It was a glorious and beautiful day. I woke up at 5.00am and got ready to go out by 5.30am. Actually, I didn’t sleep deep that night because one sentence kept reverberating in my head through the night

Walk for Light!

I ran to my mentor’s room to find out if he was ready and soon after we set out for the airport (Omagwa International airport, Port Harcourt). We had had a great time that weekend starting from saturday. We landed in Port Harcourt around 6 pm and went straight to Presidential Hotel from the airport for “Purple Night”. A event with over 700 people in attendance. My mentor spoke powerfully at the event and I met a few friends and members of my team there. It was a fun-filled event.

On Sunday, we went to church and then had to do 2 seminars on Holidays and Cash in the evening. My team in Port Harcourt were already having seminars at Little Africa Restaurant, Woji Road, GRA, Port Harcourt by 4pm and we needed to be there to support them. After which we moved to Landmark Hotels to hold another seminar for an older, larger team. I also took a trip into town to see my babe’s sister’s family and didn’t get back till quite late. I eventually went to bed in the wee hours of the morning all the while thinking about what the next day(Monday) held in store.

Me at "Walk for Light"

I had been waiting in earnest anticipation for the “Walk for Light” day. We had been told earlier that we’d march on protest to the governor’s office in church and that August 12 or so would be the date. This was announced around May/June. August came and went and nothing happened. I was beginning to think that the leadership of my church (Daystar Christian Center) were growing cold feet with respect to taking responsibility for our underdevelopment and lack of good leadership in this Nation.

The church has proved to be very passive and irresponsible in my view in the last few decades with respect to the emergence of a New Nigeria. They have neglected their responsibility to take action and substituted it for making long and ineffective prayers for God to do what they should do.

Statistics have it that 45million Nigerians go to church every sunday. That is all the critical mass needed to change a Nation of 140million people if they would only take responsibility. The church had taken a back seat too long and were becoming irrelevant as opposed to light shining in darkness.

On the backdrop of this, I felt my own church even though it has shown what church is supposed to be by engaging in empowerment and community development on a large scale, was retreating in the face of imminent confrontation. That is why when it was announced that the walk would happen on Monday, October 19 by 10am, I was ecstatic. Finally, we are going to let the world know that we don’t agree with the black state of our Nation (epileptic power supply) and we were going to do something about it.

Rev Sam Adeyemi, Pst Nike Adeyemi, Pst Godman and other ministers at Daystar's "walk for light"

So, that was the reason why I was so restless knowing that I was far removed from the site of the walk. We got an early flight that day though we missed the first one out of PH and I almost ran through the arrival lounge pushing my luggage trolley. Since we landed at Murtala Domestic Airport in Lagos, I had been communicating with a couple of friends who were already gathered at the church venue for the commencement of the walk. My mentor and a friend who I travelled with kept making fun of me as they saw my eagerness to get united with other Walkers for Light.

We got into the car quickly that came to pick us at the airport and told the driver directly that he should do his diligence to get us as close as possible to the walkers since we had already found out that the walk had commenced. We caught up with the first set of walkers around Radio busstop, Obafemi Awolowo way in Ikeja, jumped out of the car and immediately joined the nearest platoon of walkers.

We stood out as the odd ones for a while because we had no “Walk for Light” t -shirts which had been handed out to everyone to wear before the commencement of the march. We chanted and sang songs demanding for Light and expressing our sorrow, discontent and disapproval of the current situation of lack of power in the country. Many people laughed at us, some encouraged us, others wandered at us and some where disgusted at us.

Light walkers at the Governor's office in Alausa

We couldn’t care less. We were on a march for light. After all, we were the light of the world and the least we could do was “Walk for light”. We caused quite a traffic jam because over 4,000 people turned up for the walk. What amazed me the most was that people took time off from their regular jobs to participate in the walk.

Finally, I started feeling in my heart that

Maybe we are on our way to change after all.

Maybe the church is recognising that if only they’d get involved and committed to the New Nigeria project, it would move from being a mere dream to a reality our eyes will see in our own lifetime.

