By Kate Henshaw
The reverberation and the effects of the week long nationwide strike that took place a few weeks ago is still being felt all across the nation.

For the first time in the history of this great nation, from Kano to Warri, Osogbo, Bauchi, Abuja, Oyo and Lagos to mention a few, voices of dissent arose in their millions and they were not in any way drowned out. I was more than ever before proud to be a Nigerian.

It was no longer about the divisions we focused on ,but a unifying spirit took over and Nigerians stood together shoulder to shoulder, Christians and Muslims, young and old alike.

Is there not a cause? I say there is. Whenever we had lost the plot, the boys in green have come in and forced their will on us and made us cower in fear and oppression. We tried to get it right, tried to get our train back on track to forestall derailment with promises of people who have serenaded us and literally begged us to put our trust in them.

In our hearts we have screamed “YES WE CAN”. It seemed like a mirage and a hair’s breadth moment as the populace held on for a turn around, a transformation promise with each successive democratic government that came into power.

We promised with each election we would never be taken for a ride again, some of us even gave up totally on the electoral process. It is time to be nosey and to peek through the curtains and eavesdrop into the conversations that decide our existence as a people in Nigeria.

All want to go to heaven but no one wants to die. Nigerians have received a wake-up call and are saying with one voice, we do not want it to be business as usual; we indeed, want to breathe in fresh air that will invigorate us and not the polluted smells that assail our nostrils on a daily basis.

A young man I admire put it in writing. I quote” As I watched the events of the last 36hours unfold; I have had to explain to my wife and children why I am so angry and so sad at the same time.

My silence comes from being in awe as I witness the unprecedented yet amazing collaboration of Military and Militants in accomplishing a common goal…to silence the voice of the people. I am so angry that precious lives have been lost as ordinary citizens protested against an unjust policy that was clearly not thought-through and yet, our President describes these fallen heroes as the “adverse effects” of the protest.

I am angry that our President made many open-ended promises without clear deliverables or deadlines and thought we would be gullible and simple minded enough to say OK. I am so angry that in a hard-earned democratic dispensation, our elected officials went into the barracks and cantonments to invite the very same soldiers (who we fought to return to the barracks) unto the streets against unarmed protesters while armed bandits, militants and terrorists expressed themselves freely without being muzzled by the military might of our government.

But then I am also very sad because I have watched this charade play itself out many times before (without the novelty of the military and the militants). On the issue of fuel subsidy removal, this script has been acted out too many times for us to have forgotten how the charade ends.

Act 1 Scene1:  Government (hints but) suddenly announces the increase in the pump price of petroleum products. Act 2 Scene 1: The people are angry about government’s feeble excuses and explanations asking people to pay more because they cannot confront the corrupt system that makes it unsustainable to keep fuel prices low. Act 2 Scene1: Organised labour and trade union sense that it is time to bring out the capes and hearken to the people’s cry for super-heroes. You know the rest..Government gets a court injunction restraining labour from embarking on a strike.

Labour disobeys the unjust injunctions and go out to exercise their constitutional rights to call an unemployed populace to mass action. The youth, the homeless, the poor and the unemployed come out en masse and protest. Labour makes public declarations of the position of the people. Government invites labour to closed door meetings. Something (we call negotiation) happens behind closed doors. Labour emerges from the closed door meetings and declares deadlock.

Government goes ahead to REDUCE but NOT REVERSE pump price. Labour suspends strike. Employers are happy to get their staff back to work. Everybody gets back on the rat race, all motion, no movement. I think the better way to put it is win-win!

The only people that lose and suffer are the poor and unemployed who we all said would lose more if we continue the struggle against pump price increments. We never go ‘backward’ to collect our stolen funds from the corrupt officials and the cabals well known to the government. Rather we choose to go ‘forward’ to rob our poor, feeble and voiceless forever and forget them until it is time to ‘negotiate’ another unjust policy. So we are back to where it all began…

ASUU continues its strike(though now ended) and no one notices the degenerating young minds wasting away in our homes and on our streets. LASU school fees remain increased by 900% and admission now costing 250,000Naira for the newly admitted students seeking an education to prepare their minds for the future.

The Nigerian Medical association and doctors must now return to their death centres (oops…I mean health centres) and continue to watch helplessly as hopeless patients die from preventable systematic decay rather than the diseases that brought them to the hospital. Some of us will now go back to the LEKKI TOLL GATES and continue to pay toll, since we now have protest-fatigue.

In any case, no one remembers why we were fighting against the unjust tolling of a road that was built by L K Jakande with tax payers’ money and now refurbished by concessionaires. What is the big deal after all? Let the government continue to collect our taxes to build other roads and we continue to pay tolls to drive on our own (sorry…LCC’s) road. Nothing has changed except for the price of fuel from 65 to 97Naira per litre.

Still no refineries, no good roads, no power, no portable water, corrupt officials are still in the office as they continue ‘partnering’ with their cabals. Investigations without conclusion, accusations without prosecution, the world keeps going round and round. The change we need is not just policy.

It is in the quality of mind and persons at policy making positions. Without a doubt, our change will come the day our brightest and best minds silently RESOLVE that enough is enough of mediocrity in policy-making positions and begin to prepare to occupy positions (not just parks) through the electoral process.

WE NEED A CRITICAL MASS OF NEW NIGERIANS TO TAKE HOLD OF EVERY LEVEL OF POLICY MAKING POSITIONS BY 2015. Not a few good men and women whose voices will be drowned in the cacophony of mediocrity. Let our brightest and best brains begin serious preparations now. Do not wait till 2014 to decide you want to make a change by running for office in 2015. It will be too late if you do not start now!

As we keep up the pressure for good governance, let another set of emerging leaders (with a heart for the nation and a love for the people) arise and begin to prepare for 2015. We must encourage, train, mentor and empower the right people to go where few dare. This is only the beginning of a long and arduous journey. The real Nigerian spring is going to be in 2015.

Until we change the quality of people in policy-making positions, we won’t yet have real and lasting victory. The real question is will we be ready to bring about the real change we have always desired with the same zeal and fervour as we show now?

Please do not let today’s passion die tomorrow. The struggle continues today, tomorrow and forever. We will deliver the future. God bless you and  the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

Fela Durotoye has committed his life to raise and prepare as many exemplary leaders of excellence to take over the various policy making positions at all levels of governance (federal, state and local) – executive and legislative.