Beyond the subsidy issue

The light is shinning and every work of darkness is being uncovered. Even the staunchest of atheist who do not believe in the existence of God still accept that good will always triumph over darkness. The tiniest of lights will overcome the darkest of darkness any day and anywhere and Nigeria will not escape the trouncing of darkness by light.

Little drops of water they say form an ocean. A drop of water may feel insignificant compared to the ocean but if that drop ventures to leave and is able to gather other drops with it??? The ocean will be not so mighty after all.

Here is Nigeria and here are Nigerians, for long we have berated successive governments of incompetence, high handedness, Corruption, and other vices. We have shouted, talked protested and life has gone on. Government policies are evil but it doesn’t takes us long to adjust prices of goods and services. With one half of the mouth we are condemning the evil policy while the other half of the mouth is making a killing by exploiting fellow citizens with ridiculous prices.

Fuel price went from 65N to 141N and then down to 97N, check this, our fuel stations didn’t waste time at all in adjusting from 65N to 141N but are finding it very difficult to readjust to 97N. Our transporters have on their side stating the obvious hiked up transport fare and we all feel the multiplier effect of this hike in price with the exception of the political class.

We are quick to condemn the numerous and nefarious acts of terrorism that has resulted in mindless loss of life and property leading to a general atmosphere of insecurity, I condemn it too and strongly so but I also condemn the unfettered, indiscriminate and wide spread situation where we unduly take advantage of one another in the name of survival.

If the goods are too costly, can’t we all say we are not buying??? I don’t understand, if we choose not patronize them who will they sell it to? Are we so hungry that we can’t even fast for a while to force an issue? Is the customer no longer king in Nigeria’s economy? Was it the president himself that adjusted the fuel pump of every filling station??? To me, these are the issues we need to address if not as a nation we will continue in circles. Jesus said in Mat 7:4  Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye? (English Standard Version – eSword)

E je ki a ba ara wa so ooto oro( let’s be truthful to one another) awa la n se’ra wa(we are our own enemy). Selah.

Now the strike is over…..

As I sat down to write this piece, the tunes of the song “now the day is over” came to my mind. If you sing that song along with me that is for those who know the song the next line reads night is drawing nigh… now I’m doing this so you won’t think night is drawing near for Nigeria as a nation … no far from it, rather I am excited at what the future holds for this great nation.. I am infused with great joy at the level of awareness of the average Nigerian on what good governance entails.

To say the truth, I was and just maybe I’m still disappointed that the NLC/TUC caved in when they did. In fact, it felt like air was slowly let out of me. It took a lot of friends and a retrospective look at the events of the past week for me to really appreciate the significance of what just happened to Nigeria. Ordinary people suddenly became more interested in how they where governed.  I saw people carry out selfless acts without being prompted. I saw people boldly question those entrusted with the responsibility to steer this nation in the right direction. I saw a people rise up to shake off the chains of subservience and passive attitude that had so beclouded the people from responding to the profligacy of successive governments.

I saw a people relating beyond ethnic, religious, socio-political and ethnic divide to ensure their voice was heard. I saw people face dangers beyond their capacity to bear and still stood their ground. I saw people exercise a lot of restraint and order in their conduct during the protest even though there was some black incidents in some places that led to loss of life and property but the truth be said, in the overall, Nigerians generally conducted themselves well. For emphasis sake for those that will seek to argue the last point, despite the reported incidences of malpractice in the last election, the election was adjudged by the majority to be peaceful, free and fair. Even the unfortunate events that took place after the results was announced did not detract from this overall perception of the election therefore, this last massive rallying of people against government insensitivity gets a very high score in its peaceful execution. Nigerians generally did not disappoint me.

There’s still a lot of work to be done and I daresay we are making progress speedily. Nigeria is not the same again as in, it is no longer business as usual for the political class.

