Sunday, March 10, 2019
Underage Voting in Northern Nigeria
The Buhari Democracy. Same laws, but different standards.
The child in the picture was duly registered in Northern Nigeria to vote at any given election. He is seen here undergoing the accreditation process prior to casting his vote.
The child in the picture was duly registered in Northern Nigeria to vote at any given election. He is seen here undergoing the accreditation process prior to casting his vote.
Monday, March 4, 2019
Northern Nigeria: Mental Slavery and the Celebration of Poverty in Victory.
What you are seeing is a pick of one of the Different Faces of Feudalism, and the long road ahead of us as one nation-state. Like hundreds of others, he entertains no scruples jumping into the gutter to bath himself in dirt and sewage, celebrating the victory of one who has no reckoning of his existence. Even if you show the pictures of the President's children graduating from Universities in the UK to him, he will still jump into the gutter - the President is one of us. To them, that's what matters. And that is the definition of mental slavery.
To Mr. President and the Abuja King Makers, it is worth restating for the record that the greatest investment in the life of a child is quality education. Every one of you in the leadership espouses that concept and live by it; otherwise, you wouldn't be sending your kids to top-flight Grammar Schools and Universities overseas.
Almajiris deserve the same. The Abokis deserve the same. The Talakawas deserve the same. And every Nigerian Child deserves the same or comparable opportunity as your kids.
Jumping into the gutter to celebrate your victory is emblematic of the dismal emptiness that defines their existence. To wit, Poverty is a Friend, a Brother. But Leadership and all the trappings of wealth belong to the privileged kids and their friends.
There is no denying the fact that having them imbued with the teaching that "the other candidate is not one of us," is more potent and more impactful during the election than saying, "if you support me and vote for me, I will give you free education, affordable healthcare services, and social welfare package." If those promises were his campaign slogan, it would be understandable. Alternatively, if the pursuit of popular education was a part of the history of his accomplishments as a leader, I would readily excuse the celebration of dirt and filth.
We know that isn't the case. We know he is not the progressive Aminu Kano or the Father-Figure Balewa. The truth is that their views of the rest of us are in tandem or in harmony with his views of the rest of us. It is not what he has done for them or promised to do for them. It is the lies, the deceit rooted in "we are separate and unequal."
In spite of everything, I do solemnly undertake to STAND with the unfortunate dude in the sewage and others who celebrated in like manner until a sustainable initiative is developed for their educational advancement. They are the major casualties of decades-old corruption of power and the caste system that characterized the Northern leadership cliques throughout their adventure in power in Northern Nigeria.
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