As
my colleague and I sat in the hellish Lekki- Ajah traffic last night, my weary
eyes rested on a long line of cars adorned with miniature green-white-green
flags under the fast fading Nigerian sky. It was the first I had seen of such
intense enthusiasm about the celebration of Nigeria’s Independence. In spite of
my usually unperturbed self, a smile played carelessly on my lips as I watched
my colleague haggle with a traffic vendor for the smallest sized flag in his
merchandise. Even if momentary, that was money to be made.
The
political ambiance of the country has taken a drastic plunge northwards and one
cannot underplay the pros of and inherent beauty in it. I am particularly awed
by the presence of a politically inclined group on Twitter who although is
laced with so much venom and broken into several factions, has the potential of
mobbing inactive leaders out of office and retaining otherwise trustworthy
ones. The likes of @omojuwa, @ayourb, @ogbenidipo, @demolanrewaju, @zahramusa,
@joyceodukoya have accumulated a large following who they intimate with new
findings and ‘edutain’ with heated arguments which sometimes have them calling
each other out but are altogether a crucial feature of the democracy we intend
to build on.
On
the other end are Nigerian leaders, ably represented by social media experts
whose Twitter accounts have become a medium for public enlightenment and
clarification on pressing issues. Just yesterday, amidst the frenzy
accompanying the impending appointment of the ministers of the present tenure,
the Senate President @bukolasaraki announced the reception of the proposed
Ministerial list from the presidency at about 5.20 PM. Gone are the days when
people got news items off Newspaper Stands and NTA 9.00 PM news. Now, even news
agencies cop items off Twitter. In a near similar fashion, @omojuwa recently
had a Tweetmeet with the Governor of the state of Osu,, Rauf Aregbesola where
he asked questions floating on the minds of several Nigerians as regards the
non-payment of salaries in the State.
My
point is that this new found love growing in the hearts of young Nigerians for
politics and governance heralds an era of accountability, transparency, social
equity and judicious use of public resources as against what was regarded as
the norm in the past.
So
here is wishing Nigeria a fabulous fabulous birthday which coincides with the
first anniversary of our BBM Channel, Digs and Skims C0019B5B0. Here is to applaud the awareness gracing our
streets and the reorientation that fuels it. Here is to solicit insistence and
persistence and an unoppressed bout of fervor. Here is praying strength and
wisdom for our leaders. Here is hoping that all our dreams as a nation come
true
by Bisola Agboluaje
No comments:
Post a Comment