Anyway, by and large we got to the governor’s office in Alausa and expressed our compelling reason for marching in protest.

Let there be Light

Afterall, that was God’s first creation on earth.

If we must therefore rebuild a Nigeria that has become void and lacks any sensible form whatsoever, our first assignment must be

LET THERE BE LIGHT.

I am the future of the world

I am the hope of my Nation

I am tomorrow’s people

I am the new inspiration

And we’ve got a song to sing to you

we’ve got a message to bring to you

we’ve got a dream

for you and for me and tomorrow (tomorrow)

If we all can agree, there’ll be sweet harmony

tomorrow, tomorrow

and we all will be there, coca cola to share

feeling so real and so (feeling so real and so true)

promise us tomorrow and we’ll make a better world for (make a better world for you)

Those are the lyrics of the 1986 advert song for coca cola. I remember singing it then with a lot of gusto even though I didn’t know all the lyrics properly. Apparently, I didn’t understand it fully as well. I didn’t know that in singing that song, I was making a commitment to the world and my country. I didn’t know I was articulating a message that was so deep.

As Nigeria celebrates children’s day today, I cast my mind back to how much of an adult I’ve become and much I miss from being a child. How much hope have I given my Nation? How much of an inspiration am I or have I been? 

This song seems so right for Nigeria. If only we can all agree, there’ll be sweet harmony. Why is there so much negative competition between the North, South, East and West. What does federal character mean? Why isn’t the job given to the best man suited and available for it? Why is a particular tribe seemingly more powerful and influential than others even when they can’t necessarily match or exceed the intellectual capacity of the other tribes? Why will certain children from certain regions enjoy privileges their counterparts in other regions don’t?

I am currently very passionate and very involved in Nation building in Nigeria. My sleeping and waking thoughts are filled with a Nigeria that is getting developed progressively even though my environment screams out otherwise everytime I check. We currently seem to be sinking into the directionlessness we suffered in during the pre-democracy years. Our leaders are bereft of ideas. They are plundering the treasury and living fat on the wealth of the Nation.

There’s no common wealth anywhere. The Federal Government is currently at war with Niger Delta militants for control of the oil-rich region. The militants have made common the practice of kidnapping people, sabotaging equipment and shooting the place up. They have become menaces in the arena but you can’t really blame them. They are simply products of the environment. Victims of the prevalent greed and lust for power around them. Having served previous governors and top politicians to intimidate and kill people, snatch ballot boxes and rig elections, they have beome monsters that are simply uncontrollabe even by previous godfathers and benefactors.

These young children are the future of the world. They are the hope of this Nation, though they don’t seem to be giving any hope currently. They are the new inspiration. Imagine if all our children grow up in this hate-filled, corruption over-run, greed saturated country. What will the future of this Nation be?

I read a story today of a father and step mother who tied a 10-yr old boy’s hands and legs and left him starving for 3 days because he was alleged to have stolen N10. What wickedness!! What kind of a future would one expect that child who has a been a victim of such cruelty and hate to create? Why would one expect him to grow up having love and compassion for his fellow citizens and the world at large after having been treated like a common animal?

We need to rise up and help create a world of love and a nation of values for our children so that they can in turn give us a great future and make the world a better place.

The children of Nigeria are thus crying to us grown ones today saying “Please promise us tomorrow and we’ll make a better world”. What are you and I promising them with our lackadaisical attitude to proper governance, values and development.

Will they witness a better future because of you and I? Or will these children and your children look you in the eye and ask “What did you do to make Nigeria the most desirable nation in the world”. “Did you do nothing and just talk or did you rise up and influence change in the Nation”?

Very many years ago, when Africa was simply geographical statistics to Europe; when the land was divided and passed from on european Nation to the next as gifts regardless of the diversity of those who lived in that geographical region, the church stood alone as a body that had a singular role of developing and building the region.

Missionaries from different parts of the developed world stormed the then jungles of Africa bringing with them a message of salvation through Jesus Christ and education as an essential tool for development.

