I Have A Dream Too

The unprecedented political turn out of events in the US has kept every tongue busy in all corners of the world and each people drawing a lesson or two from it. And i hope that Nigeria and indeed the whole of Africa will not be left out in this lesson that i see in the bigger picture. A picture that my mind has kept nagging me about and in my bid to escape it, i fell asleep and i still dreamt about it.

If eulogies were to be quantified, there will be none left in Nigeria as all have been exported to Obamaland but i resolved to capitulate to my mind’s push and desperately search for more eulogies because i need to export some to Clintonland and Palinshire

My mind was nagging about it because true to the nature of the African man and in particular, the Nigerian man, he has conveniently relegated the exploits of these two women to a deep abyss of a background. “Why?”, “Shebi make dem start their own for Naija” He would retort.

But on the contrary, i have a dream that one day, the strength and industrious nature of the African woman will be celebrated.

I have a dream that one day, we would respect the wish of African women to be treated with dignity.

I have a dream that we would put a stop to all the troubles we put the African women through politically and otherwise, all in the name of being men?

I have a dream that one day, a woman will be the president of my native land- Nigeria.

I may neither be Luther nor King, but i am Martin enough to dream and that’s the bigger picture.

Ultimately, i salute the resilience, tenacity, doggedness and innate love of the African woman. I am proud of her.

Obama Vs The Nigerian

I love the Nigerian spirit; the spirit to identify with and appreciate good things and good tidings. Such has been exhibited in all nooks and crannies of Naija as Barack Obama became the first black and the youngest president of the US. It was unbelievable but it happened through the tenacity of purpose, dream and doggedness of this young man. I’ve heard calls for us to replicate the Obama phenomenon in Nigeria. To believe in our dreams and make them happen. How can we do this when we don’t even have a Martin Luther King? The Nnamdi Azikiwe that we had has had his ideals buried and reburied because they do not have room for personal aggrandizement but rather, to build a better indivisible Nigeria and the rest that tried to Martin Luther us to greater heights had their voices shut before they became clarion calls. We shouldn’t judge Nigerians too hard especially, the younger ones. Obama has made history; there is no doubt about that but nobody has really made mention of the fact that he grew up in a society that has met the BASIC NEEDS of her citizens, a society that prepared and equipped him for this epic battle, a society that doesn’t expect to be praised for providing BASIC INFRASTRUCTURE like road and electricity, a society that respects the socio-political aspiration and rights of her younger generation and women and it wasn’t out of the ordinary for them that Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin- a state governor made their marks as presidential and vice presidential contenders respectively. Our first female governor via a miscarriage of law was celebrated for God sakes! Young Nigerians dream and they dare. That's the reason you have not experienced total anarchy in our beloved country. They are taking chances that are not allowed them and they are surviving. I never knew we were even ready for a Speaker as young as Bankole. We will continue to dare and we will also make history: that's the soul song of the Nigerian youth. 

As we call for our people to emulate the Obamamania, our government should also see his society and circumstances such as quality education, provision of basic infrastructure and the likes, a situation worthy of replication in Naija.