THE PH.D vs. THE DISCIPLINED

It wouldn’t be courteous if I do not apologize for having not posted for a long while. I won’t be giving any excuses to my ardent readers and all who hung around.  I am truly sorry indeed.

Happy New Year!!!!!!, yeah, it is coming a little late, but better late than ever. I hope you had a wonderful holiday season. Just in case you think you did not, remember we weren’t greeted with Nigeria’s usual New Year’s gift of fuel price hike and/or scarcity. So you should reconsider. =)

On to the next one! Its election season and we have a choice to make. The Ph.D. vs. The Disciplined. I am well informed that we have a few other boxers in the ring, even a female. Now I believe my Further mathematics teacher in high school who used to say, ”You can’t afford to be comfortable with mediocrity, In this quiz, It’s the best versus others”. I am not saying they are the best, I’m saying if the others weren’t mediocre in campaigning and letting their voice out, we would have at least known their names like the back of our hands. So, I blame them for making us choose between Beans and Akara. (Continue Reading)

To the topic of the day, I have a role model who used to say “Pick your battles wisely”. This is me picking my battles. The Ph.D. versus the Disciplined. What are our priorities in this country? What are our long term and short term goals? What do we hope to achieve in the next 4, 8, 12, 16 years? Where do we hope to stand? These are questions that need answering and we would have had answers by now if our potential leaders weren’t busy dodging national debates.

If the Ph.D. is busy demanding a degree from his opponent, he should realize that we are in a time where the world changers are college dropouts. This is a time where even in our immediate environment; the best students in our classes are not the most creative, the problem solvers, the entrepreneurs, the risk takers. I’m sure we can all relate with that.

If the Disciplined is having ulterior motives behind his intention, he should realize that a lot has changed since 2001, Nigerians are smarter and angrier and would stop at nothing to show such if the need arises.

What we need to do is prioritize. How well has this ‘nepotistic’ voting helped our country? You put your brother into power and when he’s sent to jail and back, you throw parties for his return. Yet you claim to love your children and care for the future generation. You just ate your children’s future in form of party rice.

Anyone who wants to be a dictator in this country should learn a lesson from the past dictators who are six foot under and realize that it’s no longer business as usual. Our children are missing, our relatives are dying, cities are being held under siege and all you think about is commanding the billions entering your pocket?. If that’s your plan, drop your ticket now and I might spend the rest of my life working to refund you your ticket and campaign expenses because if you do not, you would spend the rest of your life paying that yourself.

If you think all it takes is a beautiful daughter to win the hearts of Nigerians, you should ask Agbani Darego’s father why he hasn’t visited Aso Rock. (P.s He never contested, It’s a rhetoric).

If you think all it takes is experience and the absence of shoes to win the hearts of Nigerians, remember more people can’t afford a pair of flip flops since you were in power.

If you think suit and tie makes you a good leader, you should remember that we have learnt the hard way that the best thieves are the ones on ties and not on tattoos.

If you think iPhones and owambe parties would buy you loyalty and respect, just remember that everything loses value over time.

And my fellow Nigerians, if you think this election isn’t your business, you are no better than the people who lead us. For every naira you gain by selling your vote; that is a child lost to the cold hands of Boko Haram. So you are no better, in fact you are worse. A wise man once said the greatest evil in the world is not a bad man doing something; it’s a good man doing nothing. So you can sit all day and watch latest episodes of our favorite TV show or you can go and save another child from untold captivity.

And if you are wondering what a college student knows about Nigerian electoral system, EVERYTHING!! Because it’s my future you are gambling with. I might be no Adiche or ‘Etcetera’. I might not be studying Political Science or any other social science, but if this election goes wrongly, it is my school fees that would escalate, it is my lecturers that would be paid less, it is my food price that would triple, it is my years I would spend trying to graduate due to strikes, it is my friends and family that would live in fear of the unknown in this country. So if you think I do not know anything about elections, THINK AGAIN!

This is not a campaign and this was definitely not paid for, as a matter of fact, this was written in a hot room with no electricity, while drinking over-priced juice and with hopes on the Lord for a surprise visit in my bank account. (University students, you know this!)

This is #the post that launched a thousand hearts (#ScandalTV freaks, you get right?!!!!). Think deeply before you act during this election because it would cause more harm or good than you would ever imagine. If you disagree with my opinions, please feel free to express your thoughts on the comments below. Hope to see you soon.

By: Veronica Iweanya