I was checking out some stuff on
Linda Ikeji’s blog and I came across a news or gossip (call it whatever you
will) about Atiku’son graduation. There were funny and ludicrous comments but the
one that had my attention was ‘#DIVIDENIGERIA
PLEASEEEEE’ that was written by someone. I was appalled. I mean, Nigeria is
already having enough troubles as it is and I would expect you to be sensible
enough to call for unity instead of division. Boko Haram is a threat in and of
itself and that should be one of our primary focuses.
I HATE everything Boko
Haram stands for. They are evil and stand for that. They stand for death,
instability, fear and all other terrible things we can think of. YET, I LIKE
WHAT THEY CAN DO FOR NIGERIA.
Before you stone me, let's look at this scenario…
We live in a city that used
to be so beautiful although it had issues and there wasn’t 100% peace but, most
could still breathe and feel safe. Then we wake up one morning and it's totally different. People are killed like chickens and
initially, we believed it was for some twisted religious reasons and it was
something we could control. Years went by and they seem uncontrollable. They
are attacking us and our innocent children. They are destroying our properties and they are making us live in fear. These invaders who have
external supports and as some have speculated,have internal
support as well threaten our authority, our rights and much worse, our very
existence. Now, what do you think we can do? Any reasonable person will say it's time to set aside personal and political differences and come
together to fight as one right? Because our strength lies in being one and we
can only be each other’s angels against this people that stand for all the
devil stands for right? Remember, ‘THE THIEF COMETH ONLY TO KILL, MAIM AND TO
DESTROY… (JOHN 10:10)'
I will like to believe these Boko
Haram members are human beings that had a bright and promising future ahead of them but,
decided to rebel and go against all we stand for as a nation and people and
their rebellion isn’t a subtle one; it’s the type that brings tears to most
of our faces BUT, THEY CAN ALSO STAND FOR PROGRESS IF WE CHOOSE TO SEE IT THAT WAY. Nigeria has lost her way but, I believe
the need to fight BOKO HARAM and stop them from perpetrating more evil can help
us find our way again. THEY CAN HELP US TO REFLECT AND RE-THINK. RE-STRATEGISE
AND DROP SOMETHINGS WE DO WHILE WE START DOING THE THINGS THAT NEED TO BE DONE.
LET ME TELL YOU WHAT WE
REALLY NEED TO SIT DOWN TO THINK ABOUT…
Education is at the top of my list
because I believe just like Nelson Mandela did that, ‘Education is the most powerful tool to change the world’. Imagine
what good can be done if we are all educated. If we don’t drop out of school
because we are tired of endless strikes and our lecturers fail us and make us
repeat a year because we decide to think outside the box and not copy and paste
their words or the textbook on our exam sheets. Imagine how confident most of
us will be to go out to the world and be what we are capable of being because
we have been told by our teachers right from primary school that we matter, our
opinion matter and we can succeed if we choose to. That we are not dumb just
because we don’t understand a mathematical equation but they take time out to
teach us and correct us in love, patience and they give us their best even when
we frustrate them. Lack of education not only formal but also informal is part
of our problems. If the right morals are being instilled in us and we see
those that are teaching us also doing the right thing, don’t you think we will
have less ignorant and destructive younger generation? I like to believe if those Boko Haram members (especially the young
ones), were properly educated might not have added to the population of Boko
Haram. If properly told Islam doesn’t stand for war but peace, they won’t be
ignorant enough to have their brain WASHED WITH THE IDEA THAT THEY ARE
AMBASSADORS OF ALLAH ON EARTH AND THEY WILL BE REWARDED IN ACCORDANCE TO THE
NUMBER OF INNOCENT SOULS THEY WASTE.
I was sad when I heard about the
millions of people that went for the Immigration interview, jobs that less than four
hundred people had a chance of getting.
Why is that so? Because there are no jobs anywhere. The
economy has really dwindled. It's scary how one of the richest countries with too many un-maximised
potentials, have a lot of it's population living on less than one dollar a day. Okay, so let's assume the Boko Haram
members are educated but what happens after graduating from university and you
are unable to find employment? Won't you think you wasted your years in
university and won't you automatically think your many plans for the future have been
rubbished? We all know ‘an idle mind is the devil’s workshop’ and that’s
exactly what they are doing. They are puppets for the works of the devil here
on earth. So what are we going to do to reduce the rate of unproductive
wandering?
POLITICS is very
interesting and dangerous but, there are times we don’t need politicians so
blinded by the need to be elected at all costs (including doing rituals. How
else can we explain the Ibadan ritualistic killings?). But, we need people that will set aside their need to amass wealth
and actually do what we ask them to. If the youths that
rose up for example, and went to vote for this person that promised them so much while campaigning; He told them of the
changes he will make to their community and promised them of a better future if only they
will vote for him suddenly realizes they have been deceived after the politician has been voted in. The politician changes
his number and the home address is changed. You wait for four years and nothing
has been done in your community, isn’t it possible for you to one day wake up
and decide to fight that politician? You decide to revenge because you honestly don’t have anything to do
with your time. Then you meet people (old Boko Haram members) beckoning to you
to come and have your revenge with their help. They even make it more inviting
by truly accepting you and fulfilling whatever promises they make to you. The
promises your politicians failed woefully at keeping. What do you say
politicians? Isn’t it time to think about the impacts your actions and
inactions are having?
I was listening to news some weeks
ago and I could not believe my ears when I heard a politician who belongs to
the APC party blame the current happenings in Nigeria on the PDP regime. He mentioned that’s why
an APC person should be voted in next. I was flabbergasted. Are you being serious? Apportioning blame and
politicking are the smartest things to do right? Using this as a card against
your opponent though millions of Nigerians can no longer sleep with two eyes closed is the next
course of action right? UNBELIEVABLE!!! Really,
isn’t it time to look beyond politics and look at those mothers crying for
their girls to be returned back to them?
