I’m 22. If I’m correct, that already makes you question how much I know.. You can stop reading now, You’re welcome.
But for those of you who understand the true concept of ” Democracy” you would be sure to already know that Democracy has never been a spectators sport. It is a game of “Involvement” the type that encourages activism.
That being said, I feel less threatened to make headway on the issues I need to address with this piece.
A lot of people have categorised the issues in Nigeria under the umbrella of imbalance, where there are the “Have-nations” & the “Have-not nations” separated by an imaginary line that cuts across the north & south divide where over 80% of the world’s resources are controlled by people who do not even constitute as much as 25% of the world’s population. China, U.S, and a good number of under countries are members of this set.
Some have also said that the problem with Nigeria lies in the fact that we are afraid to improve the fiscal health of our economy by moving Nigeria beyond its “oil dependence” ignoring the possible contributions of other sectors.
While these issues cause me sleeplessness as they multiply in thousands ranging from poor administration, to power struggle, to lack of internal democracy, to an unquantifiable quest by political office holders to bank as much power & funds for themselves… And at the end of this food-chain, a pitiable portrait of citizens interrogating themselves asking what’s the need to pledge ones allegiance to her country if the closest they can get to “Democracy” is a peaceful conversation with God on what the “ideal” Nigeria should look like.
Few seconds before grieving about Nigeria all over, I remember the promises in their manifestos, I remember them engaging us in the first few months of their tenure, I remember everyone hoping that the administration that precedes the former would be the best and I remember us all falling back to the days that feel like this…
Days where affliction doubles as an innumerable amount of students lose over 70days of their school calendar, days where we can’t decide for ourselves if being patriotic has done us any good at all.
Scholars have written intelligent articles on “Rebranding Nigeria” but somehow they ended up being mere successes on paper. There hasn’t been a ‘definite’ structure and procedure for the implementation of these ideas. The more reason everyone is discouraged to contribute a quota of their minds because somehow we all get culled into a faction of “mere contributors”…
2013 is gradually coming to a close and I’m more concerned about the part of the Nigerian Anthem that says “……One Nation Bound In Freedom, PEACE & UNITY” peace & unity is born out of “satisfaction”. An uncommon term since the history of Nigeria.
