The Emilokan Effect: When It's My Turn Becomes the Driving Force in Nigerian Politics
I didn't know people had to be rewarded for performing their civic duties.
You know, most times, you find it difficult to understand just why you should proudly call yourself a Nigerian. But then a Hilda Bassey comes along, buoyed by the thousands of outpouring of support from other Nigerians, and then you are consumed with the Naija pride, even if it's a pinch.
Under the changing climatic conditions, they stood. They danced, cheered, chanted, and feasted. They all shared in the unity that has continued to be tested. For 100 hours, she cooked, and Nigerians watched on. It didn't matter who she was at that point, support poured in uninhibited. After the 100 hours elapsed, Nigerians tweeted, even dragged Guinness World Records, telling them not to steal her "mandate".
She served 2,795 meals. Many of us thought she would beat Jesus' record but, anyhoo...
Social media raved about it. I won't lie, it was good PR, too. People traveled across state lines to experience the phenomenon and possibly get a taste of her meals. Nigerians stood by their own.
That fabric of unity only starts to deteriorate when some self-indulgent politicians chip at it during their election leagues (they are leagues, and the game's an extreme sport). They use that unity as a base point of attack.
Speaking of politicians...
The Emilokan Effect
Emi.lo.kan - Noun Phrase
Meaning - It’s my turn
While the man who made that expression popular on social media is facing battles -health and politics wise - I read in the papers that a certain leadership of Northern Nigeria has threatened to withdraw its support for him if certain conditions are not met. What are these conditions? That the North is allocated positions in the National Assembly and key ministerial appointments. Just like that.
Their position, essentially, was man wey work must chop. According to them, the North delivered 63.5 percent of the total votes to Tinubu during the elections, and seeing as the North is "not in control of the executive and judicial arms of government" it was only fair that they filled juicy positions. This is not based on merit or from the burning desire to make radical changes but because of the role that they played in bringing a man mired in scandals into the highest office in the country.
Here's what they said...
"The need to avoid the crisis of misrepresentation of our people and region in the distribution of rewards for political participation in the 2023 general election, most especially the presidential election and to accept a common ground to hold all political officeholders responsible for the job they are expected to carry out in the incoming administration.
"Figures do not lie; of the 8,794,726 votes that gave the president-elect victory at the poll, 5,200,589, representing approximately 60 per cent, came from our region."
They went on to acknowledge the fact that the northern region was besieged by problems such as insecurity, high poverty levels, abysmally low educational development, and high unemployment.
They said, "The poverty figure of the country placed our region as the most hit, with about 65 per cent of the population of poor Nigerians living in our region. We are mostly referred to in the academic parlance as the least educationally developed region of the country. Unemployment is at the highest in the region as well."
But you know what their main preoccupation is?
"We must therefore take a stand on what must be done to return affirmative and commensurate dividends for our all-inclusive participation and investment in Nigeria democracy and political business (business it is). We must take a decision as a region that has an equity that is well above 60 percent of the shared equity of the Nigeria business."
I didn't know people had to be rewarded for performing their civic duties.
While I understand that representation matters to people, isn't it important that this representation also takes recognition of merit and not merely as a reward for participating in a democratic process that is supposed to benefit all Nigerians, notwithstanding your region?
Also, what does "an equity that is well above 60 percent of the shared equity of the Nigeria business" even mean? Are we talking about the poverty level in the north that sits at 65 percent or the 69 percent out-of-school children residing in the north?
Anyway, they ended with the bit that mattered most, they said that they were open to further discussions "about how to drive inclusive, equitable development of our region, because that is something that we all owe our people and what our positions have placed on us to do."
I hope that their demands if/when met will translate to economic development in the northern part of the country and not an avenue to self-aggrandize, as is the norm in the Nigerian political space.
In all, regardless of tribe or background, I believe every Nigerian should benefit from being Nigerian (meritoriously, too, especially for those who aspire to hold public offices).
For now, I'll end with the question, what is the benefit of being a Nigerian?
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Happy Children’s Day.