In times when the colonial masters and native government of the African people couldn’t be bothered about the responsibility of education, rather, they were encumbered with acts of milking the land dry of its rich resources and making gains by that, selfless missions started schools to educate Africans and teach them how to read and write.

So focused where these missions, that they shouldered funding almost completely, getting no funds from the colonial masters or the native leaders in the building of the school structures or payment of the teachers who actually doubled as missionaries then.

With time, the schools moved from single class schools to multiple class schools. Curricula were drawn up and very soon, africans started competing on almost level grounds with European students all around the world.

Teaching the African man to read was the first step in the direction of his liberation and that responsibility was taken on by the church.

Now, there are schools everywhere in an african country like Nigeria. Government has gotten involved though on a paralytic level in education. The church has shirked its responsibility and is focused on making profit especially now that churches have millions of naira come in by way of offerings, tithes and other giving vehicles or projects from the upwardly mobile professionals and middle class citizens who must attend church because religion is a culture.

The church now is involved in financial blessing seminars and faith conventions featuring night vigils with prayer requests of financial abundance and prosperity at the expense of National development.

Church members have grown a thick skin against the deep poverty that is eating the land and have turned their face away from other members who are in church to come in contact with their “angel” (who will probably provide their next meal). Loads of young lads and ladies have no one to pay for their education and are stuck as a result at secondary school education and forced to go do manual labour. Some are even jobless

Yet, in most churches in the land, the congregation gathers, enjoy worship with scintillating music and dancing, listen to the word, pray and go home while the Nation regresses in illiteracy and bondage. Pastors now live a “larger than life” life especially in an environment where “God gives the power to get wealth”. A large percentage of them can not give proper account of the monies that they spend as they have an unhindered access to the church account and spend at will.

The church is sleeping is why a Nation’s government is killing innocent citizens in the niger delta and not much noise is being made about it. After all, the vice president dines with the leadership of the church associations regularly and they wouldn’t want to corrupt the goodwill that is between them till date. 

Loads of youths have dreams to be successful in the arts (music, graphic arts, dancing etc) and even sports but lack an enabling environment and a platform to launch and the doors of the church are locked from monday during the day to friday during the day with so sort of empowerment going on. 

How long shall this neglect and wickedness continue. If this nation, Nigeria must develop, the church must take it’s rightful place again in taking responsibility for the building of this nation academically, spiritually, financially and even politically.

Our values are flawed because the church is sleeping. LET THE CHURCH ARISE AND LET THE ENEMIES OF NIGERIA BE SCATTERED.

Hi friends, I hit a writer’s block a while ago. I’ve had so many things to write that I’ve not written anything. There’s a passion burning deep within me for the development and emancipation of my country, Nigeria.

I’ve been studying the Bible for a while now and I’ve been looking at Nehemiah and his exploits written in the book of Nehemiah. Let me give you some back ground info. The news of the desolation and ruin of Jerusalem came to Nehemiah while he was serving under  Artaxarxes, the then emperor.

The news of desolation of Jerusalem brought a great burden upon Nehemiah’s heart that led him to fast and pray many days and cry to God for God to listen to him and grant him favour before the king, for he was the king’s cupbearer.

Even though Nehemiah was in a strange land (diaspora), His heart was yearning for his Nation. He never for once forgot his roots. He constantly desired the prosperity and advancement of his Nation. 

And though he had risen quite high on the social ladder where he was, he counted it his failure, if Jerusalem failed.

Nigeria is my own Jerusalem. There’s no where else but Nigeria that I can call home. Nigeria is my home. The desolation of this country is and remains a burden on my heart all the time.

Nehemiah in praying to God took the breaking down of the walls of Jerusalem as his own fault. He asked God for mercy collectively for the sins the Israelites had committed and asked for forgiveness because they were collectively repenting and turning back to God even though it was just him who was doing so.

He stood in the gap for his country. He believed that what happens to one happens to all and all will need one who’ll take responsibility to deliver the rest from desolation.

