Of chop-and-quench 'Leaders' and siddon-look Nigerians

I got a blackberry broadcast this afternoon asking some very salient questions about the quality of the few Nigerians who have been (s)elected to occupy (warm the seats, in the case of most) of the hallowed chambers of our National Assembly, and it really got me thinking!

Thanks to the CBN Governor who is to many Nigerians a villian and to some a hero and yet to others a cross between both, some revelations have emerged which show that the NASS actually 'chops' a little bit over 25% of our entire National expenditure annually.

The question which was asked in the broadcast which I want to repeat in my own words here is ' who amongst those in the Senate and the House of Reps is that man/woman of honour who has stood against this rubbish even  at the risk of committing "political suicide" amongst their thieving peers?'

Take a moment to look around you, there are thousands, nay, hundreds of thousands of  youth who are unemployed not for want of ambition, talent or education but because they have been unfortunate enough to find themselves in a system where the only beatitude seems to be 'blessed are the youth for they shall inherit the troubles left by their fathers'. Is it not time for us to rise up as a people and say 'NO' with a collective voice? Must we continue to give credence to Fela's famous line 'suffering and smiling' ? When will we stop seeing the humour in all the nonsense and begin to face it as we should?

Just in case you have not thought of it this way before, let me help you - there are a few people who have vowed that as long as they are alive, power will not leave their circle and the major reason they have taken this position is that they are raping us daily, they are flogging our backs with whips while they ride on stallions, the Plantation owners and colonial masters called our brothers 'niggers', these perennial looters and unrepentant thieves also call us names in their closets of evil and their 'share the money' covens. They call us fools who do not know their right from their left, they call us wretched nincompoos who will never have a voice to speak for ourselves, afterall most of us have not attended Harvard and other Ivy league schools like they have done with the ill-gotten wealth, they say Democracy is not for the people but for the chosen few, they say the dividends of democracy cannot be for everybody, afterall not everyone is entitled to a GSM phone, but they have been gracious enough to allow most of us own at least one. They call us ingrates who want to reap where we did not sow.

My final question to you is 'do you agree with them?' If you do, don't bother to register during the upcoming voters' registration exercise. If you do, don't bother to drop the 'wetin concern me' attitude, don't bother to actively check out the candidates for various offices so as to select who to vote for. If you agree with them, Please don't bother to come out to vote on election day and of course if you are not there, then there is no question of protecting your votes. No one can tell you how to live your life really, you may have chosen to believe that you have no rights in your own country.

There are a few of us who do not agree with them, a few of us who believe that things can and will change in this country, a few of us who know that no matter where we go, Nigeria will forever be home, a few of us who know that guns and bombs will not remove this cankerworm of corruption and lack of true leadership the way our collective stand for democracy and moral integrity would. An opportunity to show yourself as one of us beckons, I urge you to take this opportunity - Register to Vote, follow the dictates of your informed conscience and vote for the right candidates and defend your votes even at the risk of losing friends and other material things. For once, let us put the future of Nigeria and Nigerians (with all due respect, this does not include the LegisLOOTERS and all their cohorts) before every other consideration. We can do this, we can lay the foundation for a better tomorrow. It begins with Just One Vote and that Vote is yours!!!

See you at the Registration Centre !!

The Voice of one Nigerian.

It has been a very eventful day for me, been trying to write an article all day and so far I have successfully chosen and discarded eight different titles. In the midst of all this, my phone has been beeping with responses to my facebook status msg and the news channels are all screaming abt the new spate of killings in Jos, Nigeria.

Something tells me if I don't collect my thoughts, I would soon be confused so I am going to stick to the media campaign we have embarked upon. A simple campaign really, our aim is to educate the voters in my home country Nigeria to register to vote in the next elections, to actually come out and vote and also to be prepared to defend their votes with everything they've got. The campaign is aptly themed 'onevote', expressing our strong conviction that every vote counts and that one vote could make the difference and that the most important vote is each person's vote.

I have gotten a lot of mixed reactions concerning this campaign, many have lauded the initiative and even made commitments to spread the word and lead the move in their own circle of influence. While I appreciate these positive feedbacks, I am more concerned about the negative feedback which show me how much work we really need to do in getting the message of this campaign to hit home with young Nigerians. As things stand, the average Nigerian Youth has no faith in the democratic system and all its structures and the truth is one cannot fault this scepticism and even indifference-cum-disdain.

This blog seeks to ask a few questions, viz: What is ur take on the Nigerian Democratic system, do you think we can make a change by standing up responsibly to do the right thing enmasse or do you think the powers that be will prevail against our collective might in this next dispensation, what are your suggestions on how to successfully cause a positive change in the political terrain from the standpoint of voter education? I eagerly await all responses. Nigeria will regain her lost glory, let's stand up for what we believe in. One Vote can make a difference and that vote is yours!