Governance to us was like 'what happens on Pluto'. The average Nigerian didn't have a clue about the goings on in the corridors of power. We were easily satisfied. Our leaders assured us that life would get better in a short while if we just 'structurally adjusted' ourselves a bit. So people adjusted a bit and continued having kids.
Thirty years down the line, our population has exploded while our infrastructure has decayed at every point it can, but something else happened - our eyes got opened. It's interesting how the pet 'gators people grow come back to bite them in the behind. Our leaders partly under pressure from the international community had no choice but to transit to democracy, liberating the media.
It became easier for us (and when I say us, I mean the entire population) to SEE that our leaders didn't quite adjust themselves along with us back in the day, and they still do not. They cannot hide it anymore. We know they are thieves.
The story is told of how information trickled down to the Niger Delta from one of its sons who made his way to Abuja - the new capital - to see what their blood has been used to achieve - for other people. The rest is headline material. That situation took time to unfold, and has cost countless lives. I believe that the double layered shrouds of secrecy and ignorance contributed greatly to this.
Today, I thank God that the situation is significantly different. We have television and radio stations run by people who will not be easily muzzled by errant leaders. Beyond that we have a telecommunications network through which information can literally get to every citizen within hours. The total number of lines in Nigeria has exceeded the number of citizens.
The World Bank puts the Nigerian internet user population at 23,982,200 as at 2008 while wikipedia quoting Internetworldstats.com puts it at 43,985,000 (or 28.9% of the population which they estimate is 152mn) as at 2010.
I'm not here to debate the stats, but they are worth considering.
WE ARE NO LONGER IGNORANT, so we cannot complain anymore. Article after article, news report upon news report have alerted us of the shenanigans of our elder statesmen before they become national disasters.
To our credit, within the last eight years, we have gotten up and shouted 'HELL NO!' when some of these unconstitutional acts were about to be perpetrated.
Now it's time to take it a step further. Come January 2011, get up and out of your home and register to vote. Your vote is your mandate, your voice, your blessing, your prayer, your will, your desire for your children's country.
We have to elect people who will deliver the goods. Let me digress here to say that Nigeria decayed in the time it took me to grow up. I watched as the quality of English spoken by Primary school teachers, then Secondary school teachers then University lecturers decayed to the point that as an employer of labour, I don't even ask which university the candidate attended. I just administer an aptitude test and take it from there.
IT IS POSSIBLE TO TURN IT AROUND INSIDE THE REMAINDER OF MY TIME ON THIS PLANET. IF...
... we elect a sane President who will appoint competent ministers that will drive their portfolios like Fortune 500 companies. If you are my peer and reading this, I feel God telling me to tell you that you MUST offer and try and get to serve in the government of Nigeria sometime before you leave this planet. You have the giftings, you have the character and you have God. You are the one that we are looking for.
Get into it. Get the young people who you influence to go and register. Tell your friends, debate with the naysayers and argue the case for a better Nigeria. In every way and at every opportunity, do all that your hand finds to do to move this nation up and forwards. God bless.
