SHAFEEQ UMAR SHAFYSOFY

This is what we are denied during elections in Nigeria. I tell you, those who succeed in life are those who insist on making their own choices. As with individuals it is with nations. Nations that succeed are those that make their own choices. Citizens of Nigeria who are in fact the nation called Nigeria must insist on making their own choice in elections. The people's choice and consent make leaders to arise out of the people. The fraud and force of those with power make rulers to arise over the people. When leaders arise out of the people, they lead in respect of the people. When rulers arise over the people, they rule in contemp of the people.

The youths in particular must wake up to their responsibility. The youths are the people whose tomorrows are more than their yesterdays. We must not allow people whose yesterdays are more than their tomorrows desecrate our tomorrows. Leaders work for those who chose them. It is naive to think someone will choose your leader for you and the leader work for you and not for that person that chose him. The first responsibility of a child is to his mother. It is foolish to sell your vote and expect the person who vote it to still serve you. Now we are having power on our backs instead of besides up. Why? Because like the donkey which cannot choose its owner, we have not been choosing our leaders. To what have we sold our present and our future? To lies and dishonesty. Any wonder why our fortunes are what they are? Lies and dishonesty are empty oil wells and whoever invest in them can only drill barrels of hot air. The more politicians eat your money, the more they become mealy mouthed and the more they look mealy during campaigns.

Look at the present administration and you will understand what i am saying.

It is not only leaders that are irresponsible as most of us seems to think. Most of us are irresponsible people in this country. Leadership is irresponsible because the followship is irresponsible. The followship is irresponsible because the leadership is irresponsible. It is only in this country that no one can say he is a contributor to the national wealth of the nation.

This country to me is a bank. However, it is not the conventional bank you know, but a strange kind of bank. In this bank, when you look at the desk of the receiving cashier,there is no queue of customers paying in money. However,if you look at the desk of the paying cashier, there is a long queue of people shoving each other to be paid money they did not pay in. Because the bank is only paying, but never receiving, it will soon go bankrupt.

This country is a society of hunters and not of farmers. In a society of farmers,people pay tax to the soil - they till the soil and plant their crops which they harvest during the season of harvest. But in a society of hunters, no one pay tax. Hunters go out with their bows and arrows,sticks, catapults,spears and guns to shoot wild animals they do not know how they came to be in the forest. Those with guns and great hunting skills are likely to return home with more games than those with mere sticks and poor hunting skills. Those with poor hunting skills knowing they did not breed the animals that were shot, dared not challenge the great hunters that are about exhausting the animals in the forest. In a society of farmers, let anyone dare go to the community farm and harvest all the crops to his barn and see what the response of the farmers would be!

Reason with me!!!