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Saturday, August 25, 2012

Ethnicity

I was speaking to a family friend of mine yesterday. I told him about my blog, I also mentioned my enthusiasm to see and help incite change for a better Nigeria.

He asked, 'How do we go about that?'

I replied, 'In baby steps. Starting with projects and charities and other outreach programmes.'

He said, 'That is good, but we were not addressing the root of the problem.'

'What is it?'

He replied 'Ethnicity!'

This to me seemed to be an abstract concept, however, it is a very subtle evil that plagues Nigeria. 
We see it and we comment on it, but we don't ask what is the root of it.

Many years ago even before the missionaries came to Nigeria to bring us to Jesus and sell us off to plantations in various nations, we had a problem. The problem we had was within our ethnic groups. 
We married ourselves and never really branched out to marry from another tribe. 
There was a lot of self-sustenance in those days. We also had people in high positions that made decisions. Each group was made up of one major boss and instead of maybe another village family in another position, it was filled with the bosses friends, family, close confidants etc. 
Right from those days, the cursed ego and greed plagued our people.

The situation became more complicated when the English came over. The reason being that Nigeria had internal tribal conflicts, lack of democracy, and tensions between the tribes. Then soon after the English came, we had them telling us what to do, and we saw them eradicating the form of life that we were accustomed to. Now the conflict became who was going to concede to the 'white mans wishes'. 

From what I understand, the Hausa's were the first to. They did as the English requested, and in return, they were placed in high up positions to rule over our Nations' already fractured tribal groups. The Igbo's were the last to conform. They were very opinionated, stubborn and didn't conform. When the fight was over, and the English left, we were an independent nation with tripled issues. There was inferiority and seniority complexes. The Hausa's felt that they should be in charge: as Presidents, Vice - Presidents etc. Well, as far as they were concerned, the 'white man'  left them in charge.

We had our first election, and Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe was elected! There, the tensions mounted. Someone from the South was elected and he was soon after removed from power when the Biafran War started.

If we look at our Presidential history, the amount of Southerners that have seen the light of Presidency is I believe only 2 or 3. The majority of people that rule Nigeria are Yoruba or Hausa.... why?
In very high up positions in companies, offices, even at our Embassy in London, they are filed with majority of the two groups mentioned above. Nigeria is a country with over 168 million people and in major offices and senior positions that control the country, the different tribes are not represented. Women especially are under represented.

You may ask me how does that matter?

It does, greatly, because it fuels the inner resentment and anger that so many local groups and tribes have. If you think about it, it spills into so many different areas of our lives. Marriage, the legal system, our jobs. 
Your parents only want you to get married to one particular tribe, you cannot rat out your colleague for not doing his job properly because he is friends with the boss, and the boss is the one that put him there. If you report him, you'll  be the one without a job. You cannot report another person for fraudulent activity, because if you report him to the police, you will have bigger fish to fry. I.e. Him and his BIG friends in the popo or in the office you work at.

We create a country that does not function, just by putting people we know are not necessarily adequate for the job because they are a friends daughter, a  brothers son, a good friend. That creates complacency in the work force, because you won't fire your own as there are ramifications in the group you belong to. You shoot yourself in the leg. In government, they cannot rat our each other for corruption because they are all stealing together. They all belong to the same circle etc. So again, they shoot themselves in the leg.

Boko Haram is another main result of fractional tensions... That's a whole other feature.

If we had diversity from right at the top with the government, feeding down into the companies we own, the ones that we work for, then the whole mentality of the people can change. The small guy wont be scared to report someone because its not him against 5 other BIG dogs from the other guys local area. It transforms the whole system.

Uncle Ken, my family friend suggested the following:

A Ethnic Diversity Committee/ Counsel: 


  1. They are tasked with ensuring that a Bill is passed through Congress to have a rule that there must be 30%* gender diversity in government, office or company. 
  2. There must be in every top position of government, a mix of tribes represented.
  3. They are also tasked with ensuring that programmes are made compulsory in schools to teach about the different ethnic groups and talk about how we can all work well together. That way our children's minds are not corrupted with this fractional idea of one tribe is better than the other.
  4. Also, they are to find ways to form consolatory measures amongst the different tribes.

It all seems like great ideas.... how do go about to make it happen???

*Btw, I think it should be 50% gender diversity but we start small right?

