From Protests To Possibilities

THE times we are going through have many uncertainties dogging them. These are no ordinary times. At no time in our lives – in peacetime – have so many security people been deployed on internal operations, in so many parts of the country, at the same time. We have tendency to under-rate the implications of the directions the country is heading to, or the paths we ignore.
In the past days of protests, so many ideas have been promoted on Nigeria’s future. The protests, in essence, were not about the price of fuel. People are asking questions about Nigeria. They demand answers; they deserve answers. It is tempting for government to ignore the questions on the pretence that they are from the opposition. Nothing can be more damaging to the resolution phase the protests are entering.
The opposition is part of Nigeria. The shades, under which it operates, as long as they are peaceful, are not matters for serious attention. Nigeria belongs to everyone and government should resist excluding others from contributing to managing her.
Nigerians after occupying the streets for days have asserted their right to be involved in running their affairs. They will be resistant to any moves that would curb their right to know what their government is doing. Government can benefit from the new movement, as long as it recognises the importance of the people’s involvement in governance.
A distillation of ideas canvassed during protests will enrich government’s reservoir of pool of resources to develop the country. It will be wasteful and dangerous to ignore some of these ideas, which flowed from interactions with the people, and internalisation of their situations, which are worse than most statistics portray.
Days down the line, the challenges will increase. The more the people know, the more they will want to know. They will demand more openness from government. How far can government go in imposing its positions? Does government see the opportunity to re-connect with Nigerians? Will it grab it or continue in the same imperial democracy we have endured for 12 years?
Other governments should brace up for examination too. If people are asking the federal government to account for use of oil money, states and local governments should be ready to attend to similar requests from their constituents. The current protests avail all tiers of government opportunities to re-assess their operations and how these link with the aspirations of the people.
As long as democracy remains government of the people, by the people, for the people, it would be fraudulent for governments to run democracy without the people. These times bear huge opportunities for our governments to re-invent themselves. Will they?

Culled from Vanguard