Nehemiah in his prayers to God did not ask God to rebuild or facilitate miraculously the rebuilding of the wall in Jerusalem. He took responsibility for it in his prayers and asked God to cause the king to have compassion on him when he presented his case - ”The re-building of Jerusalem’s wall”

Neh 2:1  In the month of Nisan, in Artaxerxes’ twentieth year as king, after some wine was brought for the king, I picked up the cup of wine and gave it to the king. I had never been sad in his presence before. 

Neh 2:2  The king asked me, “Why do you look so sad? You aren’t sick, are you? You must be troubled about something.” (I was really afraid.) 

Neh 2:3  ”May the king live forever!” I said to the king. “Why shouldn’t I look sad when the city, the place where my ancestors are buried, is in ruins and its gates are burned down?” 

Neh 2:4  ”What do you want?” the king asked me. So I prayed to the God of heaven, 

Neh 2:5  and I asked the king, “If it pleases Your Majesty, and you are willing to grant my request, let me go to Judah, to the city where my ancestors are buried, so that I can rebuild it.”

Once a burden (National) has been put on your heart. It becomes almost completely impossible to go around in the same manner as before. Nehemiah’s countenance was so sad that the King noticed it when he went to give him wine. The burden of Jerusalem’s ruin wouldn’t allow him return to his normal emotions. 

He became so consumed by the liberation of his country that his visage changed completely. The king even noticed it and commented about it. You cannot be consumed with a passion and it would not show. Those around you must be able to see and feel your passion. If it doesn’t permeate the air and environment around you, then you are not passionate enough about it.

Nehemiah took the risk of the king’s displeasure at his countenance just because of this burden he carried. What am I willing to risk to deliver the future. Who’s displeasure is too valuable for me ?

Nehemiah prayed to God while asking the King what was really consuming Him. And God gave him favour. I need to be in motion to get swift and effective answers from God to my prayers. It is allowed to “pray as you go” and not wait all the time for physical manifestation of answers before I move. His word says “These signs shall follow them who believe”…

Motion is a prerequisite for signs and wonders.

Neh 2:6  The king, with the queen sitting alongside him, said, “How long will your work take and when would you expect to return?” I gave him a time, and the king gave his approval to send me. 

The King gave Nehemiah approval and even furnished him with man and material to build the wall. He also sent him protection and gave him good will.

When I have a burden, the responsibility of the solution usually lies with me. If I take that responsibility, I would experience access at unbelievable levels.

Neh 2:7  Then I said, “If it please the king, provide me with letters to the governors across the Euphrates that authorize my travel through to Judah; 

Neh 2:8  and also an order to Asaph, keeper of the king’s forest, to supply me with timber for the beams of The Temple fortress, the wall of the city, and the house where I’ll be living.” The generous hand of my God was with me in this and the king gave them to. 

The secret of success is to ask. No one can on his own solve the problem of a Nation. He needs help and will get it only if he asks it.

Person 1

Person 2: gd

Person 1: na wa o

Person 1: you no see wetin dey happen for ekiti?

Person 2: nna ur pple be as they get o!

Person 2: though i had a feeling it was gonna happen

Person 1: no be dem o

Person 1: na the party dey set them up

Person 2: as the PDP can not afford for pride to allow them lose ekiti

Person 1: exactly

Person 1: you get the picture totally

Person 2: it would show that they had lost their foothold in the west

Person 1: you r too much

Person 1: you r saying the same thing i told people yday

sola adepoju: lagos gone, ondo gone, ogun going, and now ekiti?

Person 1: and they wont succeed

Person 1: edo gone as well

Person 2: i wont be surprisd if when they declare ido-osi, they declare like all the registered voters voted for pdp

Person 1: oh! they’ve declared it earlier

Person 2: its jst crazy and the antics of our distinguished and very honourable senators ao arise and femi kila

Person 1: 15,000 votes to pdp

Person 1: and 3,000 to ac

Person 2: they declared like 15k for pdp and 3k for ac

Person 1: and there are not up to 10,000 registered voters in ido osi

Person 2: do they think we are idiots?

