What do DISCOs have in common with Organized Crime?

Whenever I think of organized crime, I think of movies like the Godfather (my all-time favourite movie in that genre), Goodfellas, Casino etc. I think of Sicilians in black suits and white ties; I think of heavily tattooed sinister looking characters who will not hesitate to break all your bones if you cross them. No doubt you can tell that I watch a lot of movies so these descriptions may seem fanciful to some, but most of the movies in this genre are based on real life characters.

However, it’s not dark suited Italians or heavily tattooed sinister young men that have inspired me to write this but a powerful set of people who, albeit, have a veneer of legitimacy. I have been struggling with a distinct feeling of powerlessness within the context of being a consumer of electricity in Nigeria; the more I think about the daily reality of the Nigerian consumer, the more I come away feeling that we are being suckered, brutalized and blackmailed on a regular basis.

I have an intuitive understanding of what organised crime is but today I decided to actually check the definition and I got several definitions with most having key words such as ‘powerful’ ‘control’ ‘group’, ‘conspiratorial’. The definitions below sum up the way I feel about the so-called ‘electricity’ service providers who are popularly known by the hip and benign sounding acronym ‘DISCO’:

1.       “Criminal activities that are planned and controlled by powerful groups and carried out on a large scale.”

2.       “Ongoing conspiratorial enterprise engaged in illicit activities as a means of generating income”

3.       “Organized crime refers to criminal activities which involve large numbers of people and are organized and controlled by a small group of people” (Collins Dictionary)

Some people reading this may feel that this is an extreme characterisation but I will explain why I feel the ‘DISCOs’, and specifically Ikeja Disco, have many similarities to organised crime.

Let’s take the first definition and examine the similarities; the Electricity Distribution Companies in Nigeria are controlled by powerful groups, and their activities are carried out on a large scale. If you want power from the National grid, you must patronize one of the Discos and they’re eerily similar to organized crime in that they have specific catchment areas and if you live in their neighbourhood, you must patronize them. So the consumer has no control over which distribution company he patronizes, if you live on Lagos Island, you must use the Eko Disco, and if you live in Ikeja you must use the Ikeja Disco. Organized criminals do not give their victims choice, if you live in the Don’s neighbourhood, you must pay homage to him.

Now someone may ask “what criminal activities are they involved in?” So I go back to my organised crime analogy to answer this question. A common activity for people engaged in organized crime is shaking people down for ‘protection money’, it doesn’t really matter if you need the protection or not ‘you gotta pay’. Even if your life wasn’t in danger before they approached you, you can be certain that it will be in danger if you do not pay up. The irony of protection money is that you are paying the person whom you need protection from to protect you! In the same way, the Discos send their bills to you to shake you down for a service that is hardly ever provided. They bring a bill without rhyme or reason and they ask you to pay. If you ask them to explain why you have to pay, they tell you that you should pay first, then complain later. They threaten to disconnect your non-existent power and even when they disconnect you the bills keep coming; if you pay, you don’t get electricity, if you don’t pay, you still don’t get electricity…are you seeing the similarities now?

Let’s take a look at definition 2, “ongoing conspiratorial enterprise...as a means of generating income”. Whenever I come across the word ‘conspiracy’, I think of something secret, ambiguous and involving several parties altogether designed to hoodwink or cause harm. The Discos have an ongoing criminal enterprise in that they absolutely refuse to share the bases of their billing system. Those of us who are saddled with the nebulous estimated billing system can all agree on one thing: we do not know or understand how our electricity bills are calculated. There was even a popular joke on the internet about Nigerians being made to pay for sunlight in view of the absence of electricity!

What is the purpose of this deliberately ambiguous billing system? There is only one purpose and it’s to generate profit with minimum effort. So the Discos are basically extorting money from consumers regardless of actual service provided. Organised crime is very big on extortion, in fact I would say extortion is one of their favourite activities.

Now what about definition 3? “Criminal activities which involve large numbers of people…organized and controlled by a small group of people”

Just think of the sheer size of the Nigerian population - 180-200mn people; how many people in total work for the DISCOs and their enablers in Government? So this small group of people extort money from all Nigerians who are connected to the national grid. The extent of the extortion is so great that even our much maligned legislators have taken note, one legislator even describes the activities of the DISCOs as “financial oppression”!

