Beyond e-revolution
Do you ever wonder if there will be a revolution in
Nigeria?
If we would go the Egyptian
or French way, both countries had a unique way of fighting for what they
believe in. Seen as one of the most successful revolution, French revolution
began when the oppressed citizens decided it was time to put an end to system aimed
at getting the rich richer while the voices of the poor fell on deaf ears. They
fought for liberty, equality, amongst other things. Till date, there are still
debates on whether or not the French revolution was a success- I will say the
voice of the commoners was heard – the tax system was abolished, the
declaration of the right of man, the abolishment of Feudalism and most
importantly the revolution paved way for other revolutions which led to
democracy or the attainment of republican status for some European countries.
“Asake, you need to read
French revolution, your intention of a positive revolution might not change
anything, sometimes violent revolution is the only way for change and progress”
Ms. Amy
Although protest lasted for
18days, the Egyptian revolution began over 3years ago when thousands of
protesters took to Tahrir square to protest against the Hosni Mubarak
government, the government was alleged to have created several economic, legal
and political issues whilst with creating hostile country where freedom of
speech and fair election was not in practice. Even though he stepped down years
ago, Egypt is still recovering; they had the first democratically elected
president in 2012 who was overthrown by Military and a fresh election. Will the
new government fix the chronic woes? Only time will tell.
“Asake, before you go
ahead leading a revolution, remember the current situation of things in Egypt”
Emeka said
During my senior year in
college, one of my coursework was a presentation on Youth, Education and Politics. In most of my courses when relevant,
I had the habit of introducing Nigeria as a case study as I wanted people to
see beyond the “Nigeria is very corrupt
story”. I proudly ended my presentation shedding light on the Enough is
Enough (EiE) protest that was going on that fateful day as Nigeria youths
matched to the National Assembly with an outlined 4 point agenda addressed to
the Senate. The demands were: urgent overhauling of the security and
intelligent apparatus using Jos as a case study; practical plan to improve the
electric power supply in Nigeria; the whereabouts of President Yar’Adua and
implementation of the proposed electoral reform in the Uwais report. Although
acting powers was given to Goodluck Ebele Jonathan (GEJ) before the protest,
after the protest, he dissolved the Yar’Adua and only became the President
after Yar’Adua passed away. It is easy to review the demand by Nigerian Youth
and conclude the EiE protest was not a success but personally, the fact that
Nigerian youth were not afraid to protest was enough victory for me.
Fastforward 2012, the next
protest tagged Occupy Nigeria was against fuel hike as a result of partial
removal of oil subsidy by GEJ’s administration. In tears, I wrote
the cost of Fresh air and Shoes. Our people lost their lives during the Occupy
Nigeria protest, I wonder if the DPO that killed the young man playing soccer
was ever prosecuted. In my own opinion, that fuel subsidy protest was a
sell-out because the basis of the protest was to return to status quo however
Nigeria Labour Congress and Nigerian Trade Union after a closed door meeting
agreed to a certain hike in fuel. I felt betrayed on behalf of my brother and
other patriotic Nigerians who participated in the Occupy Nigeria protest.
Here I am again, looking at the situation of my dear
country Nigeria and wondering if anyone will be willing to lay down his life and
lead the revolution for a better Nigeria. Sad enough, many people have
unwillingly laid down their lives and I am positive a large percentage of them
are turning in their graves because Nigeria is not getting better
non-economically (Yes, the GDP grew and we are part of the new buzz word MINT)
but people are still dying (bomb, road accident, plane crash, bad healthcare
system, privation), corruption is a growing business and our daughters are
still missing. I remember the Lagos –Ibadan accident that happened just before
the plane crash, we all heard about bombs that went off in North East before
the Abuja blast. We act like some deaths are more important than others- I
don’t mean to judge us, I just want us to be just in our dealing-sometimes it
sounds like it is ok for bombs to go off in the North Eastern part of Nigeria
than in FCT. People born in North East and not the capital city also need to be
protected, they need us to make noise about their situation and join them in
crying. Maybe together our voices will be heard. “Asake, we are powerless individually but our power lies in the
collective strength of our voices” I. Duggan
I went to a boarding secondary school- a Federal
Government College to be precise and I loved to sleep deeply at night. When I
heard about the attack on Federal Government College (FGC) Buni- Yadi Yobe
where 59 students were killed, I could help but think I would have been killed
in my sleep if I was in that FGC. 4months before the FGC attack, an
Agricultural College in Yobe was attacked where 40students were also killed. Our
main focus right now is bringing back the 270(we don’t even know the exact
number) girls that were kidnapped in Chibok. With the International Community
also counting the days with us, I know the Presidency will be doing everything
to find the girls however we need to demand more. We need to demand more from
ourselves – Yes ourselves – If I were president of Nigerian Union of Teacher
(NUT) – I would have called for a strike action since September, 2013 when 40students
were killed. “Asake, please tell them,
union is not constituted for salary increase only. They should be concerned
about their students as well. Where’s NMA, NLC, TUC, PENGASSAN, and NUPENG
(maybe they are not parents)?” Dr. Olufisayo O.
