Value of restlessness in creating intentional economy: Case study of Egypt.

 Today, as we witness the value of restlessness in the stepping down of the Egyptian oppressor of three decades. Something valuable came to mind. The importance of intelligent resistance cannot be displaced on the match to democracy. Lets recall how valuable it will be for all and sundry to pick a lesson from hereon. 

For Hosni Mubarack, he may learn that honor is the peak of all achievements! A man that cannot live and die for honor is not worth living. And Great leaders learn to leave the stage when the ovation is loudest! For us, the moral lie in: the power of protest!

For instance, Canada is a peaceful country. We don’t want any unrest. So we allow everything? It is okay to be just quietly nice? It is cultural to go with the flow? You don’t offend anybody? Don’t disturb your neighbor? Always sit patiently on board for the Bus driver to have his lunch while you run late for your appointment? Activism is evil? It is impolite to protest? Be agreeable in everything? And never ever raise any dust? These are all implied and imbedded in the Canadian culture?

On the other hand, Nigeria (a West African country) is where you are free to protest at your own risk! It’s perilous to speak against the Government of the day. It’s like cutting your own throat! Most African countries face intimidation, oppression and corruption with fear of the consequence of protest. We are scared of being killed. We worry about being jailed. Nobody wants to lose his head. “They” will arrest us and imprison us”; we say. I am the last born in my family, how dare you expect me to protest? I am the only survivor of the civil war in my lineage, how can you push me to War again? Why should I end up in jail or on stake for the masses? As a result of such fear, evil continue at its bliss in Africa?

 The opposite is true of Egyptians. Despite their piety and religious culture, resist oppression and prevailed. Theirs, was one of the rare protests that ever succeeded in Africa? Usually the Military and the Police would have disbanded such protest? Again, it points out the fact that the Military have crucial role to play in any democracy anywhere?

 If the glory that passes away could be this glorious in Egypt today, how much more is the eternal weights of glory going to be like? If the Egyptians fought for honor and won, how much more should we? It is imperative we stand against evil in all ramifications?

The case study of Hosni Mubarack of Egypt is a lesson for all African leaders. Don't overstay your visit by seeking a third term in power like one of our politicians. Leave political office honorably when you're no longer wanted. Nobody is indispensable. How so true was the statement of the Patriarch who said: “…But when you grow restless, you will throw his yoke from off your neck." (Genesis 27:40). The yoke we see today are more than oppression. Until we become restless, dominion will remain an illusion.  Until we learn to see evil and resist it, we won’t break the hold of evil! 

Just because oppression does not appear in guise of “Hosni Mubarack”, it is easier to merely cast a glance and walk away. We can casually let the sleeping dog lie? But the sleeping dog may continue lying forever, even making more mess on the threshold? The principles  we break will boomerang to haunt us.There is value in intelligent resistance.

Potential for power shift in Nigerian politics!

Let me start out by saying, I am not a Political party member . I write this piece objectively as a social conscience stirrer. The writer of Proverbs once said: A crown doesn't endure for all generations. There comes a time when change begins. It begins sometimes in forms we least expect. Through the power of just one event, a momentum can pick up that will bring revolution to the whole nation. Through the action of a court of Appeal over a 2007 election that was rigged but rectified in 2010, a change has began. Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was sacked for rigging the Osun state election while the swearing-in of Rauf Aregbesola of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) can now begin. Can you imagine the length of time that took us? But it’s never too late to be right. That in itself may mean that there is hope. Things are turning up for the Nation. Sometimes, great changes don’t occur suddenly. Sometimes, they come in patches, in trickles until they engulf the whole state.

Another significant thing is that, we should give kudos to the Nigerian Justice System for the verdict of this appeal of Osun state 2007 election . This legal system has improved remarkably. The Judge and his team has made history. We are so proud of them. Can we say things are now getting better in Nigerian Legal system? However, it’s not enough to kick out election riggers from political office. But for wasting the nation's economy and spending such a lengthy time in office based on falsehood, such politicians should be tried at the law. The state should take this one step further. They should pay for their wrong doing. Justice is still incomplete by mere removal of election riggers. They should now pay for their corruption and falsehood!
This is how to stop future recurrence of the same evil.

We can optimistically say that, the Peoples Democratic Party had their season in Nigeria. Their time may be wrapping up already. They remind me of the days of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN). The NPN was the reigning political party back then during the Second Republic which lasted from1979 till 1983. But where are all those politicians today? If ACN will maximize this pressure on PDP, they may achieve similar result that was achieved in getting a South-South Vice President shortly after former President Olusegun Obasanjo's tenure . It was pressure from the South that brought that change. If ACN pushes hard enough, they may ride on the power of this one victory in Osun state. Have you ever heard of the power of one? The epidemics of just one victory can set more victories onwards like a chain reaction. ACN should tenaciously go out on the other regions. Mount pressure on all fronts. Based on their new victory, they may divide the Northern camp. Although, they will need to have some buy-in from some influential people of the North. The power of momentum may be helpful in taking over more grounds in Nigeria. Never underestimate the power of one victory and the impact of one failure. Success breeds success.  Sometimes, a failure can be more catastrophic than expected or imagined. The people of Nigeria are fed up of the same old faces and their political deception. Let the power shift now!