TW_P_003

My friend Onome Onwah, remarked the other day, 'In other thoughts, asides Clinton and Trump, do you know that there are two other candidates running for the white house? Jill Stein and Gary Johnson of the Green Party and Libertarian party respectively. If Americans think that Clinton and Trump are not the best for them, why don't they look at these other ones?'

I responded, 'The situation in the American presidential race was also the case in the last Nigerian presidential elections. There were also many potentially viable options which were ignored, while people blindly followed the bandwagon. Our options then were as commonsensical as those in the American race now. This illusion of not having options is the figment of the imaginations of the careless voting public, and the machinations of a smaller group of people who intend to impose their will on others, while insulting our collective intelligence. Me sef dey watch.'

There were several people whose sentiments for voting in the last elections could be summarized as 'Anything but Jonathan'. Yet I am baffled that there were other potential options to which they were not open-minded about. I wonder then how genuine those desires and clamours for change were.

My intent now is not to say I told you. My message as always, is:

'Stop listening to propaganda. 

Think for yourself. 

Demand for and judge the facts. 


Make a choice. 

Be prepared to bear the consequences of your choice, especially the not-so-pleasant ones that only become apparent in the course of time. 

And beyond that, continue to give wholehearted support for that choice. Otherwise, don't be ashamed to repent when you realize you have made a mistake.'

A people who want actual change will not mindlessly join the bandwagon of someone's ideology. There is still lots of hope for our nation. Hope is a resource that we are never in short supply of. But we must start training and conditioning our minds from this moment, to make the tough choices when the time comes.

God bless Nigeria.