By Banky Wellington
Delivered At The 5th Annual Bola
Tinubu Colloquium In Lagos
I recently
celebrated my birthday and was fortunate enough to go to Dubai to attend my
friend Tuface Idibia’s wedding… and I want to start off my speech by showing
you a couple of pictures of Dubai, because what I saw there inspired me.
Ladies and
gentlemen, it is the same oil that was discovered there in the 1960’s that they
used to transform that society. The very same oil that was discovered here. But
what have our leaders done with it?
Benjamin
Franklin once said “when you’re finished changing, you’re finished”. I’d like
to take that a step further by saying “we must be a part of the change we seek,
or risk being changed ourselves”.
The question
is no longer “will Nigeria change”… but rather, it’s “will it change for the
better or worse” and “who will lead that change”.
History is
rife with instances of regimes, institutions and societies seeming stable and
unshakeable… but young people being fed up with the status quo, became the
catalysts of Change in their societies. In recent times we’ve seen young people
all over the world clothe themselves with the “change” mantle and become a part
of the movement. We’ve seen that no matter the society, and no matter the
circumstances of oppression and corruption, change is possible if the people
decide that enough is enough. From Tunisia, to America, to Egypt… young people
are changing the world every day. Nigeria should be no different.
They say
“insanity” is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different
result. We cannot continue the same behaviours, year in, year out and expect
better results. Except for prayer, you can’t do the same thing over and over
again and expect things to be better. And even with prayer, you actually have
to get up and do something after all they say heaven helps those who help
themselves.
Things young
people can do:
1. Be involved in the political
process:
:Register to vote
:Actually Vote for the right candidates.
:Or Sit back and let someone else steal your voice.
2. Peacefully protest
:Media: Old & New
-Twitter, Facebook etc – I believe that
even though the internet accessibility in Nigeria is still low, we cannot
ignore the importance of such platforms. They serve as tools that can help in
the movement. And things are changing everyday… many phones today have some
internet capability or the other.
:Efforts
like Occupy Nigeria, Light Up Nigeria, Enough is Enough, etc.
:Newspapers,
blogs, etc.
3. Become fully involved in the
Political process.
:It’s easier to talk about and/or
criticize people that are working than to do the work yourself. Join a party
and try to help influence policy. We can level the playing field if we all get
involved in this Movement for Change. And it’s not just at the federal level.
Young people need to start getting involved even from the local and state levels in order to properly influence policy
and society.
4. Use whatever voice or platform you
have… constructively. I’m a musician and so you’ve seen me singing and speaking
publicly about the need for the change in our country, but you can use whatever
sphere of influence you have: be it with family, friends, school, neighborhood,
church or mosque. Everyone has a voice and a role to play.
I’m here
because I’m a dreamer. Everything I have now, that God blessed me with… was
born out of my dreams. I dreamt of becoming a singer; dreamt of owning my own
Record Label company, and other businesses. Dreamt of being able to influence
my surroundings, my city, my state and my country through my work. But some
people stop at dreaming while others actually wake up and set about trying to
make those dreams come true.
I dream of a
changed Nigeria where each child, no matter the background has a dream of
his/her own, and is given access to education, healthcare, and basic amenities
in life to make those dreams come true.
I dream of a
changed Nigeria where the opportunities abound for anyone willing to work for
them; where every man, woman and child is given a fair shot to avoid poverty
and become a success at whatever they set their minds to do.
I dream of
the day in Nigeria where we finally live up to our potential – as citizens,
leaders, countries, and as a Continent.
If our
children and future generations witness Nigeria in the same conditions we have
her today, then we would have failed them. That’s why I’d rather be here,
speaking with like minds and putting my hands to the plow, than sitting at home
being an arm chair critic.
We’re all
here because we want to be a part of Changing Nigeria for the better. That’s
why we are getting involved. Whether or not each person’s intentions are pure…
only God would know… only Time will tell and only History will judge.
However I’d
rather be a part of the movement for change, than be one of those that are
content to sit back and criticize. I’d rather be a player on the field, or a
coach, or a worker on the team, than be a fan in the stands, or home watching
on tv.
One of my
favorite sayings is “the best way to predict your future is to create it”. We
can extend that to say that we must create the Nigeria that we want to live in.
We must all speak up. We must all work for it. We must all stand up and be
counted, if our dreams are to become reality.
I’m Banky W,
and I stand for change. Do you?
Banky Wellington can be followed on twitter @BankyW