Person 1: they are silly guys

Person 2: i think i am a prophet

Person 2: the same thing wld happen in oye 1 n 2

Person 1: you r my brother

Person 1: yes o

Person 2: still there?

Person 1: but God no go gree them

Person 1: i’m really sa

Person 1: d

Person 2: who r the pple in d streets supporting?

Person 1: this is the same PDP who kept saying AC was importing thugs through fayose and fayemi’s fathers’ burials

Person 1: fayemi is the popular candidate

Person 1: with the grassroots

Person 2: who have the power to import more thugs, or thugs in police uniform, fake soldiers and all

Person 1: very dirty of the PDP

Person 2: all in all, i think we are approaching our rebranding the wrong way

Person 1: i didn’t want to be partisan before but now i can see that staying on the fence is tantamount to supporting evil

Person 2: lets start first with the pdp, or change the pay-off to “Nigeria, good pple, bad leaders”

Person 2: LOL

Person 1: PDP stalwarts are dealing with journalists as if they were the opposition

Person 1: lol

Person 1: not bad at all

Person 1: i’ll write a post today with that topic

Person 2: Edmund burke once said “the only thing needed for evil to succedd is for men of goodwill, to be unconcerned. or something like that

Person 1: yeah….the only permission darkness needs to prevaill is for light to refuse to shine…..my paraphrase

Person 2: i am really pissed with the situation

Person 1: not as much as me man

Person 1: i’m repulsed

Person 1: but i’m sure that the will of the people will prevail

Person 2: but the more important thing for me is that good governance should be entrenched.

Person 2: as the onus is for the opposition to show that they are up to the task.

Person 2: the onus is for oshiomole, mimiko and fayemi, if and when he is eventually allowed to be governor to show that they are a credible alternative to the PDP.

Person 2: Fashola is already laying a good foundation in Lagos

Person 2: i was in ogun last weekend and someone jokinly said that come 2011, they wld kidnap fashola and keep him in hiding for four yrs so that he can be telling whoeva becomes their governor how to make impact in the lives of pple.

Person 2: his only remedy wld be if he agrees to govern both states together.

Person 2: pple are now appreciating good things.

Person 2: at least pple are voluntarily paying taxes now seeing that government is having direct impact on their lives.

BUZZ!!!

Person 1: sorry man

Person 2: ore u still there?

Person 2: got to go work beckons.

Person 2: catch u some other time!

Person 1: yeah

Person 1: i feel you

Person 1: the opposition must rise to the task ahead

Person 2: k

Person 1: for me, i didn’t feel segun oni was a bad governor at all

Person 1: his only problem was that he had a disconnect with the grass roots

Person 2: that is the only way, if not they would just be part of the problem

Person 1: i believe both candidates are good 

Person 2: fayose was not also a bad governor but he had a lot of excesses.

Person 1: i agree

Person 1: fayose touched the grassroots but failed to discipline himself

Person 2: and the excesses eventually did not allow for much progress in the state.

Person 1: the people still feel that he was the best governor ekiti ever had till date

Person 1: not at all

Person 1: u served there abi?

Person 2: lets hope and pray and act so that the opposition can show that there is a beta way.

Person 1: you must have seen that the basic benefits of democracy is lacking in about 80

Person 1: percent of the state

Person 1: abi o

Person 2: fayose really had a way of connecting with the masses though it was all PR gimmicks. 

Person 2: i was there

Person 2: really got to go now.

Person 2: i’ll keep this conversation and like use it when i eventually write an article on ekiti state.

Person 2: be good ore mi busy

Person 2: bye

Person 1: no wahala

Person 1: thanks for yarning

Person 1: i’ll drop in to see you soon

Person 1: cheers man

Person 2: k

Person 2: looking 4ward to it

A while ago, I was given an assignment by The Future movement to go and deliver the future in Ekiti state. Funny, isn’t it? Now, my state of origin is Ekiti state. I hail from Ijero town in Ijero-Ekiti Local Government. My grandfather has a house in Ekiti State and though he lived majorly in Lagos and got a chieftaincy title in Mushin, he was taken to Ekiti when he died and buried in Ijero.