Organized Crime succeeds as long as people remain in fear; threat of physical harm keeps victims of extortion in line. DISCOs in Nigeria strong-arm their victims (certainly not customers, no self-respecting business will treat its customers so atrociously) into paying unfathomable bills with the threat of disconnection.

Fear makes people irrational because I have always wondered why we are so afraid of being disconnected from a service that is largely non-existent. Organized crime figures are usually demystified and brought down when people stop being afraid. I know the DISCOs don’t use violent means to maintain compliance to their oppressive demands but the fact that electricity in the 21^st © is essential to day to day living, the threat of disconnection is a big deal because, as we like to say in Nigeria, ‘half bread is better than none’. If only we would wake up and realize that we are not going to get the half bread…

What Type of Leader?

I got the inspiration for this from the Independence sermon Pastor Sam Adeyemi preached 02/10/2016.

I am going to paraphrase God’s blueprint for selecting a leader from Deuteronomy 17:14-19 in the hope that we will select/elect worthy leaders in Nigeria very soon:

Deuteronomy 17: 14 When you come into the land which the LORD your God is giving you, and possess it and dwell in it, and say “I will set a king over me like all the nations that are around me”

God knows that we all desire leadership; it’s this inherent desire that keeps us from living in total chaos.

Deuteronomy 17: 15 you shall surely set a king over you whom the LORD your God chooses; one from among your brethren you shall set as king over you; you may not set a foreigner over you who is not your brother.

Many of us do not take the choice of leadership seriously; we’ll pray about whom to marry, which job to take but not about the people who lead us; God wants to be involved in our choices. He wants to help us choose. When He says you should choose from among your brethren, don’t think it’s license for blind tribalism or clannishness. Your brother or sister is the one who has compassion on you; your brother is the one who identifies with you. Your brother is the one who desires the greater good. Your brother is the one who understands your difficulties and seeks to help you. Your brother isn’t the man from the same village as you whose only ambition is to raid the country’s treasury, such a person is an enemy whose ambition must be thwarted!

When a leader's life is so far removed from the lives of the followers that there is no conscious effort at improving lives; when the leader is out of touch with the people then s/he is a 'foreigner' not a brother.

Deuteronomy 17: 16 But he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, for the LORD has said to you ‘You shall not return that way again’.

Horses in ancient times symbolized power, security and wealth; but a good leader should not use his position to multiply these for himself. A good leader is supposed to multiply power, security and wealth to his followers. He shall also not cause his people to ‘return to Egypt to multiply horses’. When the Bible talks about a return to Egypt, more often than not it’s in reference to retrogression. A return to Egypt presupposes a return to slavery, suffering and sin. A good leader moves his/her people forward not backward, a good leader doesn’t force followers into any form of slavery.

It is a form of slavery to pay taxes and not have access to good roads, sound health care, electricity etc. It is slavery to work for 30 years and not receive pensions in due course; it is slavery to work and go without pay for months on end whilst the leader is busy multiplying 'horses' for himself.

Deuteronomy 17: 17 neither shall he multiply wives for himself lest his heart turn away; nor shall he greatly multiply silver and gold for himself.
A leader should not be frivolous! Frivolity reduces the capacity for purposeful leadership; it turns away the heart from the important issues of governance. With frivolity comes greed for wealth. A leader shouldn’t be preoccupied with his/her whims and caprices. A heart that is ‘turned away’ is one that is distracted and unable to focus on the task at hand.

Leaders who are more interested in acquiring expensive toys,wives and enjoying the trappings of high office are frivolous and unfit for purpose.

Deuteronomy 17:18 -19 Also it shall be when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book, from the one before the priests, the Levites. And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God and be careful and to observe all the words of this law and these statutes.

Do our leaders even know what our constitution says? Are they erudite people who read, write and think? Do our leaders even obey the laws of the land? This verses tell us that we should elect leaders with capacity for:

• ·         Intellect/erudition
• ·         Introspection
• ·         Discipline
• ·         Respect for the rule of law

When the next election cycle comes along, please think about these verses because they are timeless and universally applicable. Let’s do away with frivolity, lawlessness and greed in high places.

Compassion or Appearances?

The tragic story of Ronke Bewaji Shonde, the lady who was allegedly murdered by her husband in a fit of rage, has been trending and people are understandably very moved by the circumstances of her demise.

