ktravula – a travelogue!

Enough is Enough: A Youth Rally

Here is a forwarded message by youths of Nigeria. It is a call to action – a sort of a manifesto for new directions. I commend the message because it shows consciousness of current political winds, but not just that. It takes into one’s hands the responsibility of deciding what happens next, and where the country heads. The planned rally is one of many that is being planned around the country to demand a better condition of living for citizens, and accountability in the hands of crooked and arrogant politicians and inept state agencies. There is so much to demand for, beyond just getting a glimpse of the sick president because it is not about him, but this is a start. And the voice of youths must be heard. Like the tagline reads, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.

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Did you know that, in Nigeria, young people are in the majority? Did you know that young people below 35 make up more than 70 per cent of the population? You know what that means? It means we have the power to actually make things happen! So, how come we are doing nothing about the many problems that have hit our nation in the past few months? Is it enough to make noise on Facebook, Twitter, websites, BBMs, blogs and others where no one is listening? How come it’s the Wole Soyinkas, the Femi Falanas and the Tunde Bakares that are fighting for us? Why do we allow ourselves to be branded as the do-nothing generation?

Like someone said recently, how can we be so talented individually and yet so disillusioned and disdained collectively? We all know the reason – we have been told that there is nothing we can do about the status quo; that the cabal is too strong. Well, that is a lie. We have become cynics and complainers rather than change agents. But the time to “siddon look” is over… Will you stand up and be counted? We have made our choice. We want our country back. And we must get it. It is time for our voices t o be heard, and heard loud and long.

Therefore we are organising a first-of-its-kind rally right there at the seat of power in Abuja . However, this rally is unique because it will be completely powered by young people – young professionals, young celebrities, students, activists and others. We want history to record that this was the point that the young people in Nigeria began to drive fear into the hearts of our leaders and began to make change happen.

It is going to be a MASSIVE rally of hundreds of young Nigerians from across the country saying #enoughisenough! We invite you to sign up to join this rally now if you are angry about what is happening in Nigeria.

DATE: TUESDAY, 16 MARCH 2010

VENUE: NATIONAL ASSEMBLY, ABUJA

RALLY TIME: 11AM

OUR DEMANDS:

1) End the fuel scarcity now!

2) Solve the electricity problem!

3) We want to see our president and we want all those who have been involved in the grand cover up around him to be investigated, arrested and brought to book!

If you want to be part of this movement, register on www.whereisyaradua.com now! The registration form is there, and further information and updates are there. To get any further information, send a mail to info@whereisyaradua.com and info@thefuturenigeria.com.

There are cynics who will say this cannot work and nothing will change. They lie! Our history shows that civil disobedience has worked and has forced change. Added to that, after this rally, other activities are planned to keep the government on their toes. However this massive rally to make a statement is the first step.

This is our country; our duty; our future.

Join this movement now!

SIGNED

Culled from Naijablog.

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Will you be there?

10 Reasons Why Nigeria Might NOT Be Screwed Beyond Repair

The first part of this is 10 Reasons Why Nigeria Might Be Screwed Beyond Repair. But here goes this…

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10. We still have a constitution and a strong judiciary.

9. The economy is (being) deregulated; and even though progress towards this is slow, true federalism might eventually come to help bring the right foreign investment in alternative means of energy.

8. We still have the Nigerian football to unite us once every two years when there is a major tournament, just as long as there are no local coaches. Maybe we’ll win the World Cup someday. Surely it’s not in 2010.

7. We have a strong press that keeps the security agencies on their toes. It is a slow progress, but it helps.

6. Our greatest export is not just our natural and agricultural resources as it is our human resources. There are many Nigerians of repute making the country proud in areas of endeavour all over the world

5. We still have some sane people living in there.

4. In spite of occasional bursts of violence, it is actually not that bad. The probability of getting killed in ethnic violence is really very low. Most people are smart enough to know when to leave a place when a situation begins to look combustible.

3. We still have the power to vote out corrupt politicians and replace them with real hardworking people. As the situation in Lagos has shown, there are leaders who can get things done.

2. Those people who want to be politicians by all means are not in the majority.

1. I’m going back there, soon.

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This is my last post for this month, folks. Thank you for reading. Watch out for more interesting guest-posts in the coming weeks.

10 Reasons Why Nigeria Might Be Screwed Beyond Repair

10. Its very sickly president without a solid constitutional recognition at the moment still lives within the State House.

