When Vikas Swarup wrote his novel titled – Q & A; little did he know that he was setting himself up for history. The book went on to win the Boeke prize but the accolades was just starting. The book was later adapted for the screen by Simon Beaufoy and titled Slumdog Millionaire. The film became the most successful big screen entrant at the Academy awards of 2009 winning 8 out of the 10 nominations it received including best picture which is the crowning glory of any film at the awards.

I am going to explain the link between the film and its being a black swan phenomenon. Let me first explain the term black swan for those who haven’t read Nassim Nicholas Taleeb’s book. The Black swan represents those events in life either negative or positive that are not explainable by man’s generally flawed logic and his tendency to always want to rationalize things. Hence, the 9-11 bombing is a black swan event and so is the entrance of the Internet into our lives. Normally, swans are generally known to be white in color which led many to believe that is the only color possible for these birds; but discovering black swans will always be unsettling for those who have stereotyped mindsets.

Vikas is Indian by birth. When he was asked if he thought that Q&A was ever going to be this great and accepted by people of all nations including the Western world, his answer was straight to the point. NO. It is not his fault to think that a book that chronicled the life of a slum boy in India would become so popular all over the World. If you also asked the producers of the film – British based Celador films if this is going to be their big hit and the film that would get them 8 Oscars; I guess their answer will be NO and they did confirm that when the awards started rolling in right from the Golden Globe awards.

There are many people whose lives have changed due to this event which started in the mind of Vikas. A relatively unknown songwriter and performer – A.R Rahaman won two Oscars on the night which was a crowning glory for his previous golden globe awards. Director Danny Boyle initially turned down the request to direct Slumdog Millionaire but rescinded on his decision when he learned that the screenplay was done by Simon Beaufoy – his initial stance was being skeptical about a film based on Who Wants to be a Millionaire. What a mistake that would have been on his part. Having talked about the film and those who have written their names in the sands of time. I now move to the main reason of linking this great event to our day to day life.

Most times, negative black swan events are beyond comprehension and we do not really have ways of preventing them except to do things in the right way and hope no one gets to spoil the efforts. For example, natural disasters hit us when we least expect but if governments and citizens give some real thoughts to the effect of global warming on our Universe, things might be averted to a certain extent. But to some extents, we have better control on positive black swan events. As much as we can not also predict the next big film or the next big dotcom company or idea; we have the choice to start something even when the end of it cannot be predicted.

The Internet was just a defense project initiated by the United States to improve war time communication. Now, we wonder how we lived before the advent of the information super highway. As much as it is an unexpected success but we know that a group of people decided to start it though this level of success was not envisaged. Same goes for the Google guys whose idea of simplifying search for the whole world led to one of the greatest dotcom companies in the world.

My point is simple – one cannot guarantee the level of success of any idea or enterprise but the most important thing I have seen in the lives of the men and women whose inventions, books, song compositions, etc are shaping our lives today is the fact that they started something! Most people bury their dreams even before waking up from sleep. I can imagine what would have happened if penicillin was not invented. Also imagine the succor that will come to the whole world when the cure for HIV/AIDs is discovered – at least a Nigerian has finally provided cure for Diabetes and we are so proud of him.

The world is waiting for that next big book, screenplay, movie and invention. The only reason we survive in this world is that when life throws us negative events, we get pacified by the positive events that follow. Africa is still left far behind when it comes to big positive black swans happening around us. Is it as a result of the stifling environment we live in? Or have we just decided to believe that not much can come from us? I believe that we have what it takes to make things happen if only we decide to contribute to the betterment of the human race.

A few months ago, majority would have argued that no film could win the best picture at the Oscar if it was not based on a Western Story or with the so called grade A Hollywood actors. But a film shot in India and starring no known actor has made history. As usual, I will advise we all do some soul searching and decide to make an impact on our society and the World at large. I see a lot of new Vikas and dotcom entrepreneur coming up to bring positive solutions to problems facing the World. Why not start composing that song, write that book, brainstorm on that idea and then see as they are given life and expression. Once again, I say – start something today.