Many people have given their 2 cents and a recurring theme has been the role of her pastors and other advisers who told her to persevere in the face of persistent physical abuse. I don’t claim to know the conversations she had with her pastor, I don’t even know if the pastor was privy to the problems in the marriage. None of us knows for sure if the decision to hold on wasn’t solely the victim’s. That said, I would disagree strenuously with anyone who gives advice that places a woman in harm’s way just because you feel the need to protect ‘the home’.

As a Christian, I do wonder if telling a woman to stay and persevere in an abusive situation all in the name of maintaining the sanctity of the ‘marriage’ actually reflects the Person of Christ. When I read the Gospels, one thing that resonates with me about Jesus’s encounters with people (especially women) is His overarching compassion for their circumstances. Take the case of the woman who was caught in adultery and about to be stoned to death; the gruesome truth about her situation was that death by stoning was the prescribed punishment in Mosaic Law. The Pharisees were not breaking the Law by wanting to punish her and Jesus didn’t contest that fact as a fellow Jew. But He knew the real reasons behind their ‘righteous indignation’ – they weren’t interested in upholding morality, their anger wasn’t righteous – first, they wanted to entrap Jesus because they felt threatened by Him, and then they were also just hypocrites who had found someone that they felt superior to, someone who was unfortunate enough to get caught. He saw right through them and challenged their feelings of superiority by telling the one without sin to cast the first stone and of course, there was no one left to execute the punishment.

Jesus could have been pedantic and said “the Law is the Law” (the woman was not falsely accused from all indications) but He didn’t because He knew that compassion is more life changing than the rigid application of the law. He was more interested in preserving a life by showing mercy.

In His encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well, He didn’t list out all the provisions of the law regarding her status as a woman who had been married 4 times, in fact as a Rabbi, He should not have even spoken to her. When the woman of questionable reputation poured perfume on him and washed His feet with her tears, He didn’t kick her away to maintain appearances as the spectators expected. When the woman with the issue of blood touched His garment, He wasn’t concerned about the fact she was in an ‘unclean’ state according to the provisions of the Law, He didn’t accuse her of defiling Him, rather He saw her need and addressed it. In fact, if anybody had the right to wave the law over these women and insist on a strict adherence to it, it should have been Christ because He was sinless. Was his failure to condemn them a result of His disregard for the Law? No, everyone marveled at his authority and knowledge whenever he preached, but he understood the intent of the Law and knew that God was/is not interested in a rigid external fulfillment of the law to the exclusion of mercy and justice. He said “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices--mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law--justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former” (Matthew 23:23)

So when a marriage becomes a dangerous arena for one of the parties involved, is it an act of mercy and compassion to coldly tell the abused person to stay and pray for change in the danger zone because God hates divorce? When a woman’s life is endangered in the name of a marriage, how does God get the glory? I wonder if the real reason for such advice is because we want to foster love and reconciliation or because we want to avoid the awkwardness and unpleasantness of a less than perfect marriage in the church. I wonder if the advisers are more concerned about keeping up appearances than the well-being of the concerned parties.

When a married woman is turned into a punching bag on a regular basis, can we say with all honesty, that the marriage is fulfilling divine purpose? Children who grow up seeing their mother regularly subjected to beatings and humiliation are not happy and well adjusted. A woman who lives in constant fear is definitely living below her God given potential.

Some people will say things like ‘seek the will of God in prayer’ but I don’t see how practical this is; in any case distance doesn’t negate prayer. We all have survival instincts and I believe it’s a gift from God because the life He gives is precious, so He has engineered us to instinctively preserve our well-being. The people who say ‘seek God’s will’ before attempting to preserve your life will not seek God’s will before looking right and left when crossing a road; if a deadly snake suddenly appeared on their path, they would not pause to pray about whether to kill the snake or flee. I don’t know how a woman in a dangerous marital situation is any different.

I know the Christian life is one of sacrifice and hard choices but God’s commandments are not burdensome (1 John 5v3). God knows that we are imperfect and we make bad choices but the fact that a woman, for whatever reason, made the decision to marry a violent man does not mean that she must pay for it with her life. 

Living on Edge

Don't push me 'cause I'm close to the edge

I'm trying not to lose my head, ha-ha

It's like a jungle sometimes, it makes me wonder how I keep from goin' under

It's like a jungle sometimes, it makes me wonder how I keep from goin' under

[Grandmaster Flash - The Message]

The lyrics above came to mind after I had two close encounters with anarchy. I am compelled to share these experiences in the hope that someone in a position of power will wake up and ‘smell the anger’.

