In 2011, The Nigerian Blogosphere Should Match WOrds with Action

Over 3 years ago, I wrote the article "When talk alone is cheap" the issues that I espoused have not changed significantly since then, what has changed though is the growth of the Nigerian blogosphere, from Saharareporters to the nigeriavillagesquare.com, you will agree with me that the power brokers are paying some attention to what Nigerians have to say, sadly, that is where it ends, except for a few charitable acts here and there, the British Airways boycot etc, the Nigerian blogosphere in my opinion has not effectively utilized its medium to demand for and get the change it desires. With hundreds and possibly thousands of active, well informed bloggers, the Nigerian blogosphere ought to retool and harness its human capital in the fight to take Nigeria back.
It is refreshing to read Pius Adesanmi's narrative on his attempt to take Nigeria back one village at a time, this is a good start but we all need to join in this effort. We can start from our wards, villages and states.
While on the subject of taking Nigeria back, I want to call our attention to an assumption that I have noticed within the Nigerian blogosphere, its what I call an acute distrust of anyone or any ideal that does not come to our self proclaimed idea of political puritanism. In this case, you will find the most vicious critic of Nuhu Ribadu, Bola Tinubu, Pat Utomi, Nasir El Rufai, Donald Duke, Ngozi Iweala and a host of other promising progressive Nigerians. While I am not suggesting that criticism is not appropriate, infact it is necessary, I do however believe that our criticism should be couched in political reality. These group of men and women may not have lived up to our best ideals all the time but they are certainly and I say this without any equivocation, they are a far cry from what Nigeria has lived through within the last three decades.
What is needed here is a collaborative effort between the Nigerian blogosphere and those who are on the ground in Nigeria, the ones that are showing signs of promise, we need to encourage them, correct them constructively when we think they are wrong and work in partnership with them to usher in the Nigeria of our dreams. I have reposted "When talk alone is cheap" in its entirety. I believe it is as poignant then as it is now.

When talk alone is cheap



First published by http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com, 22 January 2006

Am not going to bore you all with the same over flogged rhetoric, that Nigeria doesn't have reliable energy, that most of our infrastructures are in dilapidated states, that our healthcare delivery is in shambles, our security agencies ram shackled, that even though our constitution calls for a federal system of government, we are in fact a unitary state and that with the rest of the woes facing this nation, the Nigerian people have been greatly traumatized in the process.
The issue now is, since we have identified most of the ills facing our nation and in most cases also offered solutions, what do we do next? Are we just going to be armchair commentators or soldiers in the battlefield of freedom?
I declare that talk is cheap when it is not backed by action, Nigerians in the Diaspora have a great opportunity to live and work in an environment where their labor is rewarded handsomely, they should use whatever leverage they have to press home to the Nigerian government that good living ought not to be a preserve of the rich and mighty in Nigeria alone but that the government’s primary responsibility is in creating an enabling environment for prosperity to thrive for all.
We have to note that there has been a pattern amongst past and present Nigerian leadership. More often than not, they are anti people, morbidly corrupt, oppressive and utterly totalitarian. The result has been the continued deterioration of every facet of life of the Nigerian people. As you read this, the average life span of a Nigerian is at 44 years! How pathetic!!
Because of this kind of leadership, we as a people have been tuned to forever criticize and compare one bad government to another. Now it is my humble opinion that we need to do more. The Wole Soyinkas, Anthony Enahoros et al have done their part, the torch should pass on to younger Nigerians both in the Diaspora and in the motherland, all hands must be on deck to wrestle Nigeria out of the hands of the thieving class that has become its albatross. The following are ways that I think we can do this:

The formation of a strong multi ethnic coalition with card carrying members both in the Diaspora and in the motherland
They should have a constitution that would not be ambiguous and one that will be ratified by all founding members.
A standing committee with clearly defined tenure that will carry out the day to day activity of the organizations should be put in place.
Their agendas should be clearly spelt out, its primary goal should be to promote good governance in Nigeria using legitimate channels to achieve this.
In the Diaspora, these organizations will be saddled with carrying out seminars, workshops etc and protest marches whenever any high ranking government official is visiting. Its standing committees will provide the logistics for these.
The standing committees will also be responsible for lobbying members of the United States congress and other European parliaments.
Besides the annual stipends that will be contributed by card-carrying members, the committees will also have the mandate to seek for funds from individuals, foreign governments and multi national corporations.
All affairs of these organizations must be transparent and democratic in order for it to be credible.
With well coordinated efforts, these organizations will have favorable legislation passed on its behalf demanding good government accountability from Nigeria.
They can also participate in the Nigerian national assembly by sending forth pro-growth bills to the body, the issue of our federalism and the workability or otherwise of the present constitution should take front and center.
Finally, after careful consultation within its members and with some financial stability, these organizations can metamorphose into a political party and continue to set agenda for the nation.
I submit that if we as a people can fight for what rightfully belongs to us instead of just talking about it, we can indeed move a long way towards the free and prosperous Nigeria that we dream of. If you agree that yesterday was too late a day to have started this, then lets get it started now.

My take on the Mimiko Verdict

While I rejoice with the majority of Nigerian progressives on this important victory, we must also insist on urgent electoral reforms that will forestall this kind of occurence in the future. Its been almost two years since the election was conducted and till date there are still pending litigations scattered across the nation. This is not healthy for the country, if it bears repeating, all electoral litigations ought to be dispensed with before a substantive public official is sworn into office.

This is not just plain common sense, it makes for good economics too. The current practice of unending litigation will continue to encourage corruption, a dearth of ideas from public officials who are embroiled in trying to keep their seats and the real victims are the Nigerian electorate who will have to suffer the consequences of elite conflicts.

As we celebrate yet another judicial victory and an affirmation of the independence of our courts, we must hasten to make sure that the Nigerian National Assembly pass the appropriate electoral laws, one that will save us from this non stop national embarrassment.

And of course, one that will deliver democracy dividends to the Nigerian people in a timely fashion.