Here is an unedited text from a banner, during the last fuel subsidy removal protest: ‘Badluck wants subsidy for (1) To buy english textbook and employ teacher for Patience. (2) To buy shoes he didn’t had when he was young.’ – a direct affront on the person of the President, and one of such many fiery darts. Political activism among the Nigerian masses is mostly at commentary level which is fast becoming substituted by verbal abuse and empty plans. In a democratic society, civil protest should not only be non-violent, it should also not be verbally abusive – take a cue from Martin Luther King Jr. To use adjectives like corrupt, redundant, etc, for a democratic government, is allowed, but to call Goodluck bad luck, amounts to verbal assault. It is understandable that for too long, the Nigerian people have been held to ransom, spoilt and exploited by a pocket few, and it is only natural to react with such venoms in the heart and mouth but these insults do not even catalyse the needed change Nigerians hope for. If the den of Africa are to truly get the kind of leadership, governance and development they want, they must engage and participate in their democratic governance.

Individuals and organizations, weak and strong alike, turned out en masse to vote and monitor Nigeria’s last presidential election, which is an applaudable feat for the Nigerian people but the civic responsibility of the citizenry goes beyond the polling booth. Community service and public engagement which are the nutrients of democracy, are the responsibility of the electorate. Many Nigerian youth do not have enough virtue to serve their motherland and see no good in NYSC, yet they demand elected officials serve. Gone are the days when Nigerians trooped to courts to follow trials, nowadays arguably nobody(except the concerned parties) storm election tribunals with their massive presence, to make sure a contested political office goes to the rightful winner. As the elected have a mandate to serve, so does the citizenry have an obligation to carry out. Nigerians have a lifestyle where weekends are reserved for relaxation, festivities and religious worship. It would be progressive if community service and political activism joins the list. Imagine the resulting impact, if regularly on Saturdays, the momentum of the OccupyNigeria protest is maintained, political rallies are held throughout the federation, citizens visit their Local Government secretariat, individuals serve their communities, etc, as opposed to partying at the beach or just sitting at home. It is a show of apathy and disappointing to know that Lagos residents had to be ordered by the Lagos State Government to clean their environment every last Saturday of the month! It is like a mother forcing her grown son to go wash his dirty underwear; this is a hygienic excercise naturally expected of him.

On an individual level, effective activism starts with being well informed about Nigeria, democratic governance and the militating issues at hand in order to defeat government theatrics and proffer practical and workable solutions. Read the Nigerian constitution, follow the news religiously, research on the successive governments and events in Nigeria. If I were Minister of Education, I’d make Government a compulsory subject at the Secondary School level and a credit in the subject (alongside Mathematics and English) as a prerequisite for the study of any course at the tertiary level (good thing, Entrepreneurship now is a compulsory course at the tertiary level). This would help embed a consciousness of Nigeria on posterity because Nigerians on the average do not know any meaningful thing about their country or governance, and any opaque government would love to keep it that way. For example, it was gross display of ignorance and democratic ineptitude by the Nigerian populace to give low attention and poor turn out to the local government and senatorial elections, when they gave much concern and participation to the presidential elections. What is the use of a noble president working with senators who do not have the interest of the people (they represent) at heart? And if Nigerians cannot impact grassroot politics, how do they intend to change the federal?

Without the informed, sustained and broad engagement of the citizenry across the society, democratic governance becomes the preserve of a few. The rules of engagement are, non abuse, cohesion , informed, and aggression.

Adegoke Oyeniyi is a business writer, entrepreneur and blogger. You can follow him @wellsbaba

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