The two experiences are tied to the perennial petrol scarcity that seems to have become the new normal, both events played out at petrol stations.

About 3 weeks ago, when I had avoided the petrol queues long enough for my fuel gauge to get to empty, I decided to take my chances at one of the stations along Ikorodu Road. The queue was single file and orderly (or so it seemed); I brought out my Kindle to catch up on some reading (hate waiting without having any activity to fill the time). After 40 minutes on the queue, I was finally inside the station, success! Then it all went downhill. A lot of bare chested guys flooded the station with plastic containers of all sizes and the atmosphere immediately changed, there was a lot of jostling and shouting and I silently prayed everything would settle down. Then some soldiers got into the mix and we all know how ‘good’ they are with crowd control. The horsewhips were out in a flash and next thing there’s a guy on my bonnet yelling something and that was my own moment of Zen because I stopped to contemplate the ridiculousness of some strange guy on my car's bonnet all because I needed to get some petrol.

And then the guns came out too, and then the threats from the battle scarred guys determined to buy fuel for resale on the streets of Lagos. The rallying cry was ‘e fo go so wo’ (translation: break some bottles). And then some more fierce looking young men flooded the station with different implements, one came in with two bottles of Fanta in his back pants pockets and I knew he didn’t intend to stop for some refreshment in the impending melee.

By this time I was frantically praying and looking for an escape route, suddenly the prospect of filling my tank just didn’t seem attractive any longer; I just wanted to be far away from the whole madness. But there was no way out so I was stuck; the good thing was that the soldiers had a healthy sense of self-preservation so they just made some halfhearted threats to shoot but who really wants to shoot up a gas station? And when they saw their threats were not having the desired effects on the thugs, they got their fuel and left; the balance of power was restored. That was my first glimpse of negative people power at work. Nothing, not even the threat of lethal force, was going to stop the thugs from their dubious enterprise; their belligerence fueled by ‘righteous’ indignation at the military personnel who were trying to take food off their table.

Second episode was on 18/04/2016; I was driving down Murtala Mohammed Way, one of the better roads in Lagos so I wasn’t looking to avoid any pot holes and the next thing I know, I had driven over what was supposed to be a covered manhole and immediately lost two tyres. The cover of the manhole had been removed for some strange reason that only applies in Nigeria and I drove over the hole at approximately 80km/hour. Thankfully, I got that sorted after about an hour and a half. Lest I forget, I had company in my Monday morning misery, another unsuspecting driver drove over the same manhole and guess what? He lost two tyres too; one of the perks of living in Nigeria is that no matter how annoying, absurd or ridiculous your situation is, you’ll always find company in it.

When I finally sorted the tyre palaver, I decided to tempt fate by getting on a petrol queue, I was already 2 hours late and I wasn’t in a frame of mind for work any longer, I was upset that I was living in a country where you could lose two tyres simply by expecting that manholes on a major road would be covered.

Whilst on the queue, I noticed a particular bare chested young man (I guess ‘area boys’ don’t bother with the niceties of covering up because they expect to get in a fight at some point in time, just my own theory) rolling a motorcycle in and out of the petrol station and siphoning fuel from the motor bike into a plastic keg.  This made me remember an Igbo proverb I had read in a Chinua Achebe novel many years ago - “since men have learnt to shoot without missing, the bird has learnt to fly without perching” - this proverb encapsulates the much vaunted Nigerian trait of resourcefulness. If the petrol stations wouldn’t dispense fuel into containers other than vehicle tanks, then we’ll simply use motor bikes even if we have to make the trip 5 times to fill up a keg.

I also observed another one of the thugs who had finally acquired a full keg of petrol after all his ‘hard work’ dancing in ecstasy and smoking a roll of marijuana. Another moment of Zen to contemplate the danger of a lit roll of weed with a keg of highly flammable liquid in hand; I guess the weed and the prospect of profit from the sale of his petrol made him too happy to care.