There is a culture in Great Ife to give automatic accommodation to final year students. So, for the first time, I proudly marched to get my allocation. A drama ensued while we were queuing for our names to be announced; a friend of mine and classmate, Benjamin Adekoya tried to play a quick one on me. How? Immediately my name was called and room number was known, he rushed to the room to go and pick a space (There was this thing about corner spaces ). This is a guy who was not even sure of being in that room, I calmly walked to the room and reclaimed the space for myself. Rumor had it that he eventually did not get a very good space as the time he wasted chasing shadows was utilized by his other room mates while he was in my room.

The space I picked was the second of the two corner spaces. A very unique character whom I am going to talk about later in this post picked the first – his name is Ebenezer popularly known as Ebeno. That room in Adekunle Fajuyi hall is one I would never forget because of the guys I shared it with. There were two of my classmates in the room- the quiet Daniel Odebunmi and the amiable Debo Afolayan. Daniel is an easy going man who was older than most of us but we flowed along very well. His nemesis in the room is Ebeno who was always disturbing him. There was a day he (Ebeno) threw Daniel’s cooking utensils into the bush because they were not washed on time . That was just one of many altercations between the two.

Debo is a very cool guy. He was called Pastor because he behaved like one and he was a very good dresser and till date, he still commands that respect. Demola Akinpelu was a first year student whom I met when he came to register in my department. His dad handed him over to me and said he would like if I can allow his son stay with me. I accepted and that was the start of a great relationship with the Akinpelu’s. I eventually stayed in their house when I first got to Lagos in 2001. There was another wonderful young man, a medicine student in 100 level then. It is a sin to forget his name because he was my junior in Secondary school. Then there was Brian – the man with the Americana talk and lifestyle, I used to be wary of him until I realized he was just being himself.

Baba Igbomina was another character that brings smiles into my face. He is a family friend of Debo’s and they stayed together. We started calling him that name when we realized he came from the Igbomina side of Kwara State. Little did I know I was going to marry from that part of the country too, see life. He was studying Accounting and he just came into 200L as a direct entry student. It is of note that myself and Baba Igbomina did our registry wedding on same day and it was quite a reunion when we met at the registry with Debo also in attendance.

I have to say more things about Ebeno. As far as I am concerned, he was the main character in the room. A Philosophy final year student; Ebeno was the best student in his department at that time. Everyone knew him to be an atheist, maybe due to his course of study. He was feared by other room mates because of his quick tongue but we had mutual respect for each other mainly because we met the previous session while contesting for the SUG. He also contested in that election and lost woefully not surprisingly as he is a very undiplomatic politician. There was an incidence that Ebeno himself does not know I witnessed till date and I hope he is reading this. A popular General Overseer was in Ife on that day in year 2000 for a crusade. Amphi Theatre was full to the brim with students and lecturers alike. His message that day described how Africa is filled with Witches and Wizards and the bravest of hearts would shake on that day. He even told us that the witches in Africa are stronger than those from other continents, hence our need to pray with violence rather than putting our hands in the trouser, using our nasals to pray whilst he gave us the pidgin translation of the verse – Since d day wey John the baptist don dey wakabout, the Kingdom of God suffer jigbijigbi and those wey no go gree dey take am with girigiri – lol. Personally, I respect the man of God but I don’t believe in some of the principles preached about fighting evil with physical tenacity, I rather think understanding the heart of God and the true weapons of the spirit is more effective. The church believes you must groan and shout in prayers to defeat the enemy. Back to Ebeno – something strange happened when the altar call was made for those who wanted to give their lives to Christ. The most unlikely person to be in the hall not to talk of surrendering his life to Christ rose up and joined the mass that took the call. I was shocked and praising God at the same time ‘cos I had been praying for him for a long time. I cautioned myself that I was not going to embarrass him by making him feel like he ate his words about God but decided to do little things for him that made him more at ease with his new life. I hope he is still in Christ today. He is one guy I hated losing contact with and I would be very happy if anyone can get his contacts for me. We rocked that room together .. chei!