I gave you that info to let you know that the probable reason for sending me to Ekiti state may have been because of my affiliation to the state. Also, it may just have been coincidental as Ekiti state was due to hold re-run elections and it was timely that the future had a voice in ensuring that peace and equity reigned supreme in the Land. The major contestants in the election re-run are Dr Kayode Fayemi of Action Congress Party and Engr. Segun Oni of the People’s Democratic Party.

So, here was I being told to return to my place of origin to impact them positively. What was my assignment? My assignment was to get illustrious and notable sons and daughters of Ekiti state to grant a 30-sec recording where they highlighted the following:

            i. Your vote is your voice

            ii. Say “No” to violence

            iii. We are all one Ekiti family

            iv. We must deliver the future

As my worthy companion and partner on the trip I had Christian Love, a foremost change agent with respect to the emergence of a New Nigeria. Of course, I also had the blessings of Fela Durotoye, Deoluakinyemi, Femi Onagoruwa, SEGA (Segun Awosanya), Yinka Banjo, Akuns and Deola Kayode among others.  

Fela got in touch with Mr Dare Babarinsa who is from Ekiti and spoke to him about our project. He agreed to lend his voice and face to our recording and promised to link us up with some of our prospects. We had a camcorder recording of his message at his office about 1 week ago and he did link us up with a good number of prospects. We sent text messages to them and proceeded to Ekiti to make the historic recordings.

The first person who responded to our gesture was the former governor of Ekiti state – Ayo Fayose. I was shocked at his warmness and frankness. I half expected something else, but was pleasantly surprised to find that he was a humble man. He asked to meet us up where we were and truly came to meet us there. We were on the way to Ado Ekiti and had just gotten to Iyin Ekiti.

He found out where we were in Iyin and drove down to meet us there. He didn’t have elaborate security either. Just a couple of armed mobile policemen. I requested after greeting him that we go somewhere comfortable for him and he wished it away saying where we were was comfortable enough for him even though we were on the highway with bushes all around us.

He led us straight through a path in the bush and he told us he was ready. Our crew was almost disorientated but we put ourselves together and he gave us a spirited message of non-violence and peace. We exchanged pleasantries and he expressed his hope at meeting us again soon. He then appealed to us to ensure we involved the grassroots in our recording. He advised us to speak with market women and okada riders and not only known and respected personalities in the state.

So started my sojourn in Ekiti state on a mission for the future and immediately the team’s morale was boosted. We were certain that we’ll succeed on this quest. A few minutes later, a phone call came in from Senator Ayo Arise…

      ”Hello Sir, my name  is Busayo Akanro and I’m from the future.”

catch the rest later.

I had been given a mandate by the future movement to go and set the ball rolling with respect to organising a political debate between the political aspirants of the annulled April 18, 2007 elections. Elections had been annulled in 10 out of 16 local government council areas by an Appeal court and a re-run had been ordered. The election rerun in the state is billed to take place on the 25th April, 2009.

As a result, the whole of the nation has it’s eyes fixed on Ekiti and the re-run elections. What will be the outcome? Will the sacked governor return or will a new governor be sworn in? The question on everyone’s lips “Oni or Fayemi, who will it be?” Well, back to the purpose of my trip. I was sent to a particular Pastor who had a passion for seeing a new Nigeria emerge and another interesting young man who lived for the ideals of a new Nigeria.

I set out with so much unknown yet so much anticipation. I had prayed and was sure that God will direct my steps and put a smile on my face when I returned to give the report to the uture movement. I arrived Ekiti about 2pm yesterday afternoon, after a four and a half hour journey and after waiting for two hours at the bus park. I met with my young friend after a couple of phone calls and we both went to meet with the Pastor at his church’s new building site.