After a while I got to the petrol pump and the wahala began, some armed mobile police had come into the station and spotted the ‘resourceful’ young man who had decided to use a motor bike to purchase fuel as many times as needed to fill several plastic containers. I couldn’t hear what they were discussing but one of the policemen suddenly splashed water in the ‘petrol magnate’s’ face and all hell broke loose. The guy went ballistic and made to attack 4 armed men whilst everyone watched with growing alarm because we all know what happens when a civilian takes on armed policemen. Some of the thug’s supporters started throwing objects at the policemen and the next thing rifle butts were swinging all over the place but thankfully no shots were fired inside the station. The thug refused to be pacified and was determined to fight to protect his standing as a ‘hard man’; the fight was taken out of the station and our trigger happy cops started shooting in the air.

Just like my previous experience, I was trapped inside the station without an escape route. As my eyes were darting all over trying to figure out how to extricate myself from the potentially explosive situation (pun intended), I looked out and saw petrol boy and his goons with scarves over their faces, containers of fuel in one hand and lighters in the other. They were approaching the policemen and taunting them. At that point, I begged one of the cops to clear the road and let us all leave, by this time petrol was the last thing on anyone’s mind, people were already speeding away and thankfully I could drive out and leave. I later heard that one of the policemen had been stabbed and had to beat a hasty retreat.

So I had a pretty rough Monday but what struck me more was the realization of the fact that we are living in thinly veiled anarchy; in both events, the army and police were incapable of maintaining order even with force of arms. Some people might dismiss this and say the police were just being cautious in view of all the lives at risk. The real issue to consider is that there are lots of young people in our society that have nothing to lose and are ready to die violently along with many other innocents if their chosen means of survival is threatened. In view of the fact that these events happened in a space of 3 weeks, I can safely guess that these potential firestorms are being replicated at petrol stations all over Lagos.

As Nigerians, we generally pride ourselves on possessing great resilience; I’ve often heard people jokingly say if you push a Nigerian to the wall, he’ll make a hole and go through the wall! The joke about this legendary resilience is hollow in view of various manifestations of lawlessness and hopelessness. However, the people we have elected to make life better are still oblivious of the subtle change in the Nigerian psyche and are still handing out platitudes like “change takes time” and “things will get worse before they get better”. What they don’t understand is that there is a whole generation of youth who have not experienced the ‘better’ and only the ‘worse’.

The inability of the police to arrest certain people e.g. Tompolo; the Shia versus Army confrontation that led to hundreds of deaths; the ongoing war against Boko Haram; the murderous Fulani herdsmen and the various agitations all over the country are glaring signs of a country living on the edge of complete chaos.

If Nigeria were a soap opera, and events in Nigeria are decidedly more outlandish than any soap plot, the soundtrack of our lives would be “don’t push me cos I am close to the edge...”

Let Reason Rule

I just read an article by Chimamanda Adichie; it’s titled “To be Igbo in Nigeria is constantly to be a Suspect”. The article attempts to explain the reaction of Igbo people to Oba Akiolu’s tirade and why we should not wave the anger and the fear it has generated away. I understand what she’s trying to say and I think the bottom line is that we should take discrimination seriously because it affects us all one way or the other.

I have read lots of articles about the fiasco and I have seen that irresponsible comments made by people in authority truly bring out the worst in us. The Oba abused his office by making those comments; people in positions of trust should never use their positions to coerce their followers into a certain course of action. I have read some cringe-worthy articles by both Igbo and Yoruba writers and I have marveled at the level of seething resentment that exists in Nigeria. Worst of all, the politicians have hijacked the discussion and turned it into a ‘vote for me because I love you more’ campaign and to our discredit as a people, this sort of campaign is being taken seriously!

I know about discrimination by reason of being a single woman, living alone, with an unusual name that does not quickly lend itself to tribal affiliations. I have recently felt the weight of discrimination as a house hunter and it’s not just about “Mo o gbe ile mi fun Ibo o” (I won’t let my house to an Ibo person o); it’s also been about ‘We don’t rent to single ladies’ or more delicately “You have to come with your husband to view” and “How do you intend to pay” (as there is no man around). In the course of my search, I have had people ask me questions like “why aren’t you married at your age?” Someone even asked “are you a party girl” (whatever that means). I have had viewing appointments cancelled over the phone because the prospective landlord wants only “Yoruba Muslim” tenants. A prospective landlady asked me thrice in one conversation where my husband is and when he would be joining me and I told her thrice also, in the most even tone I could muster, that I am not married. Most of these encounters were with Yoruba people though the one about marriage and age is a free for all point of discrimination. Does this mean that I see the Yoruba race as my arch enemy? No, my mother is Yoruba for one, but that aside, I know that the fears expressed about me (I believe fear is the root cause of prejudice) are illogical. They are illogical because being Ibo doesn’t automatically translate to being a bad tenant; being a single woman doesn’t mean that I’m financially impotent or a raging ‘party girl’!  Being single or married doesn’t make you a better or worse citizen of Nigeria. I also know that reciprocal prejudice is a vicious cycle. I know that most prejudiced people don’t know any better and are simply products of unsavory experiences and negative socialization.