9. Electricity is comatose, even in 2010. Without stable electricity, nothing developmental can go on.

8. Tribalism still holds fort there as much we hope it doesn’t. Why should it matter where Goodluck is from? There still is no mutual trust among citizens of different, or even same ethnic groups, and citizens could not live peacefully anywhere in the country as they should. See Jos as a case study.

7. There is no adequate security for lives and property. Meeting a policeman on the street at 10pm is not always a good sign.

6. Dependence on oil has crippled other aspects of the economy that used to bring huge foreign exchange. E.g Agriculture.

5. We have produced at least one international terrorist.

4. In spite of much progress made in civil rule/democracy, current politicians still believe in the do-or-die doctrine, which would explain why more people have been assassinated during “democracy” than during military rule.

3. We have the worst culture of waste disposal I’ve ever seen: plastic bags, metals and other trash disposed anywhere without adequate recycling methods. (I’ve also been guilty of this)

2. Half of us want to become political office holders like the nation’s president or a state governor before they can contribute and effect change – and they’re ready to kill to get there – rather than starting small right at the door of our residences. “If everyone sweeps his backyard, the town will be clean,” the old quote reads.

1. Education is not given the priority it deserves in terms of funding or government attention.

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It’s going to be real hard to find a flipside to this argument, but I’ll try. That’d be tomorrow.

Twurai Undercover

There is much to cope with when you are the wife of a sick and/or dying president. There is even more to cope with if said husband has now been evicted from a better working hospital in Saudi Arabia and is now back in the government house, causing commotion and/or being some sort of nuisance to the rule of law that has vested political authority albeit in acting capacity in the Vice-President for the time being. As a woman in the unenviable position of balancing loyalty to a dying man, taking care of said man and his political capital, and keeping sane within a barrage of flak from the citizenry, there must be much to cope with. If we could step back a little from personal disagreement with her personality (which we don’t know much about, except hearsay) and what the government represents, could we perhaps find in Turai Yar’adua a woman of substance who’s just being a loyal wife to a dying husband? I wondered.

Read up the full text of my guest-post on Nigerianstalk.org. It was enlightening even for me.

Random Week/Nigeria

Talking with Ben about starting a business in Nigeria has reminded me once again of the problems that mitigate against successful enterprises in Nigeria. The chief is still electricity. Then security. Why do we have guards at our gates in Nigeria? I’ve never asked myself that question. Now, I can answer it. I think it is from the absence of a right to bear arms. If everyone had guns, we won’t need to pay people to watch over our houses. And now I believe that just mentioning to an intending immigrant/visitor to the country the fact that most residential houses in industrial areas of the country have guards that watch over them at night could be a very strong deterrent. In any case, just like the problem of electricity, water or good roads, it is a failure of government.

A second victory was in one moment of magical discovery, that in Nigeria the Press is actually more responsible, and responsive than the police. Maybe a little tyrannical as well at times, but they’re usually on the side of the people. So in a moment of epiphany while reeling out the things to remember if one wants to move to Nigeria as an expatriate, I said to Ben that if an expatriate was to ever be in any kind of trouble while in Nigeria, he should call a journalist first, before calling the police. Thinking about it again now, I’ve discovered that newspapers in Nigeria should actually adopt it as a public brand. Police cars here in the US go around with the large writing on the body of their car “When in trouble, dial 911”. It’s there for everyone to see, and even three year olds in America today know the short code in case any bad thing happens. Think about something like that on the front page of all newspapers in Nigeria every day. “When you’re in trouble, call 419” or any other easily-memorable number. The truth is that the police are held more accountable by the media than by the politicians, and there is a chance of redress if said victim brings a journalist along to the police station while reporting an incident. It works even better for expatriates/foreigners.

Don’t call the police first – they’re not your friend. Call a journalist!

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PS:

I got a mobile phone at last. It is a T-mobile, and it gives me all I want from a phone. So far, so good. The best part of it is the answering machine with which I can receive messages when I’m not in a position to talk – which is like most of the days that I teach.
Western Union has not responded to my request.
I have sent out postcards to all who asked for them, and I will send some more this week.
I’m still seeking more guest-bloggers. I like the exciting idea of sharing and exchanging ideas this way.
The post I made last week about my friends has now been removed, regrettably. Lesson learnt: respect other people’s need for privacy, and never assume anything.
After a lot of fumbling around, and goading from a persistent friend, I have now solved the problem of blog comment editing, thanks to WordPress. Anyone who leaves comments will have up to five minutes after said comment is submitted to edit its content, or request a deletion. I like the idea.

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