Grandiose Parlor

The root causes of the decay in our infrastructure have been discussed off-line, online, in public and private settings, and the compilation in words will stretch from Lagos to the moon! Even a glacier-locked Eskimo knows what our problems are in Nigeria! But what about solving them? This statement made on this blog ( see “Blood on Nigerian Highways“) while addressing the high prevalence of road traffic accidents in Nigeria, is a very related essay to Adeola Aderounmu’s assessment of Nigerian road. Adeola blogs at “Thy Glory O Nigeria” and laments the state of Nigeria roads, wondering “how can one useless governor claimed that he spent over 300 million naira to repair these roads. We all know that is a lie”. Yes we all know the lies on which the Nigerian nation lies, and the results of those lies are up for all to see!

While I understand and do share the frustrations of Adeola and several other Nigerian bloggers and pundits that have discussed the state of our nation; public commentary is just one step in a series of steps towards effecting social changes. Are there ways of transforming the incessant commentaries we make on the state of Nigerian nation to actionable causes? Can we, somehow transform (even magically) from keyboard activism to real-time activism? Do we have what it takes to effect change(s)?

Before the “No-it-can’t work” advocate start rearing their heads, I will direct those with of this kind of mentality to Mzalendo, a project started by two Kenyans bloggers “who were frustrated by the fact that it is difficult to hold Kenyan Members of Parliament (MPs) accountable for their performance.” The bloggers (Ory and M) went ahead and set up “an eye on the Kenyan Parliament”, a online watchdog and repository of the “events and happenings” in their national parliament.

Several of the factors that prompted the creation of Mzalendo are also at play in the Nigerian political terrain, namely: limited access to information; desire to overturn the “de facto presumption is that the public does not have a right know unless they have special permission”, and the realization that the youth constitute the largest voting block in Kenya and the need to get them informed and conscious of their political system. To do all these, the creators turned to the Internet, and have been leveraging the power of the World Wide Web and Internet technology to drive their cause since 2006.

Mzalendo is just one of the several ways public commentary and agitation have been taken one step further in a series of steps towards effecting social changes. Can this concept be replicated in Nigeria? The answer is a resounding yes! See “Creating the Nigerian Legislative Scorecard: Call for Ideas, Suggestions and Action.”

Lets shift gear to the home-front. Pat Utomi, one of the presidential aspirants in the last elections has “commenced withdrawal from personal and corporate endeavours, to focus and engage in nation building”, according to news report:

“After careful reflection of the duty of a citizen and the challenges of nation building, I have come to the conclusion that for our country’s sake today, we must spend high valued time in trying to develop political parties and electoral institutions…

After a serious review of the roles I have played over the years, starting from civil rights society and lately partisan politics, I have decided that henceforth, I will keep my career focused on nation building. I will also spend a few weeks a year as a visiting professor and another few weeks at an American University. In the same vein, my decision to suspend my roles on some business interests such as directorships where a conflict of interest could emerge has been reviewed, towards the process of formally stepping away from boards where my commitment to nation building could be in short-term conflict…the bulk of my time will now be shared between public policy consulting and developing the political party process, as well as driving several NGOs; all aimed at uplifting the human condition, especially in rural areas.”

While we can’t all be Pat Utomi in character and stature, and commence on a radical social advocacy mission to save Nigeria, at the very least, we can see his action as a beacon in the stormy seas of executive stupor and political larceny that have come to plague our nation.

Back to the state of Nigerian roads - the topic the spurred this conversation, given the alarming level of road-kills and accidents, why haven’t we seen a tougher legislative measures instituted to curb this public health problem? There are legislative committees (both national and local) overseeing road maintenance and public heath, in what ways can those bodies be engaged - using tested and novel techniques orchestrated by the Nigerian people and electorate, and if necessary, in collaboration with relevant international entities? While this is just one instance of “what is wrong with Nigeria”, the same question can be asked of all the ill-working components of the Nigerian society.

This is the question every Nigerian commentator (including myself) needs to be asking; hammering on what is wrong and faulty, while relevant, is fast becoming stale - and really serves no intrinsic value beyond being mere agents of vitriolic pontification.