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Voices Gone Quiet By Musa Mandarin
Nigerians are the loudest people you will ever meet any where in the world. A country of 140 Million people, where talking loudly is the norm not the exception. From the markets to the car parks, the airports to the banking halls and the beer parlours, you will hear the average Nigerian’s voice, talking about what he holds dearly. In most cases this revolves around the state of the Nigerian economy and what needs to be done to improve it. He also has an opinion about how corrupt and insensitive the country’s leaders are. Every Nigerian will voice his or her opinion without being asked and that opinion will be uttered with the most passion.
It is thus amazing that given all this, the average Nigerian when he or she is asked will not be able to speak his mind, he restricts his opinion to the beer parlours and the comfort of his home, when he is asked to vote out the very leaders that he sees as inept and corrupt, he shies away from his or her civic duty, the argument being that the vote will be wasted anyway. When asked to flood the streets to demand for their rights and seize back what has been corruptly taken from them, they are afraid of the might of those in power and would rather stay indoors boarded up.
This Nigerian who has been ravaged by the systemic corruption prevalent in his country is hoping that one day, his brother, friend or relative will occupy a high office and thus provide him with the opportunity to be able to cater for his family all that the government should and doesn’t provide. He hopes for all this because that is all he has…. Hope.
We are now witnessing a situation where the voice of the average Nigerian has been stifled beyond belief. What is being done? Nothing, absolutely nothing. Our voices are not being heard over the din of the third term crescendo. We have given up our rights and allowed a few so-called power brokers to determine our fate in some back room, sharing out the spoils of our birthright like it was theirs.
When we talk about colonization by the British, we should remember that this is far worse. Colonization by your own leaders who are meant to protect us, fight for our rights, not usurp them. These people mutate when they get into high office, becoming unrecognizable, consumed by their own greed and self-interest.
Obasanjo has mutated, now believing that he is the country’s saviour, but then maybe he was always like that and his mutation isn’t as absolute as we think. Obasanjo is trying to convince Nigerians that he is the best thing for this country and any other person will only destroy all the good work he has done. Yes he has done his little bit and I don’t use that word lightly, because all he has done to improve the country’s economy is very little. He might believe that the introduction of GSMs, the national stadium in Abuja, the hosting of Miss World pageant in 2002 and the carnival this year are all achievements, but we don’t think so, those are all superficial and not what we need. What we need is improved security, power supply, well-equipped hospitals, and better schools to send our children to. These are the things we need.
At every turn we are told that the ongoing reforms are in our best interest, we should be strong and take the increase in fuel prices even though it results in the increase in the price of all goods and service. But we are told that these pains are all temporary and the advantages of these policies are for our children’s benefit. Basically we should die now for our children to benefit. This is a good argument, sacrifices are good, the only problem is that our children have already been born and they are feeling the bite of these policies too.
What I have said here is nothing new, these are things known to the average Nigerian; he reads it everyday in one form or the other. But that is not enough, now is the time for every Nigerian to stand up for his or her rights. Sitting back in the comfort of our homes does nothing to help us out of the state we find ourselves.
If we sit back and say nothing, we will all come and see this third term plan actualized, and what do we do then? We should all come out on the 1st of January 2006 at 12 Noon and say no to this third term bid. If we do this maybe our voices will carry the message to Otta via Aso rock.
I heard the following in a movie and nothing better illustrates the need for us to take our own fate in our hands.
‘….the human voice is different from other sounds; it can be heard over noises that bury everything else, even when it is not shouting, even if it ís just a whisper. Even the lowest whisper can be heard over armies, when it is telling the truth….’ The Interpreter-2005
I look forward to seeing you all at Noon on the 1st of January 2006, as we strive to begin the process of retaking our destinies from the hands of those that wish to turn us into slaves in our own country.
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