I also know that some people will always find something to be bigoted about. I recently discovered that being from Delta State and being Ibo are mutually exclusive occurrences  because somebody who considers himself the true judge of ‘Iboness’ says Delta people cannot be Ibo.  So where does it end? It ends with each individual; I have also been guilty of bigoted thinking at different times but this whole ‘Drowning in the Lagoon’ saga has made me think more clearly about the effects of discrimination and I have decided to go with logic instead.

Discrimination of any sort is damaging to people’s psyche because it is simply a form of rejection. It is terrible to be rejected because of circumstances that you cannot change, circumstances of birth and ethnicity, circumstances of marital status, age etc. However, the Oba’s comments will not affect my judgment and I think that if we are to grow as a people, logical thought has to take precedence in our daily affairs. The decision about who to vote for must not be made in a reactionary manner. Vote for whomever will work in your best interests, vote for the candidate you perceive as qualified for the job. Don’t let anyone tell you that you owe it to your ethnic group to vote for a particular candidate. Lagos State is not a group of clans, it is a metropolis. Your vote, today and in the future should be about making our metropolis work, it should be about making it a decent place to work and live in, and not about spite or reciprocal prejudice.

Cynicism is the Coward's Suicide

Cynicism is the bastion of the defeated. It is the breastplate of the conquered. It is the shield of the fearful. It is the bravado of those who feel powerless. Cynicism is the coward’s suicide.

Cynicism is the oppressor’s best friend because s/he already knows you believe the worst of them so why make the effort to change your mind?

The cynic says “what’s the point?” when asked to take positive action. The cynic looks away and pretends s/he isn’t bothered by atrocity after atrocity. The cynic refuses to try again because he’s sure that failure is waiting in the wings. The cynic believes nothing, hopes in nothing and tries desperately to feel nothing.

In this very political season in Nigeria, I’ve come across a great deal of cynicism; I’ve heard people say February 14 2015 will just be another opportunity to rest from the previous week’s toil. I’ve heard people say things like “wetin my vote go do?” I’ve seen people who are resigned to ‘fate’; people who have decided to ‘siddon look’. Please don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a campaign for anybody, this is an appeal to drag people out of the shadows. We have more than ten presidential aspirants though for all intents and purposes, it’s just between 2 people; whatever the case may be, each one of us has an opportunity to influence something momentous by casting a vote.

For those who may not be able to vote because of TVC and PVC issues, I sympathize because I’m affected too but for those who have cards and still live in the locality, there is just no excuse for not voting. I know we have been disappointed over and over by leadership, I know that some of the people we enthusiastically voted into office have become vampires operating in daylight but still…

We may not know it but people power has worked in the past. After the scuttled 1993 elections, people power put an end to Military rule in Nigeria; people power is what has ensured that we are not yet paying N200/litre for petrol because many Government pundits believe we should be paying the same rate as the US. People power has reduced the number of accidental discharges from police guns on our streets and it has made police checkpoints less menacing.

There’s something different about these elections; the two major parties have never had to campaign like this. They know that there’s something at stake; they know that we count. They’ve heard the anger, they’ve seen the countless tweets and posts. They know. There’s a lot happening on social media but I fear that most of us just think it’s a lot of hot air that will soon blow over.

Cynicism doesn’t change any situation, it just perpetuates the undesirable. Cynicism is like the silencer on a pistol, it mutes the noise of the shot but doesn’t minimize the damage. We need to be heard on February 14; we need to show Nigeria some love by voting.

To my Christian brethren who say things like “let God’s will be done” I’d like to let you know that God executes His will through people. God’s will is not isolated from His people’s actions. It is God’s will for me to be in good health but it is my responsibility to make healthy choices. It is God’s will for me to prosper materially but it is my responsibility to go out and work and give value to get value. It is God’s will for Nigeria to have good leadership, it is up to us to choose those leaders. Inaction isn’t faith, it is spiritual laziness.

