the english, american, and nigerian

so you've heard the one about the english guy, american, and nigerian at the bar, right? what is that? you haven't? well allow me to tell you. there was a english guy, an american and a nigerian sitting having a beer at a bar in london on election night. the english lad turns to the other two and says, "mates, you're really watching true democracy in action. our system is so good, that we're having the elections now and in just a couple days, we will know who the winners are, barring run-offs." the american just smiled and said, "man, y'all have some stuff to learn. we hold our elections in america and that same night, we know who the president is!" meanwhile, the nigerian bloke is just having the time of his life, laughing at these two okes. takes a break from his laughter and says, "guys, our system in nigerian beats all others. even though we are having elections today, we've already decided on the winner months ago!"

I read this recently: "Nigerians are incurable optimists and believe the ballot is the way to effect change. This will clearly not go on forever. As it is said, if you fool a person once you are a fool, but if you fool that person twice then for sure that person is a fool. I don’t think the Nigerian youth is a fool."

nigerian elections are coming up in a little over a month, on 9th april. so i'll be writing about that quite a bit from now. but of course i'll try to write about other things as well. and i promise, to those that are not into politics and government, i will write very shortly about something much more personal. watch this space...

for now, back to nigerian elections. Everywhere you go, you're bound to run into nigerians. and everytime i to talk to nigerians about the upcoming elections, they are always so optimistic. there's a reason nigerians have won the prize for most optimistic people 3 years running. anyway, im one nigerian who's doing his best to hold back any measure of optimism. don't get me wrong, i would love nothing else than to be optimistic, but a wise prof once told me "a cynic is simply someone who used to be an optimist and has just been knocked down too many times." ive been disappointed in nigeria too many times, ive ached for nigerian too many times, ive rejoiced in nigeria too many times and then watched it take 14 steps back after 1/2 a step forward, ive sobbed for nigeria too many times. i also deeply respect my friends who remain optimists and hope that i can one day regain that same sense.

This nigerian election is different only for one reason. There is no clear frontrunner. Yes, the sitting president will likely win, because thats how they roll, but he's not a given, as the aforementioned joke alludes. Mr. goodluck, if he wins this election, will finally be able to claim that for the first time in his life, he's actually won an election (although he's been deputy governor, governor, vice president, then president). he will also accomplish another first in being the first president from the so-called "south-south" - the oil rich part of the country. the part of the country that makes the nation one of the richest in the continent, but a region which remains one of the poorest in the world. His major competition, a man i truly respect, is mr. ribadu, former and exiled chairman of the anti-corruption body under the former president OBJ. This man has vision, and he's young and vibrant and a hope-monger. im a sucker for hope-mongers! i very much doubt he'll win tho as he belongs to a much smaller party than the ruling party, but i like the hope he's instilling in young nigerians. the other competitor is mr buhari, who is past his prime and his time, but whom many nigerians respect for good reason.

I don't really have a fovourite for the election, but what im hoping is that more than any other election in the history of this young nation, the electorate wakes up and begins to demand action and progress. i doubt anything like egypt or tunisia will happen in nigeria, for good reason (tho i wouldnt be completely opposed to it), but instead, what nigeria needs are politicians that begin to debate policy, issues, and outcomes. tell me what youve done or what you plan to do and exactly how you will do it and you get my vote. the current lagos governor for example was accused by the opposition of corruption and while people knew he had shady dealings, no one gave a flying saucer, because what he's been doing for the last several years in lagos has had real and positive effects on the lives of ordinary lagosians. signs of progress are visible and continuous. is it not time we began to demand such from all our politicians? starting with our president? how many times must we listen to empty promises of reform in energy? or end to blackouts? no one even talks jobs or employment anymore, while the related issues of crime and gangsterism are increasingly on the rise. what about progressive issues of renewable energy that the economy is well positioned to take advantage of? what about health care and mortality rates? tourism? or an economy that encourages and harbours small and medium sized start-ups instead of frustrating them? "Nigeria's election commission has already deployed 240,000 people-more than all armies of west africa's 16 countries put together-and 132,000 data capture machines, which if lined up edge-to-edge, would cover over 80km." surely, change is in the air, no?

a friend of mine set up a day of prayer for nigeria and the elections tomorrow on facebook. i admire that. but firmly believe that faith without action is DEAD. nigerians should stop being a "hopefully" country, praying and longing for that one day when things may get better. and begin making changes now! im not talking of revolutions and uprisings. im talking of rejecting corruption as a way of life. being whistle blowers, starting impact business defying the difficulties that come with it, empowering children and youth, eduating. nigerians are smart and resiliant and we believe we're a special breed. we are. and if others can make change happen - the kind of change that impacts the ordinary citizen and brings about meaningful development - nigerians certainly can as well. in fact we should be leading the pack.

post-post: i think i write a fair bit about nigeria in this space. but im quite disappointed that i dont have the kind of following from nigeria that would be expected. so thats my goal now! interestingly, i have a sizeable following from the Ukraine! I know approximately no one in or from the Ukraine, but somehow, last week, the highest traffic i got was from the Ukraine. This week, Japan is threatening their position. go figure! anyway, nigeria is now on my watch list.

post-post #2: what leaders that remain in power despite election laws, or african leaders who refuse to recognise the power of democratically casted votes (looking at u zuma, goodluck, dos santos, etc), are saying is that they, as a sole individual, are more enlightened than the masses. while at times the masses may get things wrong, i reject that notion as firmly against the institution of democracy, the same institution that they purport to be champion. i also reject the notion that they are smarter than me. ur not.