The Youth in Nigerian Democracy:Removing the Smoke screen

It was once reported that a former head of state of this country,Nigeria,stated that the youth are not ripe enough to take control of affairs....do I blame him? Hell no!
A Yoruba adage has it that "igba ni yo so ibi ama fokun ko lorun e" meaning that it's a gourd/calabash that tells what part of it shall we tie our rope! By implicative meaning,IT'S THE YOUTH THAT HAS THE ONUS RESPONSIBILITY TO TELL WHEN IT'S READY TO TAKE OVER...NO ONE'S GONNA LET US HAVE IT ON A PLATTER...WE GOT TO FIGHT FOR IT!
Unless we strife for a change,we would continue to fit in ONLY as mere tools in the hands of these old men.Unless we strife,unless we fight! But how do we do,you may ask...it's not that difficult...it begins with a change in our core believes about ourselves,country and our togetherness as a nation.WE NEED TO START THINKING AND ACTING AS NIGERIANS AND NO MORE AS A TRIBESMAN,MUSLIM,CHRISTIAN OR TRADITIONALIST...NO MORE OF THOSE...IT'S TIME TO START THINKING AS NIGERIANS! This is not possible without proper civic education that we so much lack as youth.
Let me warn that this is not going to be easy neither is it going to be done overnight but the fact remains it's possible and attainable if we work at it!
Majority of us,the youth,are so carried away by the peanuts we receive from destructive errands we run for these selfish old guys,so much that we find it difficult to think straight anymore. It's as bad as accepting ANY JOB AT ALL...INCLUDING CRIMINAL AND DESTRUCTIVE MISSIONS from these evil men so long it would yield cash. In fact,there's no longer such things as good or bad, constructive or destructive,right or wrong anymore in the hearts of the youth ...these days,boys would sell their conscience and lives for a mini bag of SEMOLINA OR RICE!
We all know what I'm saying,I don't need to expantiate further...during Ekiti elections campaign period,pictures of able bodied men and women were displayed on facebook queuing for mini bags of rice and a sum of N3000 in the PDP camp...it was actually cooked rice in the APC's camp....have we turned beggers/destitutes/refugees...I mean what for,what else? People's votes of course! But wait a minute,do they really need your votes to win elections???
This KEY question is a vital question the youth have to ask themselves and seek a genuine answer to: "Why do they have to go all the way to procure such a large amount of goods and merchandise to appease you guys ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY DON'T REALLY NEED YOU TO VOTE?
Some would even say that "I would collect the money and vote someone else"! It would have been a bright idea should it be that winners are determined via ballot. The truth, my brother, is that all those goodies you receive during elections are to silence you,it's a price they pay for your conscience! Once you are paid,no matter the results,you cannot complain,your presence at their rallies are evidences that you support their candidature... so as you can see, they are no fools, all they need see is that you take their bribes,they don't need your vote...the moment you do that,they happily proceed with all forms of malpractices without any qualms.Simply because you have sold the right to rig elections and power to embezzle as much as they can when took the rice and money from them!But should you have rejected their peanuts, things would have turned out differently.
One;they can't be sure you are for them or not;two:rigging might prove difficult since you refused their bribe,you are most likely going to protest any wrong doing at the polls and thirdly, since it's a collective decision of the majority,you would have become a multi headed Hydra that can't be defeated as they won't know who or where to strike...
....such is the power of our unity...like I've said before,NOTHING can stop us if we unite to strife for a goal!
....later!
Regards,
Abdurrahman,
http://www.therichkidstreasurebox.com

The Fuel Subsidy Protests - It's Ups and Downs

Considering the insults on Nigerians during the one - week protests/strike against the fuel subsidy removal and the aftermath when the FG deliberately sent soldiers to occupy OJOTA ahead of the protesters' arrival on the following Monday WITH GUNS,it's most glaring that the government that we have in this country do not bloody care how we fare,their primary concern is how to loot the more without being detected!But,for how long shall these people deny us our birthrights while we stand by and look???I say "enough is enough"! Just like any other Nigerian.But,is it enough to just say those words,wouldn't it be more meaningful if I can act on my words?
Honestly,I was surprised at the turn out for the protest,the more surprising is the fact that civil societies are now starting to live up to their responsibilities; meaning that subsequent protests/strikes shall be more interesting and dramatic than the usual 'hide and seek' games the NLC plays.Now,that is one BIG plus of the protests/strikes - it has successfully jolted our civil societies to their responsibilities.
Another rather interesting development was the free flow of information during the protests.People were suddenly aware of things that they were totally ignorant of,they got suddenly informed and things got worse for the government so much so that they have now lost so much ground with the people that PDP can not actually boast of people's support as before.I think this is good,very good for our democracy.
However,I shall implore civil societies to seize the opportunity presented by the protests/strike to step up efforts on civic education as that is where their power to win the government lies.The more informed are the people of their civic rights and responsibilities,the more in control they are and the more probable that they shall stand to fight for them!
Politicians over the years have been feeding fat on the ignorance of the general populace.The fact that most Nigerians are unaware of the kind of power they possess as citizens of this great country has made their manipulation pretty easy.I wish the civil societies both online and offline would see these loop holes and block them effectively against 2015 elections.
These societies should find a medium of communicating to Nigerians both in English and in local dialects of the people and use such mediums to awake the sense of patriotism in them so that they can stand up and fight for their own civic rights.
Talk of constitution amendments,fuel subsidy,deregulation of the oil sector and general improvement of the economy are just but a few areas where much work need to be done so as to ensure that the people knows and appreciate the present situation we find ourselves today as a country and most importantly,what can be done to improve it.
The Downs however,includes the fact that some people lost their lives during the struggle,May the Good Lord Make them rest in perfect peace.Ameen.
A second 'Down' is the fact that Labor,in the end disappointed Nigerians by calling off the strike.We understand the calling off of street protests but calling off the strike,ESPECIALLY when people had gone all out on a "panic buying fever" over the weekend in hope of and SUPPORT for the continuation of the protest/strike.It was quiet disappointing indeed.I really wish the civil society would take control of the strike next time!
Be as it may,I believe the government too have learnt a bitter lesson too - never ever to under estimate the power of the people and that,thanks to the social media outlets like the twitter and facebook,Nigerians are better informed and updated.
For the sake of emphasis,I'm imploring the civil society groups to go live and active on these social medias to pass useful information from time to time to the people as well as sponsor programs on radios and T.V.s to enlighten,educate and create awareness with the people on the need to come together as one to fight bribery,corruption and bad governance to a stand still!
God Bless Nigeria,
Long live My Fatherland!!!
Regards,
Abdurrahman,
http://www.jainx.com