Light up Nigeria -Quo vadis

I recently stumbled onto this article on 234next.com which brings up an interesting discussion on the situation faced by Nigerians. Feel free to comment on it.

Quo Vadis- Is a Latin phrase that means “where are you going?” For the subject at hand permit me to tweak the definition to mean “where are we going?” For 2 weeks now or there about, a silent but powerful storm by the name Light Up Nigeria has been blowing all over the ‘net.

What started as a catchphrase used by thousands of Nigerian youths to express their discontent on the shambolic state of power supply in the country via social networking sites has turned to out to be one of the fastest groups on Facebook and a strong trending topic on Twitter. Blogs and entertainment websites have also not been left out by joining the Light Up Nigeria movement and stating their opinion on PHCN’s inability to deliver electricity to Nigerian homes.

First and foremost as a Nigerian youth, I am thrilled that our generation has stepped beyond the trademark mumbling and grumbling behind closed quarters that was prevalent in generations before us and has actually stepped up to the plate and to some extent question those in power. Maybe the PHCN induced heat triggered a fuse in our brains or maybe we suddenly became allergic to the crap we have judiciously been served over the years. Or is it that we have suddenly had a collective epiphany that the fate and future of our dear nation is in our hands? Whatever the reason(s), all I can say or rather, do, is to applaud the thousand of youths that are using the internet as a veritable tool against oppression. If I were Spiderman, my spider senses will be tingling right about now. Why? There is something in the air; a subtle gear has shifted in the minds of the average Nigerian youth.

When Mr. Reuben Abati decided to bash an entire generation because he didn’t like the lyrics of a few musical artistes, our response was swift, sharp and damning which was an eyebrow raising indication that we are no longer gonna smile pretty while we are being fu#*d over. Not having constant and uninterrupted power supply since God-knows-when is the mother of all perverted mind rapes. Tired of all the deviant political sodomy the ruling class has performed on we young ones, we have decided like Uma Thurman in Kill Bill to fight back. And from the rate at which people are embracing the movement I would say we are fighting back with style.

Despite being elated, a part of me is not at rest. Yes we have started this thing called Light Up Nigeria and it’s spreading like wildfire. But really is that it? No doubt we have taken a step, but after that step what next? All our clamouring and ranting will not get to the desk or the ears of those who can turn things around. Those pot-bellied Abuja boys don’t hang around Facebook or Twitter all day; to tell you the truth they don’t know we exist. Sorry to rain on anybody’s parade but the entire buzz we are creating will not ensure that there is uninterrupted power supply. Let’s all face it we need to take it a notch higher if those deaf leaders are to hear us.

God bless the souls of the people who organized the Light Up Nigeria meeting at Silverbird Galleria a few weeks ago. I did not attend the meeting nor was I privy to what happened there. That was a step, only time will tell if it was a bold one. You see it’s all right to tell people to join the group or tweet about it, but at the end of the day, that is just that. It doesn’t cost anyone to update his or her status, it’s hardly a sacrifice. In order to avoid Light Up Nigeria from becoming a hip statement, we have to go further than what we are currently doing. Fortunately, the movement is spearheaded by some of Nigerian’s most gifted artistes.

Where political rhetorics fail to break down the barriers, the melody of songs can, just like how South Africans musicians broke down the walls of apartheid. A Light Up Nigeria song won’t be too bad. You would be surprised how fast a song can spread a message and get people talking about it. The internet no doubt is a powerful tool, but I don’t think the amount of Nigerians that have access to internet are more than 10% of the entire population of Nigeria. With that in mind, the Light Up campaign has to go beyond the boundaries of Internet Explorer, Safari, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox etc.

The future of this country is right in our hands. Let’s do what we have to do to get this message out and get these people in power to listen us. If we have to be dropping leaflets all over, let’s start doing it. Nothing is too much for the soul of precious country, hey people; it’s all we’ve got. If we have to sing ‘We Shall Overcome’ in Abuja for a day let’s do it.

At the end of the day let’s just make sure we are not ignored. But for us to be able to take this message to the slave master’s gate we have to make personal sacrifices and to me tweeting about it all day ain’t no personal sacrifice. If we can find a way to ensure that we are heard and listened by those Vagabonds In Power, then Light Up Nigeria will be on its way on becoming a truly worthy cause. But if all we do is restricting ourselves on the internet…then sorry. Just take a look at the trending topics on Twitter since this movement started, it has not been able to crack the top ten, which shows you how much presence we have on the ‘net.

If real change is to occur, we must all position Light Up Nigeria as a foundation for electoral votes in 2011, just as how Diddy’s ‘Vote or Die’ Campaign was the bedrock for youth votes in Barack Obama’s ‘Yes We Can’ campaign in 2008. The youths of this nation have shied away from voting, I am guilty of that. But if we are to move forward, we have to start electing men of honour who are ready to do the job and not these Owambe addicts. I know we always come up with the excuse that there are no credible people to vote for, but guess what; evil thrives when good men do nothing. I don’t know about you but this bullsh*t must stop NOW! And we have the chance to stop it dead in its track. Who knows 2011 might be our best shot at removing these mofos from office, so let’s not all sleep on Light Up by just making it a cool phrase to say.

Like I had earlier written above, I personally like the movement, but I am curious about the outcome. If we can’t do sh*t with Light Up Nigeria, then f^%k it, it was a total waste of time. And please Light Up deserves not to be. So let’s all do our best so that one day like Obama said, change will come. LIGHT UP NIGERIA ‘cos I love this country so much for it to slip into darkness. LIGHT UP NIGERIA is not a bad thing, but if we can take it further it will be a great movement.

Ayomide Segun Tayo

July 29, 2009

Via: 234next.Com

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