Monday, August 20, 2012

The Unnoticed Impressionable

I just thought it might be nice to share with you something that I have been reminded of, almost daily. 
Recently, I’ve had people tell me “Oh, Georgette you are SO different!”
And to that I ask, How? and Why? 
They then try to salvage a response but when they are undoubtedly stuck, they say,
“I don’t know, you just are.”
Now initially, I thought maybe there was something wrong with me, I haven’t done something right, I don’t concede to the norm. Then I realised that is what makes me a unique individual. 
You see, we can go through life thinking that no one is really going to notice us, watch our behaviour, listen to what we say, until someone out rightly comes up to you, like people have done to me, telling you what they think about you. 
What we don’t realise is that people do watch us. 
Not in a freaky way...
But they do try to mimic us, follow our pattern of behaviour.
This has so many angles. 
The first being your younger siblings, they like to copy what you do, they look up to you as your bigger brother, sister, aunt, or cousin. 
We look up to our parents, we copy their behaviour. 
That has led to debates about our behaviour: is it nurture or nature? Even when we try to hard NOT to be like our parents for various reasons, the harder we try not to, the more we become like them. 
Hilarious? Just the truth. 
We have our friends. As much as we all hate to admit it, we are sometimes the product of our friends. People judge us according to who we hang out with. We sometimes act a certain way in order to impress them, to make them like us, to feel like we belong. 
When I think about all of that, and I think back to the statement people made, I think maybe being different isn’t so bad after all. Unless of course it was meant in a negative way. If so, I might need to work on what was pointed out to me to be unacceptable behaviour.
More and more, I realise that we make an impact in people’s lives without even realising it. 
So don’t wait until someone comes up to you to remind you of that. 
Be a good person and remember: 
We are the Unnoticed Impressionable. 

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

"Call the PoPo, Hoe!"

I went to a meeting last year for the International Women's Society in Lagos.
My mum took me along, and I was fortunate to sit in a room filled with very intelligent women.

One of their guest speakers was an Environmentalist. He was talking about what his company aims to do for Nigeria and the work that they do for the government. He was urging us to take our environment very seriously, and to ensure that we urge the people around us to do the same.

He said that, "There are Regulations for cutting down trees and if we saw people illegally doing it we should call the police." The talk ended and he asked if anyone had any questions.

I tentatively raised my hand.

They made me stand up and go all the way to the front.

I said, "I respectfully understand where you are coming from, however, you don't expect me to call the police when my neighbours are cutting down their tree? You don't expect me to say, 'Oga, make you come now, now, someone dey cut d tree 4 der house!' The police don't even come to help when it comes to armed robberies!"

The whole room burst out in laughter. He deflected my question as he couldn't think of a response.
To be honest, what would you have said in reply to that?

We live in a country with no adequate police force.
So those that have money, pay for mobile police from Security Company's. They are semi - reliable, they do their checks and their runs at 4 o' clock in the morning. So those that can afford it are semi - happy.
But what about the average Nigerian? How can we allow this to continue. We live in a place where we can't call the police to help in emergency situations. To be honest we can't even rely on our Embassy to bail us out either. That's another feature altogether.

There have been recently, armed robberies on the mainland in Lagos. These guys have guns, they are on drugs and they return to the same house twice if they think they have more to get from them.
I have been a victim of a home invasion, and I know how each family that this has happened to feels.
Ours however, was an inside job. There was more than one piece of damning evidence, and as a budding lawyer now, I know for a fact that they had more than enough to make an arrest. Even the suspects were found 'guilty' by the police but were released sometime after. Families have no closure, knowing that the people that destroyed their comfort and feeling of safety, is not paying for their crime.

I don't know whether you have ever thought about this, but do you know that bribing a police officer forms a reliance mechanism. They rely on that little something before they perform their services. To be honest, that is illegal on two fronts. The first is obviously the bribe, and the second is that they are not performing their existing public duty unless you pay them. They should be performing their duties regardless of what they get in return.
To be honest,  some argue that it's because they don't earn a decent living, so any extra they can get is a good thing. Not only that, but police officers in other countries don't either, but there is a reward system in place. The police in Nigeria, have nothing to look forward to achieving, that should push them to remain on the straight and narrow. Refer to my 'Reward System post for more info: http://theunspokenwords93.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/reward-system.html

Now that may not be a big deal, but indeed it is, as they will never do what they should if we keep paying them off, for whatever reason. It's a whole mentality we have to change. Don't complain that we have corruption in Nigeria if you take part in it too.

You spoil one player, you make the game a lose/ lose situation for one other person.

The second issue is that the police refuse to engage in shoot outs with these armed robbers. This is their job for crying out loud. They should put their necks on the line. Like I said earlier, if there was a reward system things might be different. The police abroad get commendations for work like that.

Further, it's a mentality. Black people are generally scared of risky adventures, or things that put them in the line of fire, or in extremely dangerous situations. In general, that is why the 'white guy' tends to move ahead and progress. (There are obviously exceptions)

Nigerians are too scared to put themselves out there, just like the older generation is too scared to fight back. But that is why we have the youth, to make a change now!

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

The Big 2.0

This will be my twentieth post! YAY!
In celebration of that, and to everyone that reads this blog, here's a lil' something for you.
I just wrote a new poem called Nigeria.
Please check it out below.

http://soundcloud.com/georgette-monnou/nigeria

Much Love,
G
x


Sunday, August 12, 2012

Signs

I was reminded today that there are so many signs in this world.