That was the room I cut my computer teeth. I told my room mates then that as a President and Student Union official; I was going to tush my room with Television, deck and VCD. Hence, when I decided to buy a computer and showed up with a small radio at the beginning of second semester, some of them thought I was lying and that I did not have money. But the day my computer arrived was a dream come true. Those were memorable times and I thank my room mates wherever they might be for being a part of my life. I wish them all the happiness and fulfillment in life. May your barns be filled in Jesus name. Amen.

If you noticed, I said final sessions, yeah I am right. The two rooms I stayed during my extra year were in PG Hall, so I did not have many room mates. The first one was with Seun Okunola and Niyi Oladeji. Seun was gracious to take us in to that room despite the fact that we just met then. Thanks man. I later got two rooms from Architect Layi Amokeodo and Mr. John Okpako (Both MPhil candidates in Architecture dept) during that same session. I gave one space to Niyi and Seun while I moved to the other room. This was where I met Tammy Takaya, a very brilliant and deep guy. Tammy and I later worked together in Vmobile Nigeria. Thanks guys, I appreciate you all.

And so, this series comes to rest. I hope you got a glimpse into my residential life in Great Ife.

Over the weekend, I did some soul searching on some of the principles that are shaping my life and some I would love to do more. The list goes on and on but I will share some of them with you. I would also love to learn some of yours. Happy reading.

Be Happy For Your Friends When They Succeed
Everyone will say yes, it is a normal thing to be happy for friends when they are on top. But many find it very difficult to practice same and I have seen a lot of it. The mistake such people make is that they think they are being left out of the race when in reality, there is no race. Each person’s life, dream and ambition is personal and taking part in a rat race often leads to trouble. When I went back to Great Ife to see out my extra year; most of my friends were already working for big companies and were doing their NYSC. Some bought cars when I was still struggling with a moral justification for taking taxis instead of buses . But one thing I learned from my father shaped my life – he doesn’t envy people and I keyed into that mentality. None of my friends could say I beefed them, in fact I am always praying for them to succeed more and the prayer usually rubs off on me because when my friends succeed, I also succeed. How? you might ask. My first job in Lagos was in 2003 and the person who gave me a note to the MD is none other than my brother and friend, ‘Gbenga Sesan. GS got a job in Lagos even before his official graduation and he met a lot of top shots. It was one of those big boys who gave me the job first due to GS’ note and then listening to what I could do. Now imagine if I am one of those who envy their friends – I won’t be helped by my friend. I also remember that I practically dragged my brother from another mother – Niyi Oladeji to Lagos after his NYSC. He came down and got a job the first day he started looking for one. Niyi went on to work for Vmobile Nigeria whilst I was still struggling in an IT company (My second job, where they usually owed us 3 1/2 months salary ). Was I happy for him? YES. And the happiness paid off as he submitted my resume and I got a job in my dream industry in 2005. I can count a lot of these encounters as the list is endless. God has a way of blessing us when we have a clean heart towards people, whether they are our friends, families or even enemies (For those who have such). I hope we all understand the gains behind this principle and obtain grace from it.

Be Careful Who You Roll With
The popular saying goes thus – Birds of a feather flock together. Nothing can be truer than this. The people you surround yourself with will eventually determine where you reach in life. If you are one of those who hanged out with back benchers in primary and secondary schools, you will know what I am talking about. If you also hanged out with the best students in class, you understand me very well. The people you discuss with also determine the level of your thought and how articulate you can be. The kind of books you read and your choice of music most likely also come from these interactions. For me, I will say the friends I made especially in Secondary and in a bigger way University helped me in a very big way. Being a first born most times can be very challenging as there is no elder sibling to learn from. I developed a lot of confidence and believe in my abilities mostly due to the caliber of friends I kept in Great Ife. Those guys are big thinkers and looking at them today, I am so proud of them and their achievements. I am also proud of their convictions and moral even though we are not saints but we know when we err and seek to correct such. None of my friends will do a bad thing and come out to boast about it to us. He will rather be ashamed of it and make corrections. Those are the kind of people to walk with, people with integrity, willing to admit it when they are wrong (cos we are humans) and who understand the importance of finishing strong. They also know that they are not in this world to just pass through but that an impact must be felt by their coming. Those are the kind of people I love to roll with. You won’t adore these people until you have friends who boast to you about the number of mistresses he keeps and he is not ashamed of it. I don’t condone hypocrisy but I love people who understand some things are wrong, some people just don’t have a clue.