When I discussed this with my friend, she felt I
was supporting my Muslim brothers aka Boko Haram in eliminating education. I
tried to explain to her about the first revelation Prophet Muhammad (Peace be
upon him) received – which was Read but I noticed she was too hurt to listen to
the fact that Islam supports education.
To be honest, safety should
come before education, if children must go to school, why can’t military men
guard their schools?
Why can’t the number of opened schools be limited to secure areas?
Why are we playing politics by not declaring real state of emergency in all the
affected state and allow military to take full control.
We have started a journey
by being vocal virtually–we tweet, sign petition, update Facebook and BB status
however it is time to move beyond being vocal virtually, it is time to act in
our own little space. We can start by protecting our whistle blowers- where is
Stella Oduah’s whistle blower? Where is Delta State University bursary fraud
whistle blower? Where is the whistle blower for the missing $20b? We do have a constitution, whether it works or
not, let’s put it to test again. It is time to re-call our non-working lower
house representatives, ensure our senator table a motion to impeach
non-performing leaders. A great percentage of Nigerian work in organization
where yearly appraisal is done- what happens to the non-performers? Remember,
you pay your tax to state and your company pays tax to Federal government.
Don’t allow anyone waste your vote, your tax and your company tax which is your
sweat and right.
To a lot of us, this sounds like a tall order however it is time to join those
who have moved beyond twitter activism - Occupy Nigeria, stolen dream and
#BringBackOurGirls activists. It is time to join or create the movement that
will change Nigeria.
Till next time – Don’t wait
for the usual Nigerian activists and international community to participate or
show interest before join the conversation. It is time for us to lead a made in
Nigeria cause, a cause which we might or might not reap the benefit immediately
but one which change Nigeria for the better. We owe it to ourselves and our
unborn children to have a better and safe Nigeria
Thanks to Ireti aka “Ms Amy the
editor' for forcing me to read French revolution, Aderonke of Bella Naija for
challenging my initial write up and to my writing mentor - Dr. Olufisayo O- the
one who inspires me to read, read and read and did not get tired of the back
and forth- and also ensured I published this post.. Thank you
Asake,i just got this now but feeling too tired to read cos I wldnt want to do it in a rush.Expect ma comment on d post by am.Cheers!
ReplyDeleteWell composed, nice one Asake. Bt mst comment corruption is exist in evy nooks and cranny of our country our different homes inclusive. I still marvel how we gonna make dis country a beta place for all wen its even so difficult to eradicate corruption in our homes... Hmm may God elp us.
ReplyDeleteIt is a simple yet a difficult one.. We have to go back to what we learnt in Primary School- charity begins at home...
DeleteLets hold ourselves accountable first..
"God helps those who helps themselves"
What Nigeria needs is beyond an e-revolution, it is a revolution of the mind. We need to understand that Decomcracy is a mind set not just a system of government. Why do we keep trying to implement it on a centralised mind set? Elected officials down to the grass root do not take their office as a calling, why else do our State governments create various political appointments which have nothing to do with development? Why do we elect the same leaders who stem from the same body of aristocracy that has oppressed the nation since before colonial times. Our problems are more psychological than we realise.
ReplyDeleteFinally! Psychology in Nigeria! this is something alot of people are yet to accept.. We need to realize psychological problems is not about being mad..
Deletei do agree with grass root politics - we know our representative and chairman before election and before re-election.
I think the revolution starts with individual in that little space of our homes. Standing against all kind of behavior we know too well are not right. Avoid compromise,stand for what you believe in and die for it.
ReplyDelete*thumb up* i think so too
DeleteI think the revolution starts with individual in that little space of our homes. Standing against all kind of behavior we know too well are not right. Avoid compromise,stand for what you believe in and die for it.
ReplyDeleteWhen I went through the write-up, my eye swell up in tears, I have been telling anybody that will listen that this a war against Nigerian state, it is not an opposition against Goodluck Jonathan second term, it is a security issue. Our Military is in a state and Boko Haram moves freely and there is a state of emergency in place, pardon my ignorance, if there is no state of emergency what happens....Chai......we need to see that this is terrorism and it is coming as result of the Arab spring, please ponder a bit where are the weapons coming from...who gives logistics. How can Boko Haram attack 3 villages at ago without encountering our armed forces it is sad...
ReplyDeleteSIsta, you are right.. it goes beyond war against GEJ govt, it goes beyond Muslim versus Christian and if we are not careful, it will not stop... it will go on for years
DeleteGreat article! However, I strongly support Sola; we can have a million hashtags and rallies but until we change our mind, we will continue to allow ourselves be led by ridiculous people like the shoeless ones we have now.
ReplyDeleteSame here.. most of us, are afraid to say the truth, we are afraid of what will happen to us and our family if we say the truth, we are afraid of losing the benefit of "looking away" or remaining silent.. We just want to do nothing and hope something better happens
Delete