Some people erroneously misunderstood the reason for the protests. They thought it was just to oppose government policy on the deregulation of the downstream sector of the oil industry in Nigeria. They felt people risked their lives just to force government to revert the pump price of PMS to 65N from where it was hiked to 141N and later fixed at 97N(cost of transport did not reduce oh). They felt some of us where seeking cheap popularity but they are wrong on all counts. We marched to say loud and clear to the federal government that enough is enough of government‘s inability to ensure the security of life of its citizens. We went to the streets to demand our right to life, our right to be safe and protected, our right to work and live wherever we desired in the country. We went out to remind the political class that they swore to uphold the Constitution of this great Nation. We set out to remind them that their responsibility is to the Nigerian people and not the other way round.

In summary, people marched for the opportunity to experience the Nigeria of their dreams in their lifetime. If this is not enough reason to even die for, then tell me what is… and guess what??? This is just the beginning.

The latter glory and greatness of Nigeria, shall supersede the former glory and I shall pray, work and live to experience it… Oh God of creation………..

I had no shoes…

I won’t even deign to talk about the originator of the words above because it is now more than obvious that he is a mere puppet and a huge one at that. I’ll rather beam my searchlight on those who were taken in by his (and his partners in crime), charade and cast their vote for him.

It has always been said that a people always get the government or leadership they deserve and this has been proven to be so over time. Now Nigeria is at the brink of the mother of all “SHOW-DOWNS”. Government vs. the People, these appear to be the major contenders in this era of subsidy removal. From where I sit, I see it as a case of the People vs. the People, though I doubt if a lot of people will see it that way. I make bold to submit that, as I have always said in the past, I still say now, we are our problem and until we accept this reality, we will not be free from the perpetual bondage that we are in. The Legendary late reggae icon said in one his songs “emancipate yourself from mental slavery, non but our selves can free our own mind…” deep words, but we failed to pay attention to it. Then our own home-grown Legend of Afro beat sang and said “suffering and smiling” and yet we dozed on. Now we are suddenly waking up to what we should have dealt with a long time ago.

The propensity of the average Nigerian not to see beyond his/her stomach is mind boggling as the majority of us are caught up in purely subsistence mentality. It is impossible for any form of lasting productivity and development to take root in this country with this kind of mindset. This wholly selfish mindset has been the bane of this nation. Forget all the cry of corruption in the high places, what about the level of corruption among the masses? Have you not heard said during times of heated and passionate discussions over the Nigerian issue how the statement will be made “if you too get there, you will chop your own, na turn by turn my brother, na there turn to chop now wait for your time” I mean for a people that that is all they see about the acts of our elected representatives what more do you expect? The people in government now, don’t they have relations?

Let us stop making blind noise, the shit we smell is on our body and not on another person. Let us first dunk ourselves in water, have a thorough bath before the stench can leave us.

I know Nigerians are hoting up for a fight, all I will say is, people who rush headlong into battle without thinking end up in destruction. Sit down and think, ask yourself hard questions and answer the questions truthfully, do a soul search and confirm if it is not your stomach that is leading you to battle. Check yourself, and sincerely find out if, the growth, development and future of Nigeria is the reason for your anger. Analyze and ensure that, you are not just thinking about me, myself and I but about WE, US and OUR. If after all the introspection, you are sure that the cause of your indignation is righteous and for the common good of all Nigerians, then go ahead and war. War to free us all from bondage. War to ensure a brighter future for generations of Nigerians to come. War to write your name in platinum for posterity to be grateful to.

If war we must, let us agree on one thing. Who is the enemy? If we all are on the same page in this matter, our approach will be holistic and all encompassing. We will move to rid ourselves of everything that could hinder us, put them aside to ensure that we are not distracted and start squabbling among ourselves. We must do away, with issues of Ethnicity, Religion, status etc and be united in our desire to establish the Nigeria of our dream. Our approach must be strategic which means we must plan very well. We must wrest the soul of Nigeria from those who seek to destroy her. We must cover all grounds in our plan considering that our matter is beyond just Oil subsidy removal. Destiny has presented us with this golden opportunity to set things right once and for all in Nigeria, let us seize it with all of our being.

If we take to my advice, then sweet victory is certain, but if we don’t, then I’m afraid. If the latter is the case, then I must say that, for some us, the situation will only affect us it won’t stop us… heed my words, and mark it in your hearts.