward, give us the willpower to repent and redress our past transgressions, as well as the presence of mind to build sturdy bridges to a better and more contemplative future.

Honeywell Group