As I write, the outside temperature is over 40 degrees. Hot but definitely not humid, which is perhaps the only thing that makes it bearable. But heat is not really a bother to the average resident here. I have not seen any car so far that is not air-conditioned. Residences and shopping centres also come with air-conditioning as standard features. So you really do not have to spend much time outside. Talk about comfortable infrastructure, Dubai not only has it but is also developing more. Indeed, as I drove round the city, I became convinced that this is one place predicated on DREAMS.

The old cliché “See Paris and die” should now give way to “See Dubai and dream.”  At this time, Dubai is going through its own share of the economic depression, considering the fact that the flow of trade seems to have shifted east to China. The hustle and bustle of the last few years when I last visited and the frenzy of construction has given way to a discernible lull in socio-economic activities. However, the system seems to be wired to take it. This city is largely built with the future in mind.

This is one place where creativity, especially in the construction industry, seems to have gone gaga. And that fascinates me. Many structures here pulsate with such variegated artistry and precision-laden science that would baffle even the initiated in the construction industry. Until about two years ago when the recession hit, over 70 per cent of cranes in the world were working in this city of kaleidoscopic architecture. The wonder of it all is that this is right in the middle of what is supposed to be a desert region. No matter how tough the environment may be, God wired us to triumph over and dominate our environment. Looking at the Burj Khalifa, currently the world’s tallest building, I could not help but salute the creative genius as well as the undaunted engineering that must have gone into its construction. Towering over the environment at over 160 floors and 828 metres long, it also boasts of having the tallest service elevator in the world apart from being the tallest free-standing structure in the world (a record that formerly belonged to the CN Towers in Canada). Indeed, all progress is made possible by dreamers. If anything at all, our nation needs dreamers now more than ever.

And who says the city railway system cannot work in Nigeria, Lagos to be precise? The system in Dubai was commissioned only on 09/09/09 and it is working excellently.

As I ruminated on these and other things, it struck me that while our leaders in Africa are eager to escape with the collective wealth of our nation, the leaders here invest theirs in the development of their own nation and people.

The underpinning factor that drives the sustainability of the Dubai enterprise is ORDER. Things work. This makes life easy and plans predictable in execution. While you sometimes see them on patrol, the police here don’t go breathing down your neck and harassing people with clubs and guns at checkpoints. Yet security is water tight and evident. Little wonder that crime is at a very low ebb. As an Islamic nation, you can see that governance and the rules are woven round moral fabrics and values that at the same time accommodate some liberality considering the diversity of cultures that converge here.

As I prepare to return to Nigeria (no place like home, no matter what) I am full of dreams and hopes that one day, our leaders will wake up and recognise that oil will not be flowing forever, and even if it does, the world will move past its present dependence on it. As the reality of that becomes clearer, there is massive pillaging going on because what there is to steal is dwindling and a demand is being made on the very people who had been short-changed in the provision of infrastructure to pay taxes even when government is surreptitiously killing the goose that lays the golden egg by making the environment hostile to genuine businesses. Some years ago, I registered a business in the USA in less than 15 minutes, but I have been trying to get one upgraded to a Limited Liability for over two months now without success. Yet, when the business is up and running, some agencies will be breathing down my throat for taxes!

I monitored a report on CNN that China, currently the world’s largest consumer of crude oil, is at an advanced stage of rolling out vehicles that are powered by alternative sources of energy. Already, over one thousand buses that are battery-powered have been rolled out into its public transportation system!

And by the way, when you do go to Dubai, remember that in Arabic countries, writing is from right to left. So if you want to turn on the cold side of water, do not presumptuously follow the western system of turning the tap to the right. I did it in the bath and almost had my skin burnt. Do not say I didn’t warn you!

Remember, the sky is not your limit, God is!