About Me
- Funmi Iyanda
- Lagos, Nigeria
- Funmi Iyanda is a multi award-winning producer and broadcast journalist. She is the CEO of Ignite Media and Executive Director of Creation Television
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Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Do or Die “selections”
The President said it was going to be do or die, apparently he was serious. Found this story by the Independent of UK, which confirms what we already known. Question is what will Nigerians do about it? We go sidon look?
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Nigeria elections 2007
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15 comments:
it's a pity that such is happening.. in Lagos we were really rooting for jimi agbaje... the middle class... the young professionals but did we really vote for the guy. Ac's Fashola had the vote of the lower class people, the grass root guys who were willing to queue for hours under the scalding hot sun to vote. For people to say it was a free and fair election apart from logistics... then i begin to wonder, when we ever get to the point of true freedom, true democracy... true liberalism? It saddens me, yet i ask what are we doing about it... Nigerians have built a cocoon around themselves, once they are comfortable, we don't really want to stick our heads out... get our hands dirty or fight for what we believe in... my self included....
Thats a very tricky question and one which i have always advocated nationwide Demonstration (peaceful).
I mean, its high time we called a spade a spade and see what is bad as uncompromisingly so. We have to take the bulls by the horns.
Ofcourse, this aint gonna be easy as it requires a lot of courage, openness of mind and a very strong will.
The fact that it'll be to the good of all of us if we have real elections and that nobody is exempt from the poisionous and negative effects of Obj and PDP's tryanical RULE, should be enough propeller to gunger and sustain us.
I rest my case!
Hi Funmi, Love your blog. I wish the random death and casualties would just end. I pray that it is all over as soon as possible.
You can start by proferring solutions in your TV show. Truth is, it is even fair this time around, pray it is not worse than this. At least, this government allow Judiciary to do its work without interference, this is what is obtainable in Nigeria, the only way to fight it is to fight it is not to remain in opposition, join the winning party and try to change the system.
what CAN we do? we don't have the balls to initiate and sustain a revolution because we are resilient...uncomfortable, yes...but we carve out crevices of comfort in the midst of our discomfort. we don't care enough or think this through passionately enough to commit to any course of action ESPECIALLY if it will cost us our lives. the average mentality probably goes thus: yes, our lives are not that great...in fact, they're pretty shabby and abysmal...however, we are still alive and we are managing. WHAT THE HELL?! no, seriously, WHAT THE HELL?!
there's something painfully wrong with that. there is no "slap on a band-aid" solution to nigeria's problems anywhere. it's going to take something other than what we've been doing - NOTHING. the people we are against are rigging these elections because we are ALLOWING them to. it's as simple as that. if i'm not doing anything to prevent it from happening, i'm tacitly allowing it to happen. that's the way it works.
said riggers and perpetrators of destruction have created their own network of evil...and we want to sit down and "hope" it will somehow topple over without doing ANYTHING about it?! am i the only one who sees how that's ridiculous?! we are talking about relatively few people (in comparison to the rest of the population) with a monopoly on our peace and prosperity o! if we are going to go against them, we need to at the VERY LEAST match their force a la MLK and other revolutionaries - through peaceful means and a consisted and concerted effort in ONE direction.
it makes sense. however, i will not die for that nation if my death will just be another statistic. i hope i will be someday important enough to voice a thought and have people rally around it at the possible expense of their lives and mine. in other words, i believe in nigeria's destiny passionately enough to die for it...but i am not suicidal nor will i stand alone. until i become MLK enough or Ghandi enough, na to continue dey manage and sidon look o, my sister!
i regret that i cannot do anything of eternal consequence in the here and now but in the meantime, i am working on becoming the kind of person that will.
==
"people should not be afraid of their governments; governments should be afraid of their people"! PERIOD.
*someday be important enough to voice a thought...
i should probably get my own blog instead of ranting and venting on yours, lol.
in any case, thank you for the outlet :)
Every time i wach this show, The Sopranos, i cannot help but to think of Naija, OBJ et al....
This whole election thing was predicted...premonized and already sealed by OBJ n his ppl, it was just a matter of getting ppl out under the sun to "VOTE" and then playing with their heads to make them think that they actually made a difference as citizens of the country. Yeah..OK!
I think this coming prez elections, ppl shld just STAY HOME and watch them declare winners by "HIGH TURN OUT OF VOTERS" hehehehehe!!
Nollywood needs to make an award winning movie out of this...maybe that will shed a light on whats truly going on. Its so disgusting that disgusting doesn't even be-fit the situations.
Anyway sha, Naija4life....can't have it any other way....
its just sad and pathetic that power hungry individuals will do anything to kill their fellow people to maintain their position...reminds me of slavery, when african leaders were more than happy to sell off their own people, and im sure they'ld do that even till tommorrow...when will we actually have peace and unity? when will people start practicing politics, with a human face? at this point, its only God that can deliver we nigerians, nuffin else...another thing that bugs me is, with all the issues we are facing, we still have time to be spending ridiculous amounts of money on fashion shows,award shows and top model shows, really? as in , really? ...
I watched a man in Edo state at a polling booth lament the mistake of coming out to vote beside the corpse of his son oozing blood from a bullet to the head. On NTA no less. The determination to sieze power by any means necessary (murder, bombing, arson, hacking) makes you understand just how juicy the spoils of war are. Limitless access to our treasury, our money. When the dust settles these crimminals will be feted, courted, given double spreads in magazines and have literate church going (we love us some church!)Nigerians fighting to buy the $1,000.00 ashoebi of oga/madams birthday. In a country where I just lost an 18yr old 3 days to election because we have just one dialysis machine(in a private hospital) between heaven knows how many states. How much is the frigging machine? (I and the late Emmanuels sister investigated the cost in cold anger) its $70,000 - $100,000. YES just that. Its so scarce I thought it would be a billion bucks. It was in this foul mood I struggled to performed my civic duty as an election observer. Im trying but damn Im so tired.