Never, Never Look Down On Anyone
The end of that sentence is – ‘cos you don’t know the heights they will reach. Yeah right. We tend to look down on people we meet without giving them a chance to prove themselves. Africans are very guilty of judging people by their appearance and hence, shutting doors on future help. That is why I try to relate with people on a good basis notwithstanding their age, color, where they work or status in the society. Most times, I get things done easily in government institutions just because of the way I relate with the man that is the messenger in the office. I also learned that the man you meet on the street might be the same guy who will take your file up to be treated. As usual, I have a story to back up my claim. In my undergraduate days in Ife, I was popular with the non-academic staff in my department. When I went back to collect my transcript, one of them was so selfless that I got my transcript in one day (A big record if you know Ife). Recently, I went to collect my certificate and 7 years after, it was still not ready but I met a woman who was a typist in my department and she recognized me immediately. She took me to meet her boss (A top gun in Great Ife Administration) who turned out to be my former Guidance and Counselor in Secondary school and also GS’ aunt. She personally went to see if the VC was around so they could treat my case individually (Another first) but he was not around. I left the country afterward and guess what, the madam (Former typist in my dept) gave me a call few days ago to tell me I can send someone to collect the certificate for me. If you have the habit of looking down on people, they might come back to haunt you later.

Even When The End Is Known To Be Rosy, We Must Still Be Prepared For Pain

Mark 15:34
“And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

Jesus knew from the start that he was going to die for the sake of saving humanity. He also knew that he would resurrect in 3 days to be forever glorified. But that did not stop him from cringing at the 9th hour though he did not plan to give up on saving us. If this can happen to Jesus Christ, I guess we all have a right to be afraid sometimes. But the lesson to learn from it all is that after the cloud – there is a silver lining and great light. Many times we come to crossroads where we have to make decisions that would affect our destinies and those of others. We can either go for the short term gain or decide to do what is right. I reckon that one word from Jesus, and his killers would have been struck dead but he forgot the pains because he saw the higher glory in view and that is why even those who don’t believe in him can’t but talk about him till date. His death and resurrection has been a subject for many philosophers and scholars and will continue to be until the end of the world. If you have not thought of this angle to the crucifixion, I guess you will agree with me now that there are more lessons to be learned from that sacrifice. Knowing that the end of something will bring joy does not mean we won’t be discouraged to do same, but our Lord has taught us how to endure to the end.

Execute The Vision Before It Gets Cold

Most of us are guilty of having visions and not carrying them out. We are also very fond of bouncing the ideas around the wrong people and those are vision killers who only have bad news to tell us. Thus, we start getting cold feet and fail to execute our plans. Many great businesses would have started and empires built but the story keeps repeating itself in our lives. I understand the need to brainstorm and decide if our visions are real enough but we also tend to forget that the best person to discuss with is God. God then points us in the direction of those who can help us nurture our dreams and not vision killers. That same idea that they ruled on as nonsense has now turned another man to a star. Why not close your eyes to pessimists and register that company today? Write that business plan and proposal and distribute such now? Why must you procrastinate and end up losing out? I guess this is a time to act fast, else that inspiration from God where those ideas come to your mind will dry up! Forget those who keep telling you only the connected ones are making it in business, rubbish – it is a lie from the pit of hell to keep shackled. We will talk more on this later.

My Dear Child,

You cannot understand how elated I am writing this letter to you. In fact, just a few years ago, I could not envisage this happening but you have made this possible through the help of God and I can proudly dip my pen in the ink and write this to you.

We are yet to physically meet but I have been dreaming about you for a very long time. I have also been thinking about you a lot and lately, the frequency has increased. Hence, it is not news that I fell in love with you before I met you.