Some good and some bad.

Humans are guided by signs each and everyday. The SatNav, the iPhone Maps App, road signs and all other forms of signs. Humans seek signs like they have this innate need to see before they can believe.

However, sometimes you are faced with decisions to make, and you choose the wrong path. For emotional reasons, lack of thought, not seeking advice, or greed. That, in it's simplest form, are the signs around us that we choose to implement in our daily decision making.

Such has been the problem with Nigerians. For years we have received very clear signs that our government is failing, and yet we choose to do nothing about it. We complain about it, day and night. We adopt this passive aggressive approach for some well thought reasons. Those so-called 'well thought reasons', is the reason why Nigeria is still in the same state of chaos that it was in 15 years ago.

We can no longer ignore the signs. We can no longer sit aside while our country, Nigeria, does not progress. All the gifts and talents that we possess can no longer be put to waste.

Let's start something, something now!

Friday, August 10, 2012

Talent

Having a talent is great.

Realising that you have a talent is amazing.

Using that talent, is the beginning of something beautiful.

I grew up reading the books of Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe,Chimamanda Adichie Ngozi, and the poetry of Christopher Okigbo.  I was not only exposed to them in school, but once I was, it became an obsession. I read almost all the books they had written, I read articles about them, read their biographies, listened to their seminars etc.

I once compared the peoples struggle with corruption in Nigeria and India for my A2 English Coursework. I was driven to explore how writers make their voices heard through the characters and situations in their novels. At the start, my teacher told me that the first draft was too political. He stated it needed to be more literary. I sighed and said 'Thank you.'
After all, what was I going to say, 'It's perfect as it is?' No. I went back home and re - drafted it.

I remember reading an article where Dr. Achebe stated that "Nigeria is on the brink of a precipice."
At the time, I had no idea how to pronounce, 'precipice', for some unknown reason, talk less of knowing what it meant. I gathered, using my powers of deduction, that we must be on the brink of a collapse.

When I further researched the word, the dictionary told me this: Option 1 was 'an overhanging or extremely steep mass of rock, such as a crag or the face of a cliff' and Option 2 was 'the brink of a dangerous or disastrous situation.'

What I further realised was that he thinks that Nigeria is on the brink of some kind of massive turmoil, the final big event that sends the country into squander. What event that will be? I cannot remember.

But this man, this great writer, dedicated his life to educating Nigerians about the history of our great nation, but also about the wrongs our country continues to do. Not only by the governments hand, but by our own. I read the Trouble with Nigeria by him, and I loved it. It was witty, but different to all his other books.

That may be of course, because it wasn't a book, it was a pamphlet. It was written solely for Nigerians, the Nigerians that lived and understood Nigerian culture. Critics stated that, 'this isn't the best moment for Achebe, as this pamphlet cannot be read by a wider audience.' (I paraphrase)

I wondered whether the critic ever stopped to think, that maybe that was Dr. Achebe's intention. It was for us. All of us. The young, old, fat, thin, rich and poor Nigerian.  He told us what we needed to do to change our beloved nation. All of that he achieved through the power of literature.

This man inspires me greatly, and has for many years.

He is a living testimony of what Nigerians can not only do with their talent, but also what they can expose with their talent. His talent is writing, what is yours?

Whether you believe this or not, everyone has something, at least one thing, that they are good at. Acting, Dancing, Singing, Music, Writing, Photography, Sport, and the list goes on.

Find out what your talent is, find out how to refine it, find out how to use it, but most importantly remember how to use it to help your nation.

I vow to use my talents to best of my ability, to voice the issues with Nigeria. But also, to actively take a stand to make a change. I have realised what my talent is. I refined it quite late in my teens, but now I have decided to use it, to write to you all.

A woman once said,

'A talent not known, is a talent wasted, but a talent known, and not used, is lunacy.'  

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Perception is key (3)

The last in the series.

This time I want to focus on our legal system. As a budding future lawyer, I spent my first year gathering intel. I wanted information about what the Legal System was like in England and Wales, but most importantly, what the legal field was like in Nigeria.

At some point in my life, I would like to return to my home country, permanently. When that will be, time will tell. In the meantime, my job is to mentally, physically, economically and emotionally prepare myself for such a move.

Over the years, I found that a lot of my relatives that lived in England decided to go back home. They had, had enough. The insurmountable taxes that we all have to pay, the cost of fuel, electricity etc. Some claim its a good price to pay for the fact that everything is regulated, but I can tell you that those that live in inner city London might sing another song.

Life is so expensive in London, it's ridiculous. So to them, going home would give them an easier life. Over the years, they have made a small fortune. They return to Naija to live like Queens and Kings. But the question still remains: What do I do? Where do I work?

