--BY MADAN LAMSAL

Nepal is a land chock-full of opportunities. All those in the know say so. As there are many opportunities, however, there is great confusion as to realising which of these opportunities will help the country develop. It’s been quite some time since we saw opportunities in sectors such as agriculture, hydropower, tourism etc. But alas, nothing worth-mentioning happened in these sectors. Now, some are saying we will reach our destination if we go through the way of the House of Representatives. Others, however, are saying that it is the elections that will take us there directly!

Now, a question arises naturally – who brings about new opportunities? Which company has the government given the permit to to bring about new opportunities? And to which politician is that company related? What about the ‘quality’ of the opportunities brought in by that company? Are opportunities national or foreign?

The truth is opportunities give you options in life. Opportunities are of many kinds and their world is endless. Opportunities will never cease to exist.  

Many businesses are facing financial problems due to Covid-19 at the moment. The pandemic has given many people sleepless nights. But there is no need to worry. If the business of looting others and raising ransoms is going through a recession, then one can shift to the business of politics by pandering to the taste of a ruling party politician. The better one is at looting others, the better opportunities one will find to shine in politics.  

Therefore, there is no point in whining that no new movies are being made or that those being made are not doing well. Because if one is good at playing different roles in movies, one will find really great opportunities to do wonders in politics.

The point is, if one is good at telling lies, making false promises and doing whatever it takes to realise one’s vested interests, one will find really great opportunities to become a great political player.

I asked an evergreen government minister who often changes ministries, “Why do you change your ministerial berths so often? Is it because of the bureaucrats or some other reason?”

With a smile of contentment and a “keep this off the record” comment the minister replied, “The bureaucrats are indeed with me. But the thing is I finish exploiting all the opportunities a ministry has to offer soon after I become a minister. Then that ministry is just like the dry husk of some sugarcane with all its juice extracted. Then I want another ministry where I can continue my quest for opportunities. For that to happen, I frequent the quarters of those in the party high command. I prostrate and ingratiate myself in front of them until I get what I want. That still works quite well!”    

Truly speaking, an opportunity is such a thing which encourages one to do something new. Guided and motivated by this encouragement, politicians go abroad with their agendas to strengthen bilateral ties. It helps in cultivating opportunities, besides strengthening the bilateral ties.  

Nepalis are simply too good at looking for opportunities. They see opportunities in every problem. The government, too, sees nothing except opportunities. When the whole world was facing the economic crisis created by the Covid-19 pandemic, our finance minister in his budget speech showed us the opportunity to take a big economic leap!

In this way, they keep the door of opportunity ajar, in one way or another! Taking the risk and opening a Swiss bank account, too, is to keep the opportunity alive. Whether it is ‘buffalo worship’ or ‘forgiveness worship’, both are invitations to new opportunities. So, in order to cook up the opportunities available and coax and cajole people, keep airing new controversies and keep conspiring against the opponents to keep them scared. This way, new opportunities will keep coming your way. Won’t they?

Opportunities are everywhere, my friend! It may take some time before your financial life springs back to normal. But the butterflies of opportunities spread their wings in the family and social lives as well. It is, however, true that politics offers the best opportunities. That should be why people of one type are running to the parliament building while those of the other type are headed for the prime minister’s quarters! Some are setting their eyes on the Supreme Court while others are heating up the streets.

The question is, which of these opportunities are you headed towards?