You are coming into this space at a very auspicious moment. The World has been waiting for you because you are not a product of a broken condom (As a very respected writer said) or an accident but a great gift to me and my sweetheart from the almighty God. We daily bless God for giving us such a beautiful gift and we have promised to be good guardians to you.

I also know that the World you are coming to is different from the one I was born into. Many might be asking why I am trying to feel like Methuselah but I am not. I am just giving a very honest opinion and one that many parents have failed to notice. Technology has advanced, access to information is now very easy. The media is so advanced now and all sorts of distribution for their contents are now available. Music videos can be made in a room and distributed all over the World via U-tube in one day. The Internet now relay contents in a very fast and quick way that was not envisaged a few years ago.

As these technologies evolve, the harms also evolve. I was not exposed to bad contents growing up and even if I wanted to watch bad movies, getting it was very hard. Channel O and MTV were also not available to play music videos filled with almost nude women gyrating to obscene lyrics. So, you see what I mean by this time you are coming into this World.

Don’t get me wrong my darling. A lot of my age mates got exposed to some funny things. They smoked all sorts of things, drank strong liquors and chased girls while we were still very young. So it was not as if the days were saintly then. In fact, your father has God, his parents and the will to have a good future to thank for escaping the abyss.

Stephen Farrah in his wonderful book – finishing strong preached a big message to me at a point in my life and that impacted me so much that I decided to join the small league of those who desire to finish strong. Many have fallen by the wayside due to bad decisions and I can’t count a lot of my primary school mates that are still relevant in the scheme of things now.

So as I was saying, you will be coming into a more challenging world filled with people of greed, selfishness and other vices but still filled with good people. But you have good news. God confirmed how much he loves you before you were conceived and decided to give you to us. We have been praying for you a lot and even though we know that you are not going to be insulated from the World in general, but we know that the almighty through us will guide you to having a fulfilling life.

I do not intend to introduce you to a boring life but a life that is balanced and one which will bless humanity. I guess your father’s friends cannot label him as a boring young man; I love life and I live it well without hurting anyone knowingly. We will be great friends because I have decided in my heart to do that. We will learn a lot of things together as we go on in life.

I will always be truthful to you and ensure you understand my ideologies and help you shape yours. I will not become a grumpy man and one you cannot relate with. We will dream together and brainstorm on all issues. We will discover God together and not impose him on you. You will realize the beauty of his love naturally because of the testimonies inherent in your parents’ lives.

Very early in life, I realized that you would come one day. I know how hard it is for children especially when their parents are not good role models. It affects a child’s social growth. A lot of decisions I made were tilted towards your arrival and I know that the Lord will make you see this. I thank you for being a motivation for this as I do not in any way feel left out of anything. In actual fact; you have made me to achieve a lot of things I might have chased at an older age.

I am also happy that you are coming into this World not just through any means, but together with the woman I love and adore so much. We love you very much and we know that the love will continue to grow together. Your mother is a completion for me as she epitomizes a lot of good things I am not. I know you guys know each other very well now but not to worry – I know you as much in my thoughts and dreams.

I have also assured your mum that your coming would not reduce our love but will strengthen it and she has promised same too. We will all have a good time, I promise you. You are our first child, hence a leader in your own right. I am in that position too and believe me, it is a very important one. The way a family turns out is hugely hinged on the sanity and responsibility of the first born. I know you will not let us down but serve as a role model to your sibling(s).

My darling, I love you so much that thinking of you brings emotions I can’t explain. I look forward to meeting you very soon and I bless the Lord for this opportunity. I know he will help me to be a good father you will always be proud of.

Your dad,

Ayobami

1. Babangida finally gave reasons for annulment of June 12

General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida is a man we can not forget in a hurry in Nigeria. As far as I am concerned; he committed crimes of the heinous category whilst he was the head of state and the commander in chief of the armed forces, federal republic of Nigeria. According to This Day newspapers edition of February 5 2009- Babangida finally opened up on his reason for canceling the most peaceful and fairest election in the history of the Nigerian political landscape. He ‘confessed’ at the unlikeliest of platforms – The Moments With Mo show.