Majority of them have decided to get involved in the oil and gas industry, smart choice. Others have set up businesses. Others decided to dedicate their time to setting up Charities, and  to do a lot of humanitarian work.

Now, when looking from an outsiders perspective, the legal system in Nigeria does not work, it does not function and thus we have no legal system.

However, after some work experience, and asking Junior and Senior lawyers a lot of questions, these are my findings:

1) It is corrupt

You have a lot of lawyers and judges that take bribes. Not only that, but there are sometimes bidding wars between parties. Who can give the biggest sum, or get the money to where it needs to be on time. It can be for something as easy or as simple as filing papers and making sure the judge or magistrate gets it.

2) It is frustrating

It is frustrating because even if every moral fibre inside of you tries to fight it, the system doesn't allow it. You try to be on the straight and narrow. But if your papers are not even going to be received by the court, unless someone gets a lil' something, something, forget you showing up in court and delivering your submission. You've already reached point zero right at the beginning.

3) It has its perks

There is joy in winning cases knowing that you haven't given a bribe and that the court actually sides with you on this one. There are some judges who do not take bribes. There are also, some court officials who refuse bribes, and if you are working as a solicitor then you might not need to deal with all the court stress.

4) It is tuff

You are going to have a lot of decision making to do. A lot of moral compass debates, if you ever decided to be a lawyer in Nigeria.

Well, judging from the above, it looks like I am going to have a swell time!

Our legal system needs fixing. From the inside out. However, it can never be fixed even if we changed the people in charge of ensuring that things function as they should, unless the minds of the people change.

If everyone decides that they want to get ahead giving bribes and earning a living in that way, then Nigeria shall never change.

Lawyers out there, we should be an example to those who came before us and those that are to come after us. I am going to have to face hell on earth, but as long as I can sleep soundly at night, I shall be happy.

There is news that Britain wants to revamp the jails in Nigeria and Jamaica. That way, when they deport the convicts from British prisons, their human rights won't be breached.

So not only are we a problem to ourselves, but also to other countries.

Their perception of Nigeria is so bad, that they want to help us change our prisons to lighten their load. Naija, well done oh. This is really the height of idiocracy! Is there no shame for Nigerians out there any more? Sooner or later your underwear will be exposed, then what?







Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Perception is key (2)

Perceptions are so important.  In the last feature, I spoke about the Nigerian people's perception of ourselves. This feature is about the external perception of Nigeria.

I mentioned something about that before in 'Why should I care?' But I shall go in depth in this one.

Starting from the airport. A fellow friend of mine and satirical blogger, Afam, wrote a piece about his adventures at the Nigerian airport. Albeit amusing, it had a couple of deep threads.

a) Corruption
b) Backward facilities
c) Lack of organisation

Looking externally now, we know that airports are the pride and joy of some of the countries in this world. The Dubai airport for starters, is a place where you can get lost in, for days!

The airport is a person's first impression of a country. Our airport with the little improvements the Aviation Committee have made, is still  a very uncomfortable place. It doesn't look modern. They conveyor belts don't work, the escalators barely function. The lounges are not too bad, if you have a First Class ticket of course. Otherwise, you are left in the heat with no food, water, or proper duty free to keep yourself busy.

Although some of you may ask, how is the airport any concern of ours or how is the airport that important? Well I'll tell you. If our airport is bad, outsiders perception of our country is already damning from the moment they step foot on Nigerian soil.

That is important because we have so many people flying to and from Nigeria. Important colleagues, businessmen, vendors, stars etc. We do not want their first impression of our country to be a negative one. They last a lifetime. The airport is also one of the easiest places to fix, when discussing the plenitude of issues with Nigeria. We have great architecture firms in Lagos and Abuja. The government should hire one, get the tenders necessary and get started. How can our local airport (MM2), be nicer than our International one?
In fact if MM2 is anything to go by, then we know that the government can produce a swanky airport, so what are they waiting for?



The negative stigma that our country already carries abroad, is more than enough to cause a fellow Nigerian to hide under a rock. Let us at least try and give them something good to talk about. How great our airport is? How nice the people are? (LOL). Albeit superficial, it leaves a lasting impression.

Please find Afam's post below:

http://theramblingsofamadman-afam.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/the-murutala-jangle-nigerian-time.html


Tuesday, August 7, 2012

I dey vex for Naija

I just received this on my Blackberry and I just had to share it with you all.

It's by Okem Kalu

"I dey vex for dis country wey dey call Naija! No be joke oooo!!!

Small thing Ogoni man go jump enter wata like fish, for days we no go see dem. See Olympics nah, go swim, dem dey fear water. Zero medal for Naija.

Hausa man go enter boat dey shout 'Argurungu fishing festival!' See rowing for Olympics, dem no dey. Zero medal for Naija.

