Wake Up Nigeria!

I wonder when we will stop being political psycho-fans and stand up to reality! Too sad, we place strapping emphasis on politicians forgetting our roles as fellow countrymen. One fact we must learn to embrace is this; government will never solve our problems! They will only heap problems upon problems for us. Corruption in Nigeria didn’t start today; neither did it start four years ago. The problem of Insecurity, Electricity, Unemployment, Corruption and a host of other challenges that confronts us boldly as a nation didn’t start now and won’t stop because of a particular government. Only our collective efforts and individual contributions to the betterment of this state can stop or play down these challenges to the most minuscule level.

We blame the government yet, in our petite offices, we do worse! If each Nigerian lives true to the office we hold, corruption will become history. If every Nigerian becomes a watchman in our respective environment, insecurity and other crime related activities would be eliminated. Truth is; we are too busy looking for money! We resign too many responsibilities to the government. Responsibilities they will never win. Sometimes i ask myself: ‘what kind of a leader are we looking to have’? Funnily enough, we are not even aware of the kind leader we seek. We only go by who we see, what we are told and what we are given. When we talk about the United States of America, have we really taken time to listen to an American citizen talk? Have we taken time to see American movies? How about American media houses? Have we taken time to compare these factors with ours? We say we are Africans; we cannot be like the white! Yet we refer to their successes.

It’s election again and we are all on our ten toes, pushed from side-to-side by politicians who only distribute food items and several other materials just to gain the votes of people they will in the end call “Common Nigerians”. Wake up Nigeria! How long will we continue to sell our rights, peaceful coexistence, industrial growth and an overall invaluable people for a bribe that won’t even go a mile? If they want to give us gifts, must it be when they need our votes? Millions of Nigerians are poor and starving! Where have all the foods been? I am fed up of what these so called “poli-trick-cians” who pageant themselves as politicians do to this Great Nation. Where are the vibrant and intelligent young leaders? People ‘they’ referred to as “leaders of tomorrow”! Will tomorrow ever come to us? They have been at the helm of government long before some of us were born. We were believed to be ‘leaders of tomorrow’. Today, we are combing the streets seeking daily breads! Until we stop fooling ourselves before these politicians, we will continue to be a football to kick around.

Wake up Nigeria! PDP or APC... is that a question? If you trace the history of APC, you will land back to PDP. Are they not the same people we know? That they belong to a different political party does not make them different. Wake Up Nigeria! PDP has remained the mother of democracy in Nigeria and has been on the seat of power for donkey years, has that changed the fact that Nigeria suffers unemployment, Insecurity, Electricity and other copious challenges? I am not a fan of political parties! My opinion about leadership is based on ‘Personal Leadership Skill’ rather than ‘party’.

It is however time to decide the fate of this great nation for another four years. What is your contribution towards rebranding to a Nigeria we all crave for? Remember that you can never sow a mango seed and reap an orange tree. You sow a mango seed and reap a mango tree – not a mango seed. This simple law of nature doubles our actions cum inaction. If you don’t come out to cast your vote, never complain of the governance you get. Right now, the ball is in our court. The responsibilities of whatever action we clutch will come to play soon enough.

Paul Okuk