Let those of us who have the statutory requirements make it a date with the ballot box. Let’s show Nigeria some love on Valentine’s Day.

“No democracy that stands in enviable heights ever rose on the back of acquiescing, lethargic and kowtowing citizens. Every voice counts…”Oby Ezekwesili

The Choice

At the height of the Ebola crisis in Nigeria, there were some macabre quips about choosing a disease. The joke goes thus: a certain person went to run some tests at the hospital and he comes out rejoicing about the disease he tested positive for, people around are baffled that he’s rejoicing over being HIV positive and he says “at least, it’s not Ebola!”

Choice isn't always grand, sometimes the options before us are so bad that we’d rather avoid making a choice. But every responsible person must make a choice at some point, the alternative is a lifetime of victimhood.  This brings me to the choice before us on February 14^th and I'm not talking cakes or flowers.

Everywhere I turn I hear arguments for or against the two main presidential candidates. I often find some of these arguments quite disturbing because they tell me that we are no longer interested in good governance. I recently heard someone say that the president should be allowed to ‘complete’ his second term as if it were a God given right for every president to have two terms in office. This is similar to saying that a student shouldn't be given a fail grade just because s/he showed up at the exam hall! This argument usually emanates from people who happen to be from Nigeria’s ‘down under’.

In response to the president’s ultra-soft stance on corruption, the argument is that corruption is systemic in Nigeria and there’s little or nothing that can be done about it. I believe that no matter how gargantuan a problem is, it can be solved when there’s a will. If a leader’s body language says ‘I don’t give a damn’ about stealing then where is the will for the followers to take a stance against it? One of the most glaring instances of this is the case of a minister who presided over a 2.5 trillion naira scam not too long ago, this same minister has been recommended for a prominent international position. I cannot catalogue every instance of this administration’s romance with graft but I know that it is pretty obvious that we are currently in the most enabling dispensation for graft, theft, embezzlement, misappropriation (I don't want to use that nebulous word ‘corruption’ lest some people get into a hysteria of hair splitting semantics)

The latest argument for the incumbent’s reelection was put forward by someone whom I feel should know better. The PDP’s gubernatorial aspirant for Lagos state argues that GEJ should be reelected to prevent South-South militants from blowing up our oil wells thereby destroying what’s left of our battered economy. This thinking is shocking first because it suggests that Nigerians are under siege and must obtain their freedom by voting against their will. It’s also shocking for a less obvious reason – this argument tells me that even Mr. Agbaje knows within himself that there’s no plausible reason to elect his party’s presidential candidate, so he resorts to the vote for my president or the bogeyman will get you argument!

Another tenuous defense of this administration is the fact that the man at the helm has good intentions but very bad advisers. Well, leadership is about influence not just political office, if all the people who surround a leader are bad and incompetent then there is a need for the leader to undergo a thorough self-examination. A long time ago, I read the autobiography of Lana Turner, a Hollywood star of the 40’s and 50’s. She had married and divorced 7 different men but she somehow managed to pin the blame for the failure of the marriages on the men and I just wondered about the odds of such a saintly woman attracting 7 horrible men in one lifetime. At best, the failed marriages say something about her judgment.

The APC candidate is by no means an ideal candidate. He’s an ex-military head of state who’s known to have violated many human rights and he’s also made some very provocative statements. The fact of our very limited choices for leadership is a symptom of the state of the nation.  It tells the tale of a country that is still hamstrung by primordial affiliations to tribe and religion; it tells of a people who have become so cynical that the very notion of good leadership has become unthinkable.

Be that as it may, we cannot fold our arms and sit on the fence and expect things to ‘work out’ by some stroke of luck. We must work with what we have until we get something better; we as a people, have to make a choice no matter how unpleasant. Inaction is often acquiescence to the status quo. The choice for me isn't so much about the candidate, the choice is about my hope for change though some may argue vehemently that the opposition won’t change anything, well we will have a chance to find out if that’s true or false in the next 4 years (if they win).

The president has had 6 years to convince us that he can do the job and to some people he has proved himself but to others, he has failed. The imminent election is a chance for those who believe he has failed to choose someone else in the hope that that person will do a better job. That’s democracy.