About a dozen people were engaged in one activity or the order, dirtied from sand, mud and dust, they were either pushing wheelbarrows laden with construction materials or mixing with spades or carrying head pans “pon-pon” filled with mixed concrete to pour in the mould that was made for the foundation of the building. The Pastor himself was dressed in very old clothes I discovered as he approached to welcome me and his hands very dirty with mud. He smiled as he welcomed me warmly and hesitated at my stretched out hand, showing me his mud covered ones and asking if I didn’t mind. I said I didn’t and locked his right hand in a very strong handshake despite the the dried dirt on it. Afterall, I was at home and was meeting with my own kin.

Immediately, I launched into the agenda of my visit and he came up to speed quite quickly with it. Anyway, according to him, it had been a burning desire on his heart so it seemed to be happening at the right time. We discussed together the factors we needed to take up immediately with regards to the seminar/debate. In a few mins, we had set out deliverables and he had assured me that if I was going to wait till the next morning, he’d give me an update on the reaction and decision of other key stakeholders he would be speaking with yesterday evening. I instantly assured him that I’ll be waiting till the next morning ofcourse. I had vowed to take responsibility for the political state in Ekiti and needed to begin to relate even more closely with its people as well as stay in the state a little more than before.

I left his place after we spent several minutes discussing the polity of Ekiti state and was picked up by my Auntie who serves as the chairman of the National Association of Nurses and Midwives-Ekiti Branch and we drove to her house where I spent the night. I was treated to a very large and delectable meal of pounded yam and efo riro soup with eja kika and beef.

Shortly after I loaded up with the food, my friend Kunle Alashi came calling and we had a good discussion on many aspects of life. I spent some time feeling the vibes of politics in the state while discussing my mission to my Auntie. She gave me some insight into why she preferred “the devil we know to an angel we don’t know”. Those were her exact words in referring to the two major gubernatioral aspirants.

I slept soundly feeling very strongly the fresh and very cool breeze of the country. I almost didn’t get out of bed excepting the fact that I had an appointment by 7am. I met our Pastor friend again and he gave me updates on the situation. Needless to say that he gave some very encouraging news and promised to tie up the loose ends by the end of the week. He set up a small committee to work with me on the project and I the feeling of excitement at the success of this project was thick in the air as I discussed it with them.

I was told that I had to make another trip to Ekiti by next week to tie up the loose ends and that what was most important now was getting the consent of the aspirants to appear for the debate. By and large, I left Ekiti this morning in high spirits dreaming about the program and its resultant success and ofcourse the effect of that success on the people of Ekiti state.

Enlightened followership would have been created and the middle class who usually don’t take  responsibility by voting will have been encouraged to vote. The title of the seminar/debate is “Your vote,your voice” and the name of this gracious Pastor friend is Tunde Afe of the House of Faith Church, Ado Ekiti. I’ll write about updates of this meeting as they happen and I believe another Barack Obama scenario is in the making. Ekiti state will be the pilot and the rest of Nigeria will surely follow. God bless Nigeria. God bless Ekiti State.

I was told about this song few days ago and I’ve been listening to it relentlessly. It was rendered by John Legend at the Democratic National Convention for the recent Presidential Elections. It inspires me per time. It motivates me and sets me on fire.

I haven’t been able to write post for the past few days not because of lack of desire or lack of content but because of a heaviness a just couldn’t lift. I have been reading “Long walk to freedom” by Nelson Mandela and I regularly get goose pimples as I read and discover the way destiny unfolded for him. He didn’t plan to become the president of South Africa but his beliefs about how africans were treated against how they should be treated drove him to fight for equality between white and black in South Africa and ended in his becoming president of the Nation.

Mandela was the son of a chief and was being groomed to become a high chief in his native land. In fact, the reason education was important for him then was because as a respected adviser to the regent which was his career path, he needed to be educated so he could contribute from an enlightened perspective to the matters of council.

