SORROW TEARS AND BLOOD

"my people self dey fear too much

we fear for the thing we no see

we fear for the air around us

we fear to fight for freedom

we fear to fight for liberty

we fear to fight for justice

we fear to fight for happiness

we always get reason to fear

we no wan die

we no wan wound

we no wan quench

we no wan go

i get one child

mama dey for house

papa dey for house

i wan build house

i don build house

i no wan quench

I wan enjoy

i no wan go"

Fela Anikulapo kuti

Sorrow Tears and blood (1977)

As the huge wind of revolution and uprising sweeps across the African continent,one cant help but wonder what country gets hit next by this wind of change. The uprising started in December when a street fruit vendor in Tunisia set himself on fire, killing himself in the process to protest corruption ,unemployment and political turmoil in the country. Hosni Mubarak's Egypt was next to be hit with this revolution.The internet and social networking sites such as Face book and Twitter helped spread the movement for change in Egypt which has been under the helm of Mubarak (82yrs) since the assassination of its former president Anwar El-Sadat in 1971.The revolt this time is clearly fueled by the youth who are tired of seemingly unending relegation to the margins of their country's political process and are demanding change in the most fundamental of ways.

                                                     

African history in the last quarter of a century has been characterized largely by corrupt and  inept authoritarian regimes that once reigned supreme all across the African political landscape and has unsuprisinlgy hindered the growth and development of the continent which constitutes about 13% of the world population(as at 2008).African leaders are known to be power drunk and always wanting to rule for life,and this is one of the many reasons why political instability,crises,poverty,coups,mutiny,conflicts and all other social and political vices continue to slow the pace of growth and development on the African continent. The post of the president in the African setting is seen more like that a family title than that of a political post                                    

                          NAME                       AGE             COUNTRY            YEARS IN POWER  

1.           EDUARDO DOS SANTOS            68               ANGOLA                   22
2.          DENNIS SASSOU NGUESSSO     68               CONGO                       25
3.         PAUL BIYA                                       77               CAMEROON             27
4.         HOSNI MUBARAK                          82               EGYPT                        29
5.          ROBERT MUGABE                          86              ZIMBABWE              30
6.          MUAMMAR QADDAFI                 69              LIBYA                         40
7.          ZINE AL-ABIDINE BEN ALI           74              TUNISIA                    24
8.         YOWERI MUSEVENI                          67              UGANDA                  25
9.        KING MAKHOSETIV MSWATI III    42            SWAZILAND            25

                   

Lost in the thoughts of this political rumpus,i ask my self if Nigeria has the guts or impetus to follow the footsteps of her African sisters Tunisia and Egypt in demanding for a change in governance and demanding her people are being governed the right way by the right leaders. From my point of view,witnessing the type of demonstrations and uprisings calling for revolution in Egypt and Tunisia is far from happening in Naija( sorry aunty Dora) because a lot of factors are against this occurrence in the most populous black nation on earth.

                                                                              

After the devastating effects of the civil war( May27 1967 ) led by the Oxford-educated military governor, Major General Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu,which claimed many lives and properties,Nigeria has had her share of political turmoils,religious crises,tribal conflicts and ethnic violence that have at one point or the other threaten to segregate her people .However,we have been able to over come this threats to the national unity and continue to live together as a single entity.

Nigeria,the most populous country in Africa had seemingly made an easy transition to independence in 1960. Nigeria's 250 tribes, each with its own language and customs is characterized

with different types of people, many of them separated by religion, culture, and language. The diverse nature of its inhabitants will make it difficult to find a common voice in staging a wide spread demonstration against its government like the Egyptians have shown. The diversity and differences in culture,ethnicity,tribe,religion and political ideologies are possible obstacles that may thwart or slow down a possible movement against the government of the day.  

The average Nigerian is more concerned about putting food on the table for his/her family than taking part in a protest that may end his/her life at the end of the day. like 2face sang,'nobody wan die but dey wan go heaven' call it fear or an act of cowardice,its very rare to come across a Gala hawker who is ready to light himself on fire to protest corruption in government.This however does not imply that Gala hawker as a man who is afraid of change,he is afraid of a violence engulfed change which at the end of the day may not necessarily guarantee victory for the people.

It will however be obtuse,if I rule out totally the possibility of a mass protest against the incumbent government in case things go wrong to the point that an uprising is needed to uproot our corrupt leaders like the Egyptian and Tunisian examples. we need to ask our selves certain questions before the thoughts of a revolution comes to mind. Is the Nigerian press ready to spark the movement for change against the usurpers in government? Do you,this reader,find yourself holding a placard,barring all brutality dished out to you by the army,UP-MESA  or police all in the name of fighting for change?Are you ready to sacrifice your self by blowing up your self up to kick off the movement to bring change to Nigeria?. Hundreds of innocent Egyptian citizens have lost their lives in the struggle for change. Many are displaced and the Egyptian economy which is the 2^nd largest in Africa behind south Africa records losses  of about $310M per day.Are you ready to endure this hardship and possible loss of life?

These and many more questions need to be answered before thoughts of a revolution or an uprising comes to mind. Nigerians are known to be very prayerful people,a reason which many believe has kept us together till date.we can only hope but pray the coming elections provide the ideal president with the political sagacity to steer Nigeria and its wonderful people forward in peace and unity.Only time will tell if we are ready to thread the "Egyptian  path"..we cannot afford to witness another period of SORROW TEARS AND BLOOD...we just cant!

please note that the article above does not in any way represent the opinion of the General public,its  just a personal thought inspired by the evergreen music of the Late Fela Anikulapo kuti and Black coffee thus which i have decided to put into writing...