We all have ideas of how things should be but are we ready to make the necessary sacrifice.All those shouting rigging,thuggery-which of them did not participate especially AC and PDP but its not their fault,the elites are comfortable are and not ready to join the battle but want good governance.We all love Jimi Agbaje bcos he represent the kind of leader we want but do we even have voter card,not to talk of voting-we need to be proactive.On a serious note,do we assually expect anything better than what is happening now?to vote in all those expired politicians who dont have any other means of livelihood than looting common purse,i beg whether Atiku or Obasanjo die in the process-who cares.I pray for the best for our country and we shall survive all of them.Long live Republic of Nigeria
@ pam, l dont know what to say to you darling that wont be inane. You know l would take up arms and fight, ready to die if l thought it would make a difference, almost got to that point in the Abacha era but it wont because as Olisa Agbakoba once said to me. If you are standing on the truth in Nigeria, be ready to stand alone. Lets keep on with our silent work and the attempts at finding creative and effective ways of affecting our future.
@ziariz, the Nigerian middle and elite class should be lined up at the village square and shot. Aside from their apathy and anal superciliosness, they conspire in business with the most fruadualent politicians to keep this country in bondage. l talk to you as an informed media person who is not at liberty to say what l know and who is gagged and oft shut down by others in the media who have been paid. Please ziariz, take yourself from that group mentally and emotionally. Being of a demographic class does not mean you subscribe to the menatlity of that class. Start by voting and mobilizing others to vote this saturday (if it happens and ensuring you know the results at your own ward.
@twinstaiye, l came online to begin to build a new informed community because l am heavily censored on the national network. l am not allowed to discuss politics, some social issues including rape and l have a strict dress code. I have a ton of query letters and my show goes through three levels of censorship before it is aired. l keep at it so that l can maintain a voice no matter how faint. You must become media savvy enough to read between the lines. The people at the network are often helpless too because they'll be sacked if the powers that be are not happy at some report which is why NTA news will say the elections were fine but show you pictures of mayhem so you can decipher the truth. Even the independent stations are not spared, have you been reading about the arson and raiding at AIT?
It would be better if the elitist, middle class private sector sponsored our shows so we can syndicate and go full stream on line but no they dont watch Nigerian TV as a CEO informed me recently. When they do it is only to sponsor mindless reality shows (which are often a deal amongst the boys), no nation exist on media fast food only. l rest.
said riggers and perpetrators of destruction have created their own network of evil...and we want to sit down and "hope" it will somehow topple over without doing ANYTHING about it?! am i the only one who sees how that's ridiculous?!
NO YOU ARE NOT THE ONLY ONE O.
however, i will not die for that nation if my death will just be another statistic. i hope i will be someday important enough to voice a thought and have people rally around it at the possible expense of their lives and mine.
SO VERY TRUE. C.C. ONOH TRIED TO DO THIS IN ENUGU, AND THE ELDER STATESMAN WAS RUTHLESSLY HORSEWHIPPED
i regret that i cannot do anything of eternal consequence in the here and now but in the meantime, i am working on becoming the kind of person that will.
I HAVE BEEN SAYING THIS SAME THING TO MYSELF
TP,
You have said everything that there needs to be said. I could almost hug you from gratitude. Just to add though that the sad truth, the sad sad truth, is that Lagosians actually queued up to vote for Fashola even though his principal after eight years is found ever so wanting in Lagos ... almost half of the Edo electorate actually went and voted for Osunbor when Oshiomhole's picture was on the ballot paper ... it goes on ...
Agbaje was the better choice yes, but it appears it will take more than ideas to make the change we want. Even if the 'middle-class' all stand for a candidate, like Jimi Agbaje, the most important 'class' for any meaningful change has to be the class we call the 'grassroots'.
Until they understand the need and fruits of a paradigm shift, NOTHING will change. And sadly, the people who trooped out to vote for Adebayo Alao-Akala and Lamidi Adedibu - peacefully and without any rigging - last saturday do not know any better .... yet.
Elections in nigeria! So scary this days that sometimes i feel that nigeria might not survive it, cos if by chance you have been outside of your comfort LAGOS u probabbly will share my fears cos.I was in abuja the day of the first election and on my way back we were stopped by angry youth at okene(kogi state)and made to go tell the story(10pm - 5am) and all they kept saying was that they will kill and die if the elections were rigged and that was before the election results(forecast) were read out,on the same stretch of road in oshogbo was almost a worse situation where houses were burnt and as i am making this comment i can see a lorry load of prosters being taken to no mans and maybe to be shot my the police and later claim that their IG (Instituted god ) had asked themto shoot-on-sight what a country !
Long live ??????????
Sometimes i dont know if its right to make that statement cos those who will make it happen dont exist
Its good to know that our generation is not a wasted one afterall-we ve got the ideas and the intellect on how our country should be run but we need more than that.We need to mobilise support and educate the masses on the power of their vote and how together we can make our country a great nation.Characters like Akala and Adedibu will continue to win without rigging bcos they have the grassroot e.g agberos,bus drivers,eleran or artisans generally behind them and lets not deceive ourselves,they are the people who go out to vote and can sleep if need be at the polling booth -can you and i do that.Tinubu and Kalu could do that magic again in their various states bcos they be roforofo men but are they better and different in anyway.
My name tunde agbaje,
I am still going to say the true that what Mr jimi said is the best words.That's for the people that understand it.And i must confesse that Tinubu as a bad plan for lagos but no one undersand