Sincerely, if I heard that Mo invited Babangida to her show, the first thing that would cross my mind is WHAT!!!!! But a certain pronouncement made during the interview was enough to attract my attention. See below in his own words:

Babangida, who described the annulment as “unfortunate” and revealed that he would launch a book on the saga next year, said having been on the steering wheel of government at the time, he and the Armed Forces Ruling Council (AFRC) knew that the new democratic government to be installed would sooner than later be toppled through another military coup deta’t, which he said his government wanted to avoid.

What a reason for setting Nigeria back at least 3 decades. It is also very unfortunate that this man who is described as the evil genius thinks so little of the intellect possessed by the average Nigerian. How dare he come more than 15 years after the crime to give us this stupidly crafted old wife’s tale? The first insult we suffered from him was his intention to come back as President of our country but this latest insult just confirms how he is wired. He should spare us the crap and know that even of the Kings of this earth are unable to judge him – the one who rules from heaven surely would. The full story can be found here.

2. Lucky Dube was killed ‘cos we thought he was Nigerian says his killers

It was with shock and disbelief that I heard this news on a South African news channel yesterday. The dusts raised by the xenophobic attacks are still not totally cleared; hence hearing this news brings back memories of those who died during the senseless and unfortunate attacks. The news also confirms once again that Africa has a long way to go in integration and the dream of Gaddafi and his supporters in the US of Africa state is taller than the tower of babel. Many might be tempted to say that some Nigerians are the cause of this issues or a tendency to blame the economic condition of our country; but relax, a lot of South African nationalities and companies are repatriating Millions of dollars from Nigeria monthly. I am yet to hear of any plan of Xenophobic attacks on SA citizens in Nigeria. Yet, the balance of trade between the two countries ultimately tips to the SA side from Telecoms to Retail stores and even entertainment.

This backward mindset should be condemned by the authorities in South Africa and is worthy of a diplomatic intervention from the Nigerian government. But to be sincere again, enlightened South Africans have been condemning the summation by the killers wondering if being a Nigerian is a passport to death. The sanctity of human life is not respected by this hoodlums and once can not but ask if the 2010 World cup won’t be a mistake judging from the human traffic that will descend on South Africa. Security of life is a major challenge for Mzansi’s government but with the elections that have started generating violence – one can only hope that the rainbow nation will not lose its shine. Story can be read here.

3. When the Unknown unknowns happen; then the dissidents are praised.

Father of communism and a fiery fighter of the principle of free markets a la Capitalism – Karl Marx was a man hated by many especially those who thought his ideals were too narrow and unrealistic for the modern World. At a point in time, his ideals were defeated especially with the rise of free markets in the developed world and the craze for privatization in most developing countries. His schools of Marxism and Hegelian ism was thus subjected to ridicule by many modern day economists. Although, one cannot be totally in favor of all that he represents, but one is also amazed at how his ‘faulty’ ideas is now haunting the World today. Many are now praising his works for being a very objective critique of the Capitalist regime.

This post is not an expose of his Communists Manifesto but just a reminder of how men quickly change their opinions in the twinkle of an eye. As governments battle to save the World from a total economic collapse; lets see how the Works of men like Marx and Engels can bring some sanity back into the system. Though I don’t see the World totally shifting to that side, but some lessons could be learned from these great minds.

The human mind is a deep one with an ability to create and destroy. From the mind – man has been able to invent things, write blockbusters, start World wars and destroy their nations. Each man has a choice to either use his cortex for good or bad; some times, the concept of good and bad can be very confusing for some people who selfishly mix up these two concepts. Nigeria is a great case study when it comes to the issue of checking what goes on in a man’s mind. It is very clear now that almost all strata of the Nigerian society have an absurdity in their thought process.

It starts from the top. From the so called leaders who do not have the good of the country at heart. This usually permeates down the strata to the lowest ebb of the society even as far as school children who have very little or no inclinations towards contributing to the common good. Why is it that just a few of us want to queue up at eateries, few of us throw finished sachet water packs in dustbins (are there dustbins around?) and just very few will not repeat the same corrupt tendencies of the present political class?