Fulani herdsmen fit shoot arrow from 1 km, kill anyone wey wan steal dem cow. Olympics reach, make dem do archery, dem no sabi shoot again. Zero medal for Naija.

Igbo man go run fom Sokoto to Aba at the slightest provocation by Boko. See marathon for Olympics, dem no show face. Zero medal for Naija.

Agbero for park, no mind pursue bus for road. See 100 metres race for Olympics, dem no sabi run again. Zero medal for Naija.

Yoruba man go remove clothes, wrist watch and pant to fight Ojuelegba. See boxing for Olympics, we no see dem. Zero medal for Naija.

Warri man go say Warri no dey carry last...na wetin Blessing Okagbare, our own Warri babe dey do for last 4 Women 200 metres race. Abi she dey think say one person dey her back? Zero medal for Naija.

Na who even start that nonsense called 'Naija got Talent' sef? "

Extremely amusing but in  this post, there are serious themes highlighted.

Why are we not properly represented at the Olympics?

Why do we not source and train the above people mentioned?

There is no use saying that we have talent if we:

a) Don't expose it

b) Refine it and

c) Ensures that it excels

Monday, August 6, 2012

Perception is key.

Perception is so important.

You and I both know that.

Especially in the Nigerian Society.

In the words of Suliat, (Jennifa, a must watch movie), we all try to be "Bigx Girls an' Bigxz Boiz", that is  society's perception of us.

Going back slightly,

I went to a friends dinner once where I was asked by this handsome Bulgarian man, whether my parents were rich. I responded with silence. He asked again, failing to realise that I didn't know the pertinent answer.

I collected myself and stated, "How am I supposed to answer that?"

A Nigerian fellow who I just met that night, then stated,

"Just look at her, I mean from her face, to her clothes...of course her parents are rich!"

Now forgetting how deeply perturbed I was at that statement, that comes with all sorts of conclusions. I could be seen to be spoilt, bratty, never needing to work hard 'cause my parents have it all covered...etc.

To be honest, those who know me, know (I hope), that I am far away from any of those things. Just because I dress nicely, doesn't mean that I could be any of the things mentioned in the latter.

Looking deeper now at the underlying issue, the people I was hanging with, were of the same calibre myself. I mean we are all in School in England, we can all go out and have a nice time and buy expensive clothing. But yet, we are humble, down to earth people who work hard to excel in school.

Taking it a step further, if a Nigerian who is of the same social strata as me, can make such conclusions, then why won't a person who isn't as fortunate make the same conclusion? The fact is that they will.

This is what we sometimes call the inferiority complex. Which plagues a lot of people who are not very well off, and even sometimes, it exists amongst the upper classes. In their minds, because we have "sooo much money" then we won't miss a couple hundred thousand here or there. So, they feel they can use any emotional tool available, to expunge money from the upper classes. That is the worst line of thought available, but the upper class have it coming.

The lack of humility shown by those that are fortunate is saddening. Not only that, but when they have enough, they only want more. Over generalising here, a lot of Nigerian well to do families (I don't necessarily mean yours), have laundered money in the past or are currently doing so, stealing money from Nigeria. This is the money that is needed to ensure that the country can function effectively. Even if they don't, they parade around 'Naija' like Kings, not realising the butterfly effect of those actions.

A lot of the younger members of this upper class order, then grow up to be exactly like their parents. Their parents never got caught, how can they? Well, with the recent Ibori scandal, and a fellow family friends dirty laundry being brought out to air, states otherwise. Nigeria is yet to get better at prosecuting our own criminals, rather than letting other countries do so. (The legal system shall be discussed in another feature shortly).

If we really want Nigeria to change ,we need to make a stand. We need to show that we are a different sort of people. We need to show that we care a lot more, be more active in inciting change in Nigeria,. Not just talking but acting.

Think. Talk. Try. 
The title of another one of my features. Click below to check out that post.

http://theunspokenwords93.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/thinktalktry.html

I don't ever want to be perceived by any Nigerian, regardless of social class, that I am a spoilt rich kid who cares about nobody but themselves. You can then ask me, "Why should I care what people say?" - the truth is, that the more you pretend that people's opinions don't affect you, the more you lie to yourself. People's words and actions shape our decisions each and every day.

You can claim that "You don't give a damn." But sir/madam, you do.

This is all a cycle. If the upper classes actually act like they give a damn, seeing as they basically rule the country in all aspects, government, film, banking, law, etc. The lower classes mentality might actually change.

Someone once told me that,

"We are treading a fine line before the lower classes, jump off their bicycles and attack us in our cars. Look at the malice on their faces."

Let us not accept the totally wrong perception of ourselves. Let us prove them wrong and change our country.

Sunday, August 5, 2012

I love Nigeria

I love Nigeria so much that I am willing to put myself forward to engineer change in Nigeria.

