There have been reports of a massive clamour for change as the ultimate solution to the problems of this great country Nigeria.
There have been talks of civil unrest which could lead to protest based on the political decisions of leadership, drastic decline of the Nigerian economy, and the resultant hardships faced by her citizens.
In the opinions of some political analysts, the economy of the nation is fast dwindling and if nothing is done then we might be gradually moving back to the recession we just recovered from. In their view, it might get worse especially with the added disadvantage of the recent corona virus pandemic the whole world just witnessed.
The major questions on the mind of Nigerians according to news sources is who will change the change that they are all clamouring for? It’s just like the famous question of who will bell the cat?
Indeed there’s a basic realisation that there are problems and that its only change that would be the authentic way forward. The actual question is who will begin and start this change?
Many are basically of the opinion that change starts with me and liken this kind of change to the famous moral quote which states that ” charity begins at home”.
A political activist trying to buttress the meaning of ”change starts with me” went further to say that, the above phrase is often misconceived and ascribe it to disparaging ordinary citizens. Whereas, the phrase change starts with me, should simply be an honest effort to get everyone involved in the process of rebuilding Nigerian.
Some, who however, beg to differ, claimed that what if you decide to change and everyone else around you refuse to change, of what positive use or impact will your solo change be? For them, change has to be spelt out with serious punitive measures that will affect everyone from top to bottom, including both the rich and mighty in quote. No one should and will be above the law of change should anyone be found wanting.
An unemployed graduate from the University of Calabar ranting about the dire situation of the country quoted the famous American rapper Tupac in his album ”me against the world” and said that, politics and politicians are hypocrites, they don’t ever listen and if they do, it’s for their own selfish purposes. They alone can bring about change if they abide by the change they put before all.
A community youth leader who believed that it’s true that all hands must be on deck, however protested against shielding of this regime and portraying Nigerians as lazy youths or people because for him an average Nigerian would hustle anytime and day and fight or struggle for survival.
A civil servant wading into the discussion said that some persons are clamouring that the Presidency goes to the South East, and yet there is no sign that they are ready to lead. By now they should be articulating their visions and building coalitions and evaluating those with pedigree to put forward. He went further to say that though he’s not from the East, he wouldn’t mind them being given a fair share of leadership reason being that, we’ve been trying a singular pattern and formula but it’s not working and it’s only a fool who would keep doing or repeating the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.
A cleric speaking on the subject of change claimed that it is indeed conventional to play the blame game and point accusing fingers basically at our leaders and politicians but we should not forget the famous adage that while you point a finger, some fingers are pointing back at you.
We may be right to accuse these political office holders as responsible for bulk of the problems we face in our country today but we should not also fail to understand and accept that we played our parts one way or the other when we accepted to dubiously elect or rig them to power, when we acted as political thugs or assassins, when we turned a blind eye to the dictates of our conscience and helped them achieved their political ambitions.
He ended up the political debate by stating that the change we so clamour for can only be achieved through these three simple processes;
-Create a Vision
-Start working and grooming leaders who would genuinely execute these visions
-Put in viable and lasting structures.
All of these are to be carried out without any fear of bias or prejudice
Irrespective of one’s tribe, culture, ethnicity or religious beliefs. Everyone indeed must be involved, he concluded.
Gift Joseph Okpakorese
Staff Writer
