By Fadaka Louis
When I was young, all I wanted to do after every election was master the names of Presidents of Nigeria, Governors of each state and Ministers of the different important parastatals. It was fun and blind as I did not know where my basic problems were coming from, so my parent always get the blame.
Growing up, I started learning about the wars and tribes involved, I also learned to hate some tribes as well. I learned how the war involved kill or be killed, the aim to create country and aim to keep country and also even after the popularized independence, we still have to lick boots.
Growing still, I began to hear of corruption this, corruption that, this person is corrupt, this family is corrupt and started to learn how it is being done. I am privilege to have seen and read how our money was and is stolen – ‘then building stored the notes but now foreign banks’. Then projects were used to steal but now rats and monkeys are better.
So now I have come to respect my parent for surviving this great country. I have come to appreciate them for bringing me into this world and helping me grow together, much glad, not as a bastard. I realized any parent that stay to the end, rich or poor, to the end for any child or children, in this country, deserves more than accolades, not awards but every single thing the child or children achieves.
Because, going through every single problem that happened in my house, happening in the ghetto, in states and the country, I realise it balls down to one game, a game not played with pads or keyboards and definitely not by children, a game played by whose head works and can run. Game called POLITICS.
Politics is the foundation of every good things and bad things in any country or given state, in Nigeria, we have more bad from it than good and currently the players are our parents, uncles and aunties, those we look up to. Yes, politics is run by humans and these humans called leaders, who are ment to be servants after gaining powers see themselves as gods and goddesses, yes, I agree but the bad part of my agreement is that they decide the fate of where ever they rule and everyone in it, except fate with supernatural binding.
They get to decide in this game if the people should have good roads, drinkable water, electricity, good education, good market, good sports men and women, good empowerment program, good security, good business policies and so on.
When we talk government, I want you to stop thinking about Lekan Mohammed, Kuti, Rihabu, Job and so on, I want you to first think about your area, who is your councilor? Do you know his name? What has he done for your community? Does he make local news at all, during ordinary times or only after two years. This is how you should think before climbing higher because weather you like it or not, politics is and ambitious game, these politicians after your area, will go to other people’s area until they are in everyone’s area, so if you know their capabilities now you will be able to lift them or kick them out boldly to save your unborn generation.
The Not Too Young To Run act was signed and Nigerian youths celebrated and Nigerian youths bought forms for the godfathers and are campaigning for them. Never been so cold.
The aim itself was killed by the same set of people it was fought for. The youths sold their fellow youths out and …. No, we don’t have lazy youths in Nigeria, we have rats who are ment to be cut off by youths who care for this country, who care for their growth and who care for their unborn children.
This act is supposing to be our stepping stone to unite and create a better political system in the country but we chose to spoil it. I never thought any celebrity can cry until I watched Kunle Afolayan’s painful video at the MM Airport, Lagos, where he was asked by immigration to pay a certain sum before entering the airport, when he couldn’t, they delayed him and his family and lied that his cousin’s French passport is fake. I really would have preferred Jim Iyke on that situation but we don’t need all this.
The Permanent Voters Card (PVC) have been hailed and advertised by both politicians and NGOs, at the end, think deeper, you will realise it’s a counter solution to steal your right again and this leads us to the sister of politics – Election Rigging.
Election rigging as at the last elections, that is 2015 back was a shameful act but now it comes with so much pride, now its even a competition on who rigs better. In fact, the best rigger in an election now is called the Master Rigger, the leader of this rigging team gains more followers after. If this be the case, what nonsense power do you think your PVC has?
The only way the PVC can be meaningful is we coming out to vote a life changing candidate and staying with our votes at all angles to avoid “magumagu”. No man or set of people should have the right, power or privilege to toil with the lives of million.
Politics has destroyed this country so much, and the bad new is that it cannot be removed, but it can be transformed.
Nigerian youths need to be guided, they need to think straight and stop thinking like ballers. I mean there is so much party and events around entertainment that people forget why poverty is a big boy in this country. If the political sector of Nigeria is well fixed, all other things will fall in place, yet some people will still read this article and still head for Quilox to ball 1m on liquid instead of sponsoring a life changing candidate.
Even if you must be a baller, then present yourself like Vector said in GunShots for the better
“…But you balling like a pro, I see yourself kori. I know you have the GBoys but what’s the reason why we have it…”
My conclusion, until our youths start balling with fellow youths and think like youths, convert those entertainment energy ‘to election and this is the person we want in government energy’, this country will continue to suffer like Old TESTAMENT.
FADAKA LOUIS is the Founder and Author at Gbetu Tv (www.gbetutv.com), a Messenger of Humanity, YALI Ambassador and Contributor at Yabatech Magazine.