We are so young and so talented, and to sit back and watch my country burn up in flames would kill me.

I want a Nigeria that I am not only proud of, but my kids one day shall be.

I have plans I want to put in progress to change areas of #Naija life that I think need fixing.

Drama, Music, Film and the Youth.

The youth need to feel like they have hope,
They need to feel like they can make a difference.

Once you pull that hope away from them, then you are left with a country where the youth make up 75% of the population, but yet cannot be seen making a difference in the country.

They do not have a good standard of education to use as a tool.
Even if they did, they hustle to get a good job as companies hire expatriates.
The rest, turn to criminal lengths to get what they want: money.
They feel that, that money will make a difference in their lives.
What they don't realise is that it brings sorrow and pain if not used adequately.

The others work for lower wages as help in the house, beggars on the road or in the markets.

The youth, my fellow mates are not able to achieve their dreams.

We can always blame the government, but we forget to blame ourselves.

These young ones are your daughters, sons, brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews. You would help your family, so why not extend your reach to help them.

I want to make a difference because I love Nigeria, do you?

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Viva la Revolution!

So far on this blog I have spoken about the little things we can all start doing to make a difference in Nigeria.

What about the big things?

If everyone remembers Occupy Nigeria, that was an occurrence that shall go down in the History books.
For the first time in a long time, the Nigerian people actively revolted. It went from anger about the fuel prices, to anger about the corrupt government.

Before you know it, it became a mini - revolution.

It was not only a mini - revolution, but it was a revolution that succeeded. We were able to have the fuel price reduced. Not necessarily to the exact price that we wanted, but there was a concession made. So, a partial success.

The people however, didn't want to stop till their demands were met. But the Labour Congress who were effectively in charge of the strike, agreed to the price drawn up by the government,without alerting the people.

In a manner of minutes, the people had no ethical right to be on the streets. The deal was made. Finito. Slam-Dunk! They were forced to go home, if not they would have been shot at.

Now let's assess this for a second. Why the hell did the Labour Congress agree? I assume it has something to do with the possible offering of money to the man in charge. That little cost benefit led him to forgetting about the peoples wants and needs, and so he bowed down to the government that he probably complains about.

He is a sell - out. Like the majority of people who have a choice to make when in a position of power.

He could have been a hero hypothetically speaking.

Let's say he said, "No!" and the people continued to revolt, Lagos was already at a stand still. Give the government another couple of days or so, more price offers would have been made. The Nigerian people all over the world were united. Banky W, spoke in New York about the changes needed in Nigeria on the news. Nigerian Representatives in America were holding meetings with the Nigerian people there about what the people's demands were.

Had this escalated, we could have been in a revolutionary position, we could have fought our way to a new government free from corruption.

I did just use a lot of hyperbole, I do apologise, but I hope you catch my drift. It was clear the people had enough. Needless to say who knows, everything happens for a reason.

"E be the government like film." (It shocked the government!) that the people were so organised and united.

Now, #OccupyNigeria is over, and we are left with a people dissatisfied with fuel price and a corrupt government. So what are we going to do about it. We adapt to our circumstances. That is the great beauty about Nigerian people.

I reckon another revolution. This time to get rid of the government that we have. They are already trying to impeach our beloved President Goodluck Jonathan. So what are we waiting for? Another knucklehead move by the government?

We have had enough, and this has been a long time coming. There is no change without bloodshed. History has proven that. The conflicts in Syria, the Arab Spring, (plagued with its complications), the French Revolution, Russia's freedom from an oppressive regime.

So what is Nigeria waiting for?

It is waiting for YOU.


Friday, August 3, 2012

Think.Talk.Try.

Everyday when we are faced with the most challenging situation we take a moment to think. Think about how exactly we are going to get out of this bad situation. We also consult our best mates, family members or a stranger to ask their opinion. Just to make sure we aren't on the wrong side of the law. Jokes. But we also try it out to see whether it works. If it doesn't we try and try alternative solutions.

We can and we should apply that ideology to our country: Nigeria.

We come form a great country with wealth and opportunity. However, neither of those two things mentioned are being directed in the right place. Why? We can blame the government for not providing electricity, fixing the roads, a poor education system, poverty, and the list goes on. But the one person we forget to blame, is ourselves, for failing to seize back our country.

We sit and think about Nigeria, we discuss the many problems our system is riddled with. We can talk about the olden days which were different. The days when nobody wanted or needed to have gates that box us in, the days when we could ride our bicycles around the streets of Lagos.

The most important element of that equation is missing- the trying.

You could have given up hope because you feel that Nigeria is never going to change. You sit in misery whilst the country you once knew fades away in silence. However, whatever hope you have lost is due to your inactivity, your inability to try even if you have failed countless times, your inability to seek ulterior channels.

