The most common word among Nigerians right now is
“Change”. In every corner in Nigeria, change is the word.
And by extension Nigerians in diaspora are not left out.
They are also “demanding” change, mostly (though) on the
social media platforms.
Some of them are packing their bags and “jetting” to Nigeria
to be part of the change revolution. These patriotic
Nigerians in diaspora argue that you cannot effect change
by being thousands of miles away. They think to be agents
of change, they need to strategically position themselves on
ground in Nigeria rather than be contented with joining the
army of change on social media. They reckon that change
needs more than the “revolutionary posts” some of their
compatriots are churning out on Facebook, Twitter etc.
These set of Nigerians who have put their faith in their
“legs” and decided to relocate home must be praised. The
patriotic instinct in them has been ignited and they believe
they can make an impact in the process. However, I hasten
to say that at the approach of general elections in the
country, some Nigerians in diaspora usually see these as
opportunities to fit in to the “system” they walked away
from some years back. Unfortunately, most of them come
back after these elections with disappointments and
unpleasant stories.
I have often asked myself why majority of them get
frustrated out of Nigeria’s political system. The truth is that
things are done differently in the society they came from
and they soon discover they cannot fit into the peculiar
Nigeria “system” where every “card” is played on ethnicity
and religion. But it takes a lot of convincing to change the
mind of a determined Diasporan not to go on a fruitless
political journey.
THE CHANGE IS HERE
The “journey” to “change” peaked in Nigeria towards the
end of 2014. The word has literarily replaced the national
anthem. It has also rested (hopefully) the iconic words
“Bring Back Our Girls”. In the last part of 2014, Nigerians
realised there must be a change. And we have all been
chanting this word and making no progress towards
effecting the real change. The politicians are vociferous
about the change that has to come. The ordinary masses
are in it too, believing this is what can guarantee their basic
meals.
In recent times, especially with the Nigerian situation, I have
come to realise that change has different meanings. It
depends on what side you are. To the politicians shouting
change, what they want is a change in their personal status,
so they can have control of the resources. While the
ordinary Nigerians want a miraculous change that will
create millions of jobs, banish poverty and put nice meals
on their tables.
I love Nigerians. We are a unique people. This uniqueness is
reflected in what we do, and how we realise results. This is
also reflected in our politicians. They are all over the places
chanting change, with no laid down process to achieve this.
A friend of mine during the week lamented that what we are
demanding as a nation is superficial. He argued that for any
meaningful change to happen, the individual psyche must
be “retuned”. Unfortunately, what we want as Nigerians is a
change of government and not a change of individuals.
We ask who are the people who make up the government!
These are individuals and they are Nigerians. If we change
the government and bring in new set of Nigerians, we shall
still be shouting change in a few months’ down the line. It is
the psyche of the ordinary Nigerians that need change, and
not the political grandstanding our leaders are engaged in
now. An ordinary Nigerian believes the government is a
gateway to wealth, so getting into government is a means of
having a comfortable life for himself and his family. Without
a change of this mentality, there is no “change” coming to
Nigeria.
Change does not come in a vacuum, it has to be effected.
And no society can be changed without changing the
individual. The Nigerian has to change himself before the
society can change. And this is the mistake these agents of
change are making. Change cannot be achieved overnight.
It has to be a steady process.
The change campaign is obviously a failure from the
beginning. It is set up to fail because the foundation is
wrong. Our politicians have different reasons for demanding
“change”. Mr A. who lost his political party primaries is
demanding change. Mr B. is demanding change because a
party has been in power for “far too long”. While Mrs C. is
demanding a change because the candidate is not from her
“neck of the woods”. And Chief Z. wants a change because
there are more opportunities for economic patronage from a
particular candidate. While the masses are just confused,
they do not even know what they are supposed to be voting
to change.
The Nigerian case is different in many ways. This is a
country where politicians campaign to win a major election
purely on mudslinging and sentiments. In other climes,
elections are won on the basis of how candidates have
drawn out plans to change the lives of citizens. The 2015
General Elections in Nigeria is just a few weeks away, yet
no manifestoes and the voters do not know what “change”
these candidates are hoping to bring. All we hear is “Time
For Change.”
The United Kingdom General Elections takes place a few
months away too, yet the politicians are already educating
the voters on their plans. On Friday, the ruling Conservative
Party came out with its first campaign ad. It was a simple
yet effective one that highlighted how many jobs it created
and how it halved the country’s deficit. No mention was
made of the opposition parties’ educational qualifications or
religion.
But we are obsessed with change. Will there ever be a
change? Will the education sector ever witness a change?
Will the health sector ever witness a change? Will anything
ever change in the year 2015? Will anything ever change in
Nigeria after the elections? These are questions that are
begging for answers. Unfortunately, none is here.
Source: vanguard
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