Vanessa Onyema: Nigerian Voices Must Be Heard

I am a Nigerian.

This is true because whenever theres a form where I am required to state my country or nationality, I write Nigeria. Maybe because this was automatically handed down to me by birth and therefore the only thing I do in the country is to add to mass population and exist – while the governing bodies dictate what I should and shouldn’t do.

Welcome to my country where the government cries wolf when a citizen decides to step up to all their misdemeanors.

You say national security, while almost half of the country is on fire.

What have you done about the crisis? What have you said about the untold hardship where the common man is not common anymore? Or maybe we should applaud you for fighting the inevitable corruption, a grave cankerworm that has eaten deep into the core foundation of our nation – that is if the government really understand what corruption is.

Corruption is when I can no longer make online purchases or dollar transactions because the exchange rate has sky rocketed.

Corruption is when I can no longer have three square meals a day; having at least one is a blessing.

Corruption is when I pay high electricity bills, but I am only given power at night as if I paid for night plan.

Corruption is when Christians are butchered and nothing is done but when we are told to defend ourselves, they scream national security.

Corruption is when one comes out to speak for the masses you tag him anti government, or anti President as if we are citizens of Panem in the Hunger Games…

Let me ask again, is this democracy? Or are we in a dictatorship but too blind to see it?

Wake up, Nigerians. No, let me rephrase this… wake up Nigeria!

Your voice matters, no matter how small, your actions also do. If we continue to be hushed and continue to be distracted by whatever trend is moving like a train on the internet, there will be no country for us to live in.

We gave power to the government by electing them, we can also take that power if we are brave enough to have one voice. You might have silenced ten thousand today, but I believe a hundred will rise to speak up for what is right.

Enough is enough!

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. – Martin Luther King, Jr.

I may not be that influential or powerful to wake up the sleeping lions in our youths, because the only thing I see is how clueless we have been or scared to speak; but I say to everyone one of you, you are all powerful beyond measure.

My voice has been heard. What are you doing about yours?

Photo Credit: Kadettmann | Dreamstime.com