someone asked me today, how do you know in nigeria, when its time for elections. you know, what are the tell tale signs? he says in the US, most ordinary people suddenly start attending important events and giving all manner of key note addresses. suddenly, normal bankers, lawyers, and incumbent political officers decide that they have a sound opinion on every issue under the sun. issues that have existed in America for ages, suddenly get heightened attention. the last american presidential election was amazing. even an average nigerian like me knew what the positions were on immigration and border control, gun control laws, abortion and gay rights etc. i saw mike huckabee, john mcCain, hillary clinton, barack obama give speech after speech and argue in debate after debate. you'd see large halls full of people without so much as a cough, listening with rapt attention at how each candidate intends to use their money and mandate, watching body language to determine who was less than confident in their position, analysing each debate and taking polls and pulses.
well, having followed THAT election very closely, i knew he was telling the truth. in nigeria, when yaradua was campaigning, i hardly ever heard him speak. i wasn't sure if he was mute or could actually string a sentence together. a political rally in my country plays out like a carnival...a noisy, disorganized carnival, full of incoherent politicians who stand on a rickety stage introducing song after song for the crowd to sing like a church open air crusade while hauling insults at opposition. if you're lucky to be in a certain party, you'd be given a free broom to wave in the air like a local mad man ostensibly to "sweep" away the opposition from the (spiritual?) atmosphere. if you are then "extremely" lucky, you actually get to catch snippets of a speech being made by the chairman of the party and usually, you'd hear words like "rejuvenate" used each time they mention the word "school", the word "accelerate" next to the word "development" and the words "the poor masses" next to the phrase "access to good health". something tells me they read it off a manual cos it always sounds the same.
so, in response to my friend in the US, i said, "well, i can tell that elections are about to start in nigeria because on my way to work this morning, i heard that a governorship candidate in akwa ibom state (south south nigeria) was shot in the neck, kidnapped along with his aged mother, and then thrown out of the car when the assailants couldn't manage the bleeding wound. they then sped off with his mother". for those who remember the 2007 elections, if it wasn't one politician shot dead at falomo, it was funsho williams (then more popular than the incumbent babatunde fashola) that was murdered etc. it beats me silly that in 2010, when the world is campaigning on macro economic issues and global allignment, we are still winning elections on the promise of free education and healthcare, good roads and security of lives and property. things that other countries now take for granted.
so yes, the election is upon us faster than we'd hoped. we can either as usual, siddon look and refuse to participate, choosing only to criticize whoever wins eventually, or we can take off our ties, remove our heels (clearly not me) and jump into the fray. no more bullshit campaigning, no more sing along campaigning, no more empty promises.
the time is upon us...
well, having followed THAT election very closely, i knew he was telling the truth. in nigeria, when yaradua was campaigning, i hardly ever heard him speak. i wasn't sure if he was mute or could actually string a sentence together. a political rally in my country plays out like a carnival...a noisy, disorganized carnival, full of incoherent politicians who stand on a rickety stage introducing song after song for the crowd to sing like a church open air crusade while hauling insults at opposition. if you're lucky to be in a certain party, you'd be given a free broom to wave in the air like a local mad man ostensibly to "sweep" away the opposition from the (spiritual?) atmosphere. if you are then "extremely" lucky, you actually get to catch snippets of a speech being made by the chairman of the party and usually, you'd hear words like "rejuvenate" used each time they mention the word "school", the word "accelerate" next to the word "development" and the words "the poor masses" next to the phrase "access to good health". something tells me they read it off a manual cos it always sounds the same.
so, in response to my friend in the US, i said, "well, i can tell that elections are about to start in nigeria because on my way to work this morning, i heard that a governorship candidate in akwa ibom state (south south nigeria) was shot in the neck, kidnapped along with his aged mother, and then thrown out of the car when the assailants couldn't manage the bleeding wound. they then sped off with his mother". for those who remember the 2007 elections, if it wasn't one politician shot dead at falomo, it was funsho williams (then more popular than the incumbent babatunde fashola) that was murdered etc. it beats me silly that in 2010, when the world is campaigning on macro economic issues and global allignment, we are still winning elections on the promise of free education and healthcare, good roads and security of lives and property. things that other countries now take for granted.
so yes, the election is upon us faster than we'd hoped. we can either as usual, siddon look and refuse to participate, choosing only to criticize whoever wins eventually, or we can take off our ties, remove our heels (clearly not me) and jump into the fray. no more bullshit campaigning, no more sing along campaigning, no more empty promises.
the time is upon us...
Comments