Education exposed him to the reality of racism and unfair governance in his country and sucked him deeper and deeper into the fight for liberation. One way or another, he gave up his rights as a chief in the making, as the ward of a regent and even as a lawyer to fight for the emancipation of his people.

He could no longer wake and sleep in peace knowing that with every turn of the day africans (the original owners of the land) were living as slaves in their own country in bondage to the white man. He suffered for his beliefs. His family paid for his beliefs. He eventually went to prison for his fight against enslavement and spent almost 3 decades behind bars.

He was ready to die to see South Africa free of Apartheid. He wouldn’t live free if his people were not free. He saw the that the future was now (while he was alive). He was willing to sacrifice his present even though he was aware of the past so he could secure the future.

He is now the most influential man alive and the future of native South Africans is secure.

Nigerians!!! Let’s wake up to the present so we can face the future and deliver it. The future was yesterday and we are already late, John Legend sang. Are you out there? Can you hear me? If you can, let’s join our hands together and set our faces toward the future while we employ our present with the benefit of our past to DELIVER THE FUTURE for Nigeria.

The country is far, very far from its destination and slavery, slavery by our own is holding forte. We need to be ready to break free from form this bondage. We need to become informed followers so we can elect responsible leaders. We need to become impossible to enslave any longer. We need to become difficult to rule but easy to govern.

IF YOU ARE OUT THERE…….

The inauguration of the 44th and 1st black president of the United States of America was realised on the 20th of January, this year. With regards to America’s standing as the leader of the free world, it was imperative that most countries that had foreign missions in America would have been represented at the inauguration one way or another. To buttress this, invitations were sent to such countries to have their delegates ably represented at the event. Nigeria, by default also got an invitation. We are the most populous black nation and the fifth largest seller of crude oil to the U.S. It would have been quite surprising if we weren’t invited.

As if that was not honour enough, I learn’t that some state governors decided to go and witness history being made live. One can only hope that they were not just fascinated about Obama’s glory but that they would have critically observed his story and will take actionable steps to implement positive change in their various states.

Anyway, the governors are not my concern. Everyone has a free will to take 1 or 2 days off to be part of history. What I read concerning our foreign delegation is what irks me. President Barack Obama who was sworn in on that day has since started work in earnest. Signing in documents into law, meeting with members of staff of the white house and his cabinet, dealing with the shutting of Guantanamo bay, addressing the way forward in Afghanistan and so on. Our own foreign mission representatives headed by Ojo Madueke are yet to return from the United States.

I really am not angry at them after thinking through deeply. Afterall, you can’t acheive history like that in Nigeria and just let it go so unceremoniously. Firstly, since the gods have finally accepted our prayers, they must be duely appeased with all sorts of sacrifices and festivities. Also, God almighty needs to be given the praise for allowing it to happen, so we need to give him loads of praise and worship with a few popular bands (about 2o) declaring these praises for a few days. Also, since of course, the president would have become president on the platform of a particular party, that party would have to host the president to a high profile success party with the party executives in attendance where the monies spent earlier on other celebrations are re-spent and a lot more noise made through the media, musicians and so on. And because the president is from some local area in the country, then his community must host him to another party where the traditional ruler and high chiefs of his local community can congratulate him in person and where ordinary citizens from the area can catch a live glimpse of their “brother” who has just become president.

Unfortunately, all these didn’t happen in the U.S. though our foreign mission must have booked for about 2 weeks in their hotels not expecting that all will be over so soon. It may be also that I’m wrong. Possibly, the foreign mission delegates might just have thought to themselves,

“since we are already in America, even though on official assignment that has elapsed, can we just convert

sometime into vacation. After all, estacode that we collected must not be returned. We must spend it

by every means possible even if we have to stay back in America for 1 month or is there any other country

that is swearing in their president or rebel leader that we can visit officially?”

I really don’t know which it is but I appeal to our representatives to please return home ASAP. Thank you for representing us. It’s time for you to come and earn your keep and add value to your country by serving to the best of your ability. America is that way because people made it so. Come back and make your country so………Deliver the future if you can, and please resign if you wouldn’t.