Yes I mean what I said, that our nation needs a revolution in the every sense of it. Let me proceed by defining a revolution in the general understanding of the word revolution. A “revolution is a successful attempt by a large group of people to change the political system of their country by force”. Without mincing words, that is what Nigeria and Nigerians need for now, having waited for a very long time expecting things to change for better in all the sectors of politics and economy especially. There have been attempts in the history of our nation to bring up revolution in to correct the situation, for example, the Isaac Adaka Boro 12 days Revolution.
Isaac Adaka Boro formed the Niger Delta Volunteer Force, declared Niger Delta a Republic on February on February 23 1966, they fought the federal forces for twelve good days before they were defeated and jailed for treason, but were granted amnesty on the eve of Nigerian Civil War in 1967. Another remarkable shot at a revolution in Nigeria was the EndSARS protest which was making somes waves until the military came to Lekki Toll Gate to disperse the protesters with force of bullets. I will not forget to mention the first military coup in Nigerian political history led by Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu, which claimed to remove the compromised and corrupt political class which was seen as on sided because the political leaders in the eastern part of Nigeria was not touched at all.
Since then, the military have been coming in out with different coups with the pretense that they are coming to clean the system but they ended more corrupt than the previous regimes and created more problems for the country. “Every revolution begins with a spark” is credited to The Hunger Games: Catching Fire movie series which was released eight years ago on November 22, 2013. Every revolution truly begins with a spark that produces fire, and as small as it begins, becomes a big fire that cannot be contained. The great soul, Mahatma Gandhi corroborated this spark, by furthering his position with his statement: “Every revolution begins with a single act of defiance”.
I agree more than one hundred percent with him on his position. That is what really can bring the changes a revolution wants to achieve only with a strong spirit of defiance, stubbornness and ready to part with their blood to flow. I continue to join like-minded Nigerians to conscientise our youths and the general citizenry about the recurring and most recent events in Nigeria with particular reference to the sucking and cannibalism as attitude from our political class! Some persons are tacitly in agreement with the situation! Some are helplessly helpless and have resigned to fate Some see the situation as our own type of democracy Some are saying why should I waste time on what won’t be solved Some are waiting for who will lead them in a peaceful Protest Some are saying why can’t you begin it yourself Some are even confused Some are not talking because they’re benefitting from the situation Some are not talking because it is their man that is there in the spirit of ‘Awalokan’ (It is our turn to rule and possibly to chop) Some are talking because they’re in opposition Some are……………………………….
The funny thing about Nigeria that shows hopelessness is that, those who are waiting to steal, loot, and abuse their powers are more than those who are in power, it is just like waiting for my opportunity to come, it is like what is put this way in a Yoruba adage “Ori ese were oo bu soogun” (You see a mad man’s leg, you are not taking advantage of a free leg to use for making of charm). For a revolution to be functional and achieve its purpose it must be prepared for, there must be constant interaction, and education of the soldiers of the cause. Martin Luther didn’t take to the street the first day! He was talking and talking and writing! The Montgomery March was successful and had an impact. Someone should ask the question : why are civil protests don’t have far reaching effects in Nigeria? We’re still preparing for it? The question is, till when? The questions to be asked should be in tandem with the questions John F Kennedy asked “If not us, who? And if not now, when? Yes the hunger in the land is much! A normal hunger wants food in the belly but the kind of hunger an average Nigerian should be experiencing right now is the hunger for a revolution with one aim, to clean the augean stable and reset the political and economic brain of the Nigerian nation.
The hunger to see to it that we are better and we overcome the present rot and mess that our nation is experiencing. The undiluted truth is that, the system we have has been hijacked, it is with a systemic problem and it won’t change until a revolution happens. Right now as we’re reading this piece, something started as protest in Kenya, but it has snowballed to a sort of revolution, it was at first a protest against a Finance bill, which President Ruto withdrew from the parliament, but the citizens are no longer talking about the withdrawal, they now asked for the resignation of the President of the country. Let us see how far the protesters can go. just know that ‘every revolution begins with a spark’. .
Rev. Fr. Victor Makinwa Ogunyemi writes from Abuja.