But the fight is not over yet, we can still take Nigeria back into our hands. Not alone, but together, in an active fight for our happiness in our country, and for the sake of our future children. No more running back into the cowardice lives our parents live in, it's time to Think. Talk. Try.

Thursday, August 2, 2012

I need You

In order for us to help Nigeria collectively, there has to be dialogue amongst the youth.
I have written a number of posts so far and I want to thank everyone for reading them and commenting.
However, I need more people to comment on what their ideas are. What your opinions are? What your fears and concerns are? If we all have an online discussion as to what and how to implement changes in Nigeria then we can all return better equipped.

Like I keep on banging on about, there is no time like the present.

I have a Facebook page for the blog, please do not hesitate to like, share and comment on it. All your support and encouragement will be greatly appreciated!

http://www.facebook.com/Unspokenwords93

I also have a new addition to the blog - it's called the Open Forum. Please check it out!

Danke!

What it takes?

All you need to rule Nigeria, is a secondary school certificate.

How is that okay? We then ask ourselves why is the government so backward?

To some extent it takes a little bit of common sense to rule sensibly which unfortunately some members of the government lack. If they sat down and thought about things logically, they might come up with a not so complicated plan.
If they stole money, but showed that they are making changes in Nigeria, then I doubt anyone would complain. At least for a little while. It will come as a relief to all. Even though our government has their problems, they are still making sure the country is working at its best.

Take Fashola, Lagos State Governor for example. He has worked on the roads, the amount of beggars on the road, the traffic, (although that is debatable), he has installed traffic lights, the infrastructure has changed, 1004 has been refurbished. All in all it seems like he is changing things.

Now he is not without fault. For a long time he was in my good books until the Lekki Toll Gate incident where the peaceful rioters were stopped by the army with tear gas, imprisonment, fines and were beaten. These are just common citizens and residents of Lekki.
No matter what some of you might have heard, I was in the estate when it happened and was receiving updates of the activity. As soon as the police tried to remove the citizens from their peaceful revolt by being violent, "area boys" as they are commonly known, also took action, which led to mass disturbance.

The residents had asked for a permit before their revolt, so why disturb them? They had done nothing wrong.

Suddenly, our glorious Mr. Fashola didn't look so good any more. However, we voted him into governorship again because he is making changes in Lagos albeit with some costly mistakes.

He might or might not be taking money from the "peoples of Nigeria" as a lawyer I observed in court once said, but as far as we are concerned we are content because there is change in Lagos.

To be honest we always never talk, well, not actively, but we might just refrain from discussing the government whenever 2 or 3 Nigerians are gathered. But the good are good, and to be honest, Nigerians soon enough will find something else to fault the government for.

Recently, members of the House of Representatives want to impeach our Dear President on the basis of budget use. Surely they can find better suited reasons to impeach him. Maybe failure to act effectively when faced with various breaches of our national security?
In a funny twist, one of the people who were actively pushing for this impeachment was caught out by one of the other members of the House of Reps stating something along the lines of, "Your hands are not clean either."
This led to a fully blown investigation into this poor chap and unfortunately his closet is full of very dirty skeletons. So great! What they have proven is that a member of our House of Representatives is not clean. To be honest, none of them are. Instead of shifting the blame away from themselves they should be actively putting themselves on the chopping block to be prosecuted. Then again why would they? They have money to earn  - billions... so why go?

In the words of Ghandi. "You must be the change you want to see in the world."

We need a new age of Nigerians who are willing to be the change they want to see in Nigeria. We need a working legal system to reprimand those that have broken the law. We need to clean out the government and their silly House of Representatives. How do we do that? Well it's up to us to discuss it.

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Reward System

We all work on a reward system, right from when we were very young.
If you were a good baby you got cuddled a lot more, you got more toys, more milk... Yes, I said more milk, you got what you asked for.

That's how humans are raised. When you go to school and you get all your timetables right you get a gold star, an extra two minutes at your lunch break, you get more sweets in your lunch box etc.

We survive on that reward system.

Just the other day I was planning on watching TV after I had done some work, and once I realised the electricity was turned off and it wasn't going to be on till tomorrow, that put me in a right mood.
I grew annoyed, frustrated and I gave up.
Because if times are hard and you know you ain't gonna get anything out of it you give up because your reward system is gone.

Some can argue that they don't work on a reward system but yet you do. Even though you are lazy throughout the whole year in school, once exam time comes around, you buckle up because you do not want to fail. Even if you do enough to get by, you know at the end of the degree you want to graduate with  2.1 or a 1st so you work.

When you take that reward system away you have the problem with Nigeria.

Our people have lost all hope that Nigeria is going to change. They work all day and they do not get anything in return. Our children go to school and yet the teachers are not well educated, or trained and or don't care about their students. The students in return do not pay attention because as far as they are concerned they are not getting the proper standard of education. Once they graduate, what job opportunities are there for them?

