Realities of Today Blog: A Nigerian Initiative for Enlightenment

  Hello!  Can you pause a little bit, sit back and try to have a reflection of your achievements in the twelve (12) calendar months of the year 2020. I said pause before answering the next questions: What have you done this year? What did you overcome this year? What opportunities came your way? What opportunities did you grab this year? What were your winnings this year? These are questions begging for answers in the best way possible. Don't forget it's a great privilege to be alive, to reflect on this achievements in the midst of the ups, downs, shocks and surprises in the year 2020. A lot of people (professionals, spiritualists, artisans, freedom fighters , administrators...) died suddenly from different parts of the world through Coronavirus disease outbreak and mere illness that you have survived without having the wherewithal. Note, people who stacked up generational funds still lost their lives. Don't you think its worthwhile to be grateful by counting every bless

Bill in a democratic setting is an important tool for achieving desired change in a given direction. Nigeria is nowhere different because of her current experience in the hands of her administrators. For now, please let’s not argue about the actual practice of democracy in Nigeria or not. We all know where we belong on a global scale of leadership and democratic governance. For decades, there has been tremendous agitations for the approval of several bills into law to enhance the efficiency of the system. Notable bill agitations in Nigeria are not but limited to police reforms, electronic voting, child marriage, and of late hate speech, social media bill. Who knows what ridiculous bill they are going to initiate to threaten us. As youths in today’s Nigeria, we have been agitating for a better Nigeria through online and offline platforms as seen this year for instance. This is in the actual sense of what we need against what we want for nation-building. What do we need, specifically

Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)  came as a shocker to many countries other than China in the year 2020 but many countries used their shock absorbers to manage the situation. This outbreak no doubt necessitated the total shutdown of so many activities across the globe, thereby, incapacitating its citizenry.  Due to this reality, many nations gave their citizens palliatives - foodstuff as at when due while some countries even gave out financial support to their citizens throughout the period of their forceful stay at home. This was nowhere near the reality of many states in Nigeria who were under lockdown from March till August 2020.  Although, some palliatives were shared at the 0.1% level while a larger share was hoarded for whatsoever reason by some state governors in Nigeria. It came as a shock to see many warehouses looted by hoodlums in Lagos, Nigeria at first to discover their entitlement. This tide, therefore, occurred at Kwara, Cross Rivers, Osun, Jos, Benin and other places in N

What started as a clarion call for #EndSars and #EndPoliceBrutality in Nigeria degenerated into the call to end deeper issues affecting Nigeria as a nation. Sadly, some people had died in this short time of peaceful agitations by unarmed youths coupled with the activities of hoodlums across the state. A minute silence for the fallen heroes at the Lekki toll gate protest ground, please. Indeed after the massacre, the state witnessed devastating attacks on both private and public properties by angry youths, especially the hoodlums. Places affected were not limited to TVC Communications, Shoprite, Police Posts, Lekki Toll Gate, and other small and medium scale businesses. It has been a difficult time at Lagos, Nigeria with increasing carnage of both youths and police officers. Due to these events put together, there was a wake-up call by youths across the country to get what the heroes fought for. This is linked to the call for a new Nigeria - a Nigeria where a son of nobody can become so

It came as a shock to me and many other Nigerians waking up to the news of some unarmed youths shot at by security officials at the most coordinated protest ground in Lagos, Nigeria. The exact figures of fatalities were unaccounted for considering some middle grounds. These were based on the controversial news spread by the protesters, the state government, the Nigerian Army and the Presidency across the mass media.  Mr Governor said, "forces beyond his direct control were responsible for the heinous act" in his speech on the 21st October 2020. He went further to say there were no fatalities recorded. The Nigerian Army denied involvement in the horrific scene while the Presidency also maintained the same ground as others making the storyline more complicated.  However, there were a series of events possibly justifying that the horrible attack on harmless protesters were deliberate actions to frustrate youths clarion call to end police brutality and bad governance in the count

#EndSARS movement is not a new development in Nigeria as it's first call dated back to the year 2017. The movement started and usually ends by the declarations of the government that the unit Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) has been disbanded from the Nigerian Police. The same thing has been happening whenever the youths raised an eyebrow on the inhumane practices of this unit from the year 2017 up until 2019. This year's clarion call to end the brutal activities of SARS took a different shape, approaches and tactics from across the Western, Eastern, and Southern part of Nigeria while the Northerners were on the other side of the reality. What then were the keynotes from #EndSARS movement so far? Kindly feed your minds below. The acclaimed lazy youths by the President has risen in one voice regardless of their sociocultural diversities to speak against the brutal nature of the Nigerian police, especially those representing the unit SARS. The youths were so organised, well-coo

# EndSARS campaign today,  # EndSARS campaign tomorrow won't really give us the result we need in Nigeria. What then is the way forward? We all know the way forward to this situation if only we can make it happen. First and foremost, it is disheartening to think, hear or even see that the body saddled with the responsibility to protect lives and properties is in charge of its threat, extortion, brutality and killings at the extreme. I hereby use this opportunity to join others to condemn the acts of police brutality at any nooks and crannies in Nigeria. It is indeed a shameful act at this age and time for the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) to extort, intimidate, brutalise, and at the extreme kill resourceful youths under the assumption of discharging their duties. There are no excuses for that but we need to understand that this act of terrorism in the Western and Eastern part of Nigeria is not an issue in the Northern part of Nigeria. Maybe, we can recategorise the Nigerian ter