All revolutions in the history of our world were caused by either much poverty or much discontent: The French revolution, civil rights movement, the Ulster conflict, Arab spring, the Crusade, name it. The list is endless. All these revolutionary movements took either the peaceful path or the violent path. On the one hand, Martin Luther king Jr said, Meaningful and lasting change would come without revolutionary bloodshed. Truly It actually came few years later. On the other hand, taking the violent path to consolidate his regime however, Col. Mohammed Ghadafi shouted at the newly formed committee, The duty of the revolutionary committee is to practice revolutionary violence against the enemies of the revolution. This also was successfully carried out. So there are two ways to bring about a revolution. The event, struggles and break downs that culminated into peaceful or violent revolutions all over the world are mustard seeds in comparison tothe Iroko tree-like growth we have in Nigeria. We are carelessly sitting on a key of gunpowder and postponing the evil days. The country is longoverdue for a revolution to redress three major areas: Political rearrangement with a view to establishing true federalism; restructuringthe economic; and third, a revolution geared toward reuniting the nation (ethnics and religions). It is better and less costly to follow the peaceful path, though this usually takes a longer time and makes the revolutionaries look foolish especially when the authority acts deaf. The revolutionaries will however be blameless if after peaceful protests, cries and pleas, the container that stubbornly withholds their peace, unity, prosperity and benefits refuses to let go,they forcefully blow it open. Many Nigerians know where to go and how to get there, but they dont have a plane and a pilot. Nigerians are so out of time that they need to go in anyplane and any pilot, trained or untrained, even if the plane will crash. Sometimes any revolutionary action could be better than waiting. Waiting indarkness, insecurity and uncertainty. Waiting on corruption and bad governance; waiting on God to do something; waiting till the arrival of our childrens children when they would wonder why we, their fathers, couldnt fix issues until it boomerang, until they become displaced victims and refuges in Togo and Benin Republic. Few months ago, the government was warned of a replica of Arab awakening. I doubt if our beloved country will follow that path of change. Nigeria is very unique and creative. We might see an unusual type of revolution, just as we see new faces of corruption. All over the world,dogs wag their tails. Here, tails wag the dogs. Besides, revolutions can not be imported; every nation makes it own. The rebellion in Nicaragua wasdifferent from the one in Mexico supervised by Sub commandant Marcos. The Tunisian revolt was unlike the Libyan declaration. What we have seen near arevolution lately was the January 2012 demonstration of objection by the save Nigeria Group which was probably less than 30 percent equipped to be tagged a successful non violent revolution. Also before the protest a theory was nonexistent without which there cannot be a revolutionary movement. Finally the SNG was infiltrated by an unsympathetic and compromised body: NLC/TUC. Nigerians who actively participated in that confrontation, many may think, have retreated forever and regretting their action. No; they have tested the water and seen how deep the river is. That was the first step, the longest and the most difficult. There is no end to a revolution. It is only doomed to failure if those who make it cease to be revolutionaries. Nearly every character or ill that menaces our country is intimatelylinked with our political order. If we are sure of this what is delaying us from changing that disastrous order. Only when spending was cut and taxes increased in Greece, the peoples protest shut down the country. The electoral process has been deviled by increasing violence. To win elections, politicians strategies to make communities erupt in violence in religious or ethnic lines. The Boko Haram insurgency stems from this fact. The unseen face behind the group has 2015 as motive. Again, if we are sure they seek these offices because of its monetary largesse, why cant we embark on a reform to make that system less lucrative as its done in otherresponsible countries. It is the most deceitful system one can imagine. There is nothing as disheartening and dishonourable as raising the hope of afollower and dashing it. This dispensation has further taught us and established the fact that the candidates we see during campaigns are not the presidents and governors we get. Nigeria that used to rank 1st or 2nd as worlds happiest people is now positioned 109th, descending further with each bombing. This is one of the five countries that breeds half of the worlds malnourished children; where little kids keepback hunger by consuming water, unhygienic water, for that matter. It might be explainable if the country is void of resources and lacks plenty to go round. This is an entity where 50 chartered flights arerecorded daily, where a politician or corrupt businessman spends over 10,000 dollars to fly from Lagos to Abuja. The youth who painfully seek employment nowadays and die in the attempt are in same age group (20s and 30s) as were Awolowo, Bello, Enahoro, Buhari, Utomi, Murtala, Nzeogwu, Ifeajuna, etc when they led the nation. Again, any action could be better than waiting.
Posted on: Sun, 16 Mar 2014 09:51:10 +0000
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