However, I will not agree to the notion that it is a lost war and that nothing good can ever come out of Nigeria. That is a fallacy of hasty generalization. We cannot just come to that conclusion. What I have noticed is that those who usually preach that gloomy message are not ready to change and are part of the nuisance destroying our polity. The change we need will start as a personal journey to redemption, one person at a time. I cannot but keep using that phrase as I understand what one changed person can do.

We also have to get to a point when the ridiculous smells bad to us all. A point where we cannot just agree to continue the decay of our country. A point where we are just tired of the stereotype and a craving for sanity ensues. That is when we are truly ready to start a new phase of our lives. It is going to be a major shift in our paradigm but it is very possible. Almost all facets of our society is sick as at present but a collective resolve to start doing the right things will be the answer to the question.

Let’s analyze it this way. Our generation will no doubt want a better future for our children and the coming generations. Can we sincerely allow the present madness to continue thereby allowing the protegees of the present political class to continue raising the looting armies for the next generations? Is it not time for an awakening to happen to us all with the view to taking over from those murderers? I sincerely believe that influence is what we need to overcome this major barrier. It is clear that politics is a game of numbers and a lot of Nigerian youth are rising up to the challenge of mentoring others. Those are the people who should start preaching change and passing on the right values.

The political class is already digging their own graves and what a good thing to do. The national assembly just supported the bill sponsored by some Nigerians in the diaspora to allow them use their suffrage even outside the country during the elections. The man Iwu vehemently opposed the bill but he has been put in his place and for the first time – an army of voters who would most likely vote objectively will emerge. The logistics might be hard but this is where we all come in again. The plan is to use all Nigerian embassies and High Commission abroad as voting centers; it is time to start educating our brethren in diaspora about this opportunity for change.

For those at home; I am sure we all know we can not afford to keep quiet anymore and think miracles will happen. The global economic crunch which was supposedly not going to impact our country has been taking a huge toll on our nation. We suddenly found out that we have no insulation to the global crisis and the recently concluded forum in Davos did not even find a solution to the challenges. It is thus clear that leadership of each nation will be responsible to liberate their people from these woes. We can no longer look up to the World powers as they have suddenly become very vulnerable themselves.

I am not sure what else God or man needs to show us to confirm that we can get it right in Nigeria? The Lagos example is the best sign I have ever seen in my life. Not even the inauguration of Barrack Obama inspires change in Nigeria like this. Obama is more of an inspiration to America, we should also find our local equivalents of people who are ready to be the change. Governor Babatunde Fashola has proven a lot of people wrong concerning Lagos and its governance. Lagos State is the hardest state in Nigeria to govern due to its population and the degradation it suffered from previously insensitive governments. If anyone told me that a man could make noticeable changes in that state in less than 2 years; I would have said NO. I wish he will continue this good work and not slip into irrelevance (He has become relevant in our nation due to his good works).

I think Fashola’s performance should be enough to spark protests in other states where the governors are a bunch of irresponsible citizens. Now we know it is possible, so why can’t we have good governance? 2011 is just around the corner and the same men have started their campaigns for a second term or preparing their parties to maintain control for the next 60 years. I guess this is a good time for the emergence of a new political class that will be motivated by the young at heart (Not necessarily young in age) and supported by all. This movement should seek to have proper manifesto rather than bring people of strange ideologies together who are just strange bed fellows. I am a believer in the emergence of a new Nigeria where every good thing is possible. The question is – are you also ready to be a part of the change?

I will not just be involved in rhetoric – but I have decided to be a part of the change in any positive way. We cannot fold our arms and think better days will come. My questions to us all are – can we leave our comfort zones and decide that only those with empathy for our nation will rule us? Can we use the high population of young people in Nigeria to our advantage? Can we stop being pessimistic and do something for once? There is an opportunity to change our nation using the Internet as a medium to drive numbers. Please visit http://www.thefuturemovement.org/register to register. It will be a good idea to join. They are not political parties but groups that might become powerful enough to sway the votes and install conscientious leaders for us.

It is your choice!