Photo by David Rotimi on Unsplash Oftentimes, you hear Nigerians saying, 'Oh, Politics is a dirty game,' 'They are all liars, ' 'Politicians are so insincere,' etc. When I hear these statements, I often retort and insinuate in these conversations that we have never been interested in politics. We find ourselves today mainly due to our apathy towards the whole process. So, while this has rang true for decades, I now have a new theory. We, as citizens, are to blame for everything you see happening in the Nigerian political space today. Nigeria has little to no relationship between the state and its citizens. Why would there be any? The citizens 'toil the ground' and do everything they can to make something out of the dire circumstances they have been dealt with, so naturally, that disconnect is created, and the resulting apathy is very intentional. Now, this apathy and this pronounced disconnect allow a select few to get into the nation's politics b...
Photo by Ayano Tosin on Unsplash In one of her interviews, the famous poet, activist, and civil rights campaigner Maya Angelou once stated the importance of anger. The emotion Anger has had a bad rep since forever, probably because it is said to be at the root of many disruptive activities. At that moment, an angry person is perceived as a bad person who should be avoided because they are perceived as unyielding, not bending societal rules of conduct, and literally consuming anything on their path. In this particular interview, Maya Angelou saw anger in a different light. She believed that anger was not a bad emotion to express. She believed it to be honest and purifying. It consumed everything impure in its path, fearlessly fought against injustice, and advocated for sincere accountability. This thought pattern makes perfect sense and can be extrapolated to fit the Nigerian situation. See, I have always advocated for Nigerians and their right to be angry with their leaders...