PARTS OF OUR FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AS
CITIZENS OF NIGERIA ARE ‘RIGHT TO LIFE’ AND ‘RIGHT TO SECURITY’ BUT, THOSE TWO
HAVE BEEN GREATLY THREATENED.Boko
Haram is now a nation, a treacherous one that is the number one
enemy of Nigeria. Police, what are you doing? Why are you more concerned about
collecting bribes and chasing after meaningless things while you hide when it’s
time to face Goliath? Aren’t you and the Army supposed to be our David? Isn’t it time to start seeing the importance
of your job instead of harassing citizens? The Police force and Army, perhaps
you are really working, perhaps you are not but either way, don’t you think it's time for you to
brighten the corner you occupy and go all in to ensure we don’t die before we
die? I understand there is only so much you can do. After all you can't go there and fight
them with nothing. Even David had stones apart from the presence of God.
Let me ask you this: isn’t it a shame
that Boko Haram has better weapons and a more sophisticated means of operation
than the armed forces and security agents do? How else do they get food to the
bush? How were they able to escape with the Chibok girls though their truck
broke down? Yes, we have been told they have global partners helping them fight
a cause that our
everything have become the means to whatever
end they want to achieve. But isn’t it a greater shame for Nigerians to also be
sponsoring them? It's like paying a thief to rob your house and kill your family in the
process. What happened to the billions of naira that was allocated for
security? Why are the
armed forces complaining of not being paid? Let me ask you
though, must you be paid money before you rise up and fight against the people
that threaten the future of your children and loved ones?
There is time for everything right?
We all know Nigeria is belly deep in corruption and that might take years to
totally eradicate but for now, isn’t it time to set aside corruption because
this time, more than ever before, we are in trouble and lives are really at
stake? What will become of our future if the very government that is meant to
put an end to the incessant madness of Boko Haram is more interested in playing
politics, trying to control themselves to show who the boss is and making their
pockets fatter while not giving their best? If you are giving your best, then I
apologize but we need to see the results your best is producing.
I can’t help but think of where we
have gone wrong as a nation and people. Isn’t it disturbing that we have such
dedicated Boko Haram members that are
wrongly courageous enough to go on suicide missions and our police and
army are running away? Why do they believe so much in their leaders and why do
they have so much sense of loyalty? A leader dies today and another rises up to
continue fighting their twisted cause with much determination… Religion surely
can't be the only reason for this or am I wrong? I know conditioning can be
very strong and through their training, they have been conditioned to be like
that but, why have we never thought of conditioning our armed forces and
citizens to be so loyal and be courageous enough to fight when the need arises
like now? Why are we being conditioned to accept and encourage bribery and
corruption? Why are we being conditioned to only pray and not work? Why do our leaders oppose each other so
much rather than come together to work? why is there never continuity of
progress?
I do know this, Boko
Haram are courageous people but also very weak. Their courage has been
swallowed by their weakness. For the younger ones joining them because of
revenge, lack of employment and the likes, they are weak for not opposing
nonsense and standing up and wading their way through corruption, incompetence
and the many challenges we have to cause a positive change and be moral leaders
that many of us can truly follow. They are weak
for not being innovative and creative enough to start something.They are weak for fighting citizens
and children that can’t fight for themselves. They
are weak for causing a negative change in the history of Nigeria.
Boko Haram is telling
us it's time to work…
So to the current president, it's time to go fearless
and teach your people to also be through your actions. It's time to wipe the
tears of those mothers and #bringbackourgirls. It's time to command your troop as
the commander in chief of the armed forces to tighten security.
It's time to
create employment and eradicate poverty. It's time to support the young
Nigerians dream and not discard it.
To teachers,
it's time to go all in and give your best to your students. Help them to know
the future of this country lies in their hands but, they can only believe it if
you believe it.
It's time to
put an end to strikes and pay lecturers as they should be paid. It's time to
improve the standard of education and stop employing incompetent teachers for
the job. Teachers who themselves are not properly educated and can't speak good
english; teachers that studied english but are made to teach maths.
They are
telling us to start looking beyond religion, political party, tribe and stand
as a formidable force to ensure Nigeria's walls are not attacked again. Leaders
should be chosen based on competence and not tribe or ethnicity. So for the
next Election, don't say its an Hausa's man's turn but look for that person
that will truly bring progress and development to Nigeria. That person that will truly lead like Obafemi Awolowo did.
To the next president or leaders,
it’s time to be challenged for the journey ahead. It's time to be competent
and work to make sure nothing like this happens again.
Politicians,
it's time to stop seeing politics as just a game because it really isn't. You
are responsible to the people who voted you in, the people you made so much
promises to. It's time for you to really start working. Even if you want to
amass wealth, let your people see you are working. Let the lives of your people
be made easier because you are in power.
To the security agents and government
as a whole, it’s time to be pro-active and understand the importance of your job. Yes, our eyes can’t be everywhere but we can try to make sure something
like Jos bombing doesn’t happen again. We shouldn’t allow things escalate
before we start working.
To the citizens, in our own little
way, let's love and work together to ensure the peace of this nation. Get rid of tribal and religious divides. I
know due to social contract, we have relinquished a lot of control to the
government but, we are all responsible for Nigeria. So in our own little way,
let's brighten our corner and be security conscious.
To Boko Haram, it’s really time to release our girls and stop this madness.
To the world, Adios!!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please share what you think about the article/story you just read. Slante!