What we need to try to do is to instil hope back into the community, into the schools, in our workplaces.

If someone has been working and has done amazing work, then promote them, over the bosses daughter. Irrespective of the pressures you might face. Because at the end of the day, that person's advancement will benefit your job, your company and thus the amount you will earn.
Do not hire someone you know is not right for the job just because of this one connection that you have, and so you think it'll go unnoticed.

It doesn't go unnoticed, we just don't speak. Why? It's about time we do.

Girls, you have brains and you have gumption, do not use yourself as a Sale's Rep for a Bank because you think that it is better to have some money than none. The prospects might be good for a while but what you are going to be asked to do isn't. *I 've heard some personal stories about this*

Bosses, treat your staff the way they should be treated, with respect and sensitivity. Pay them what they are to earn.

Well connected folks, use your money, power and connections to ensure that there is an adequate system working. Set up charities to help your local community. Retailers, use some of your money to set up training programmes for those interested in sewing, designing etc. Set up local outreach programmes dedicated to training etc. We don't need to wait 10 years to make this happen we can start now.

If we are all serious about change in Nigeria then let's start now.

Putting our Ego's aside.

Brace yourself.

Relax.

Breathe.

We all as Nigerians, young or old, fat or thin, poor or rich, we need to learn how to put aside our ego's.

Why is it that anyone who wants to do anything good in this world get's so frustrated they stop?
They loose all the hope that they had in the beginning... Why?

The reason is you and me.

Many times we do not allow our colleagues succeed out of jealousy, out of anger or out of sheer bad character. We pray for the person making progress to either cease having happiness or decide to ask God to allow your own success overpower the other person. Why?

Inferiority complexes? Don't want to be showed up?

I am not calling for a communist state but I am trying to relate this to,
"Love your neighbour as you love yourself."

At the end of the day if you keep praying for someone else's failure, and your success comes around, you should not be shocked when it doesn't last, not even for a second longer than the other person had. Why?

Well because to put it bluntly, karma is a bitch.* It bites back, twice as hard.

Nigerians will ensure that whoever is doing better than them fails.

How does this relate to anything this blog is about?

In order for young Nigerians, or Nigerians as a whole to make progress, we need to work together not apart. We share similar interests yet we are not all the best at everything.

We all have our strengths and weaknesses. We can kid ourselves into thinking that we can do it all and wonder why the job was not competed, on time, or to the best standard.

We sometimes live with this psyche that we can do it all, but we just can't. We need to learn to set aside our ego's, share the power, the wealth and resources in order to ensure a better tomorrow.

That in a nutshell, is the reason why we do not have an efficient system running in Nigeria or a sensible government. We are too short-sighted, we think solely about ourselves and our advancements.

This affects not only the "upper - class", but the lower classes as well.

If their boss is about to pay them, the sheer thought of getting the money has rendered them into a state of short - term thinking. So, they wait till they get paid and claim some family member of theirs is ill and they need to go to take care of them or arrange funeral arrangements.

To be honest sometimes I do not blame them. They are living in very dire times where they might be one of the only siblings earning enough to support the family and the thought of getting a large sum  is all they can think about.

Stop.

Breathe.

Think.

If they had not left their job and stayed on working, God knows what advancements the employer could have made in their lives. If not that, at least they would have a stable flow of income.

If we all decide to stop and think not only about today, but tomorrow, then maybe Nigeria will be a different place soon enough.


Why should I care?

Because whether you like it or not, if you have not been blessed with dual - nationality we are a disgrace in the worlds eyes.

We were spared any negative introductions by the commentators at the Olympics Opening Ceremony, but we are not free from the worlds comments and opinions.

We are seen as one of 3 things:

1) Corrupt
2) Fraudulent
3) Backward

As much as it is amusing to watch TV shows where they star some far away silly made up Prince from Nigeria, or a Nigerian corporation or in some cases we have been used as the name of a con played on corporations, it isn't all that amusing.

All of those roles had a thread - Fraud and Corruption.
To be honest it sometimes hurts. It hurts to show your green passport when traveling and have them double check your visa page, just in case. It also hurts that if you want to convert money at the Bureau de Change, Naira has not made it.

Out of all the African countries, we have the most resources, the most money and the most political pull to get on it. However as corruption plague the government and its people, and people seek to be selfish, we can never progress. We won't ever get the internal economic balance and infrastructure to be noticed for good things.

You should care because your children have to live with the nationality.

You should care because you should like to see your country be recognised for the great things that it should be.

You should care because it saddens me to think that a country that has such potential has too many problems.

As much as we can blame the government, at the end of the day its up to us to incite change, educate ourselves and give back.

Hoarding all the money, resources and connections could serve you well personally, but ultimately it will bite you in the ass; in the various forms I have depicted above and in various other ways.