My Nigerian revolution meme(of some sort)

I don't know why it took me so long.

‘Until we, as Nigerians get up and say enough is enough. Until we realize that we deserve much, much, much more than we are getting, until we get to the point of no return, when we are prepared to die for what we believe in- indeed until we believe in anything other than in our personal comfort- we will continue to be led by our noses.’ Chxta

I got the above quote from chxta’s blog, I couldn’t agree more. Nigeria is in our hands. Nobody else’s. We all have to rise up and demand change. The government isn’t going to do it till we vote the right people in power or better still contest for these positions. With all the hullabaloo about the last elections, the only credible candidate in my opinion was probably Pat Utomi but he didn’t win. If the elections were not rigged, perhaps Buhari or Atiku would have been president. Would that have been better?

Now that Obama is making headway with the American presidential elections, Nigerians are starting to think perhaps Utomi may stand a chance. Before this, we said he was not experienced enough, he did not understand Nigerian politics. For all the people who understand it, pray tell, what have they done for us.

I believe in demonstrations, in strike, whatever is necessary to register a message. In the Western world, they have pressure groups, when the British government wanted to extend Heathrow, they did a march at the airport, when they wanted to shut down post offices, they also demonstrated, they do not always succeed but they have a voice, a very loud one. In Nigeria what do we have? Apart from the NLC and a few activists who else dares to speak out? Most NGO’s seem to be interested in HIV and some youth advancement programmes, while I applaud these causes, like Pink Satin noted, some things can only be done by the Nigerian government but we must impress on them to do so. We cannot build roads, we cannot conduct elections, we cannot supply ourselves power etc. As long as we have a ‘siddon’ look approach, then Nigeria will not change. I remember the last NLC strike and how traders started to complain about how much they were loosing and they wanted to go back to their markets so they could earn their daily bread. As I read the news on the fire in Tejuosho, this episode came back to mind. Had the NLC or some group, said lets march to the governor’s office everyday for one week and demand for a functional fire service, these traders would have said no, leave us to enjoy the little that we have, now its all gone, gutted away by fire. If we had a fire service that worked, perhaps some things would have been saved.

I do not like discomfort as I suppose no one else does but we must be ready to suffer a little discomfort before we can enter the land of promise.

The bill on indecent dressing has now gone for second reading; again we look on in silence. It will probably be passed and the Nigerian police will have a field day. I can just imagine them ordering me out of my car so they can inspect my clothes. Perhaps then we will start to complain in hushed voices afraid that even the complaints may land us behind cells.

Sometimes I wonder if we are not under a government that we deserve. Yesterday I had a conversation with a friend of mine who has lived in England for about seven years now, her previous years having been spent in Nigeria. She said a friend of mine was moving back to Nigeria against her will but on her husband’s insistence. I said she will adapt and added that my friend also moved to England because of her husband, she doesn’t like it here but is slowing adapting. My friend said one can adapt to England but that it would be impossible to adapt to Nigeria. This coming from someone who grew up in Nigeria.
This is perhaps where the white man differs, my history sucks but I do know that England, America, Germany etc had their own tough times, the citizens didn’t run or condemn their country as hopeless, they stayed together, worked together and today we are running to them, calling their country Heaven. While I have nothing against anyone who chooses to live abroad, I would expect that they at least contribute positively even if only in speech.

Before Nigeria can change, we must adopt an if I perish, I perish attitude and speak up for change because if we continue to lie low because we do not want to die or be discomforted in anyway, then crime will take over our beloved nation, planes will continue to crash, road accidents will continue to occur, another ‘Odi’ massacre may happen. Like Niran Okewole said in his poem about the Nigeria bomb blast ;‘to escape by fire is to die by water’. Those who thought they had escaped death from the blast died in the carnal.
There will be no simple way out. All well meaning Nigerians must come together and decide enough is enough.