It's Time To Act

‘man is a political animal’

Aristotle

I stumbled across these words that have stuck with me forever, in the course of studying for one of my first year modules at the University of Sheffield. This has made me view life as a political ground where negotiations are constant on a day-to-day basis. The need to negotiate in order to survive has struck me as the only way to get by in life; but the problem remains if we negotiate just based on our personal interests or for the betterment of humanity. In today’s world, most individuals live for themselves; it has become a game of survival of the fittest. The upcoming elections of 2015 could be very salient in the definition of the course in which our country would go. In this article, I hope to urge Nigerians to start negotiating for a brighter future for generations to come. The current crisis in Nigeria could lead to the division of our country, and if we don’t begin to think of ourselves as one big family rather than individuals, Nigeria would become like the tale of the farmer who planted all the crops but never harvested it. A country blessed with such vast natural resources and even currently ranked as the number one economy in Africa is not even living up to quarter of its potential. So where did we go wrong? I ask my fellow Nigerians. How can a country that is seen as the giant of Africa have a large percentage of its population living on less than one dollar a day?

The first answer to this question is selfishness. The belief that nothing matters except our individual progress is what has led us to our current situation. As we all know Nigerians are the best at lip –service, ‘suffering and smiling’ as the great Fela would call it. Nigerians continue to value short-term survival rather than a better future. They would rather be sad and suffering and be alive, than pursue a cause which even though may turn them to martyrs would create a better life for the future generations. The desire to more wealth than they could spend in two lifetimes is the average Nigerian politician’s dream. Politics has become a fast way to getting riches than a means to create a better society for the demos. Democracy has brought with it thorns, rather than progress, our community keeps bleeding everyday and not only do illiterates rule us, their ignorance is killing us slowly but surely. So I call on the average Nigerian to embrace the saying that ‘charity begins at home’ and start from our hearts to love our neighbors as we love ourselves in order to move our nation forward.

Secondly, we need to change the framework of our government. The people that are ruling us now and are contesting to rule us are not new faces. They are the same people that have had a hand in bringing Nigeria to the brink of its knees. The thirst for power is greater than the well being of the average citizen. Why then would they not steer the nation into doom? We have a chance to decide our faith for the next four years in 2015. We can change the hands of power but it is up to us to do the right thing. Participate in politics in any little way you can. Everyone has a talent, use it to make your country stronger and pull it away from power hungry and greedy individuals. We should begin to push for those in government who would support our vision for a great nation state and not just accept what they give to us. There should be a push for a referendum that excludes people who have ruled for a certain number of years from participating. This may sound like the violation of the right to franchise of those involved but at the moment that is the first step to a more prosperous Nigeria. Why didn't you make a difference when you were there? Why should we believe that this time is different? Those are the questions that should be on our lips.

So I urge the readers of this article to consider the points that have been raised here and begin to inspire change in anyway possible no matter how little. We need to be at our strongest and also not let our guard down or there would be no Nigeria for our generation to live in. I ask is it worth it to have all the wealth in the world but a bleak future for your off springs? Let us start to work on our country and not just lament about our problems. The upcoming elections are a way for us to voice out our frustration. No Nigerian should think their vote doesn't count; we should all go out to vote. The average young person in Nigeria doesn't vote, this is bad as the youth are the leaders of tomorrow and the culture of political participation is one we need to imbibe from a young age. If we are to survive this ordeal that we find ourselves in, we should make